Statement of Inclusivity

This Sangha acknowledges that suffering is a human condition which can be made worse because of biases or prejudices for or against any race, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, sexual identity, political party, or other belief or position. This Sangha welcomes and affirms all who come here to seek the Way, and who will work toward respectful acceptance of others across our many differences, harmonizing the one and the many.

We also acknowledge that bias, prejudice, and privilege can be blinding. If you experience anything at Bright Way that isn’t consistent with the aspiration in our Statement of Inclusivity, please let us know. You can contact our teacher, Domyo, confidentially via email (info[at]brightwayzen.org).

A Note about Allergies:

When meeting at our Zendo, we minimize the use of incense (we light a stick momentarily at the beginning of a meditation period, offer it at the altar, and then immediately put it out).

No message posted on a website heals the suffering being caused in our country by systemic racism, particularly the anguish and conflict caused by the inexcusable, repeated murders of unarmed black people, sometimes by those sworn to protect us.

For what it is worth, Bright Way Zen bears witness to the injustice, empathizes with those suffering persecution and loss, acknowledges the culpability of white people in perpetuation of a racist system, and promises to do what we can to bring about a more just world for all.

Bright Way Zen’s Dirt Zendo is located in Washington County Oregon. 

Washington County Land Acknowledgment

(as prepared by representatives of Confederate Tribes of Grand Ronde, Nez Perce, Siletz, and Yavapai)

We want to acknowledge the people on whose land we live—the Atfalati-Kalapuyans also known as the Tualatin Band of Kalapuyans—the first inhabitants of Washington County. We are grateful for the land we are on, Kalapuyan land.

Signers of the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855 were removed from their homelands to the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation. Today their descendants are tribal members of Grand Ronde and Siletz tribes, carrying on the traditions and cultures of their ancestors.

We acknowledge and express gratitude for the ancestors of this place and recognize that we are here because of the sacrifices forced upon them. In remembering these communities, we honor their legacy, their lives, and their continuation in our community. Please reflect on the role government has played in the painful, colonial history and reflect as well on the resilience and healing of the Indigenous land and communities.

We would like to invite everyone to collaborate and work together with the tribes to take care of the land and water and the people who inhabit these spaces.