Social Justice Committee

The Rime Buddhist Center has partnered with More2 a social justice organization representing different faith traditions, cultural backgrounds, races, and economic means. We also encourage our members to work with SURj-KC a local network organizing white people for racial justice in accountability to the BBIPOC community. The following posts are activities of the Social Justice Committee.

Volunteers Needed for the Rime Center’s Juneteenth Booth

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The Rime Buddhist Center is needing assistance with our upcoming Juneteenth booth. This year, we will be hosting a booth at the 12th Annual JuneteenthKC Heritage Festival to celebrate this important day. If you are interested in volunteering, please sign up with the link below.

Sign Up

We are looking for volunteers to help us with a variety of tasks, including:

  • Setting up and breaking down the booth
  • Greeting attendees and answering questions about the Rime Center
  • Distributing information about the Rime Center and our upcoming Meditation Workshop and Basics of Buddhism class

MORE2 Local Training

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June 3, 2023 at 9am

The Rime Social Justice Committee wants to invite Sangha members to the MORE2 local training June 3rd from 9am-3pm. Rainbow Mennonite Church will be hosting their upcoming Local Training. MORE2 will be focusing on building teams with the Rime Center and other communities. And how to do so powerfully with an eye towards building the Beloved Community. Click on the link below to register.

Register Here

Rescheduled: Secret Path of the Siddhas With Younge Khachab Rinpoche

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May 27-28, 2023

Due to a flight delay Rinpoche’s teachings are postponed a week and will occur on May 27-28th.

Younge Khachab Rinpoche will be teaching from his upcoming new book, Secret Path of the Siddhas. The teachings of the great masters and siddhas of the past in India and Tibet are made available and accessible to modern practitioners in this guide. Read more.

Letter of Solidarity for the Dialogue Institute of Kansas City and the Kansas City Raindrop Foundation

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On October 21,2022, the offices and community center of the Dialogue Institute of Kansas City and Kansas City Raindrop Foundation, was the target of vandalism. Three teenage vandals broke in through a window and ransacked the building leaving a swastika, the anarchy symbol and obscene phrases scrawled across walls. On Nov 10, 2022 Lama Matt and other community leaders came together to stand in solidarity with the Dialogue Institute and Raindrop against this act of hate. Lama Matt read the following statement at the event.

The Buddha taught about our interconnectedness to all sentient beings around us. In the Buddhist scripture, The Flower Garland Sutra, the Buddha uses the metaphor of Indra’s net. Continue reading →

Radical Dharma: An Online Book Discussion

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October 11, 2021 @ 7:45 pm

The Rime Center’s Social Justice Committee is proud to sponsor a 5 week online book discussion on Radical Dharma. Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation, ignites a long-overdue dialogue about how the legacy of racial injustice and white supremacy plays out in society at large and Buddhist communities in particular. Read more…

Black and Buddhist: A Book Discussion

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August 4, 2021 @ 7:45 pm

The Rime Center’s Social Justice Committee is proud to sponsor a 4 week discussion on Black and Buddhist. We will be discussing the book Black and Buddhist, which brings together a powerful collection of writings from African American teachers who are from all the major Buddhist traditions, as they tell their stories of how race and Buddhist practice have intersected in their lives. Read more…

Juneteenth Statement by the Rime Center and the Social Justice Committee

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Juneteenth is the oldest nationwide remembrance of the ending of slavery in the United States. Union soldiers led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas, with the news that the war had ended and emancipation was granted to the enslaved on June 19, 1865, almost two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.

There are many celebrations and events planned for Juneteenth in Kansas City and plenty of ways to participate. Please visit www.juneteenth-kc.com for a listing of celebratory and community service activities. In addition, additional information on the African American history in Kansas City and the nation can be found here – https://www.juneteenth-kc.com/history. In Buddhism, we believe in carrying the Bodhisattva spirit in our hearts and engaging in altruistic actions to benefit all sentient. The Rime Center and the Social Justice Committee encourages the sangha to reflect on the significance of this day.

His Holiness Dalai Lama’s Daily Prayer – “May the frightened cease to be afraid, and those bound be freed; May the powerless find power, and may people think of benefiting each other”