“Centering” as an organizing principle is the habitual return to an initial ethical principle and a shaping of work, life, faith and our spiritual practice on this principle. In Buddhism, we refer to this as right livelihood, the grounding principle of our life’s work. Intersectionality, for example, is a principle of right livelihood, a lens by which all our life’s work can be framed. Intersectionality asks that we hold the needs of intersectional identities and disabilities in our livelihood, and especially the life of Black women. Why? Specificity brings strength to social action. When we take care of the most marginalized those with the most intersectional needs, we take care of the entire community. What would it mean to center your life’s work, your livelihood in the protection of Black Trans life?
Rev. Jaelynn Scott is a Buddhist community minister who has served as the Director of Lifelong Learning at Woodinville Unitarian Universalist Church. A graduate of Naropa University’s Buddhist Divinity program, she was ordained by Ven.’s Bhante Chao Chu and Tampalawela Dhammaratana, and brings decades of dedicated meditation experience to her ministry.
Topics: Intention