“Premature transcendence” or spiritual bypassing has been described by John Welwood as unskillfully using a spiritual practice to avoid addressing psychological wounds and unresolved personal issues. This is usually discussed only on the personal level, yet a spiritual practice can be used to avoid or “bypass” unresolved cultural issues as well — what we are calling cultural spiritual bypassing. This program will examine and find ways to address this common dynamic of bypassing unresolved cultural issues including racism, social injustice, and "identity politics." We’ll do this through gaining a deeper understanding of what it means to be a cultural being among other cultural beings which will include how cultural spiritual bypassing manifests both collectively and individually; especially within spiritual communities. This exploration will be situated in the context of how the Buddha of early Buddhism addressed cultural forms of oppression and in teachings on view, intention, ethics, and the five aggregates. We will come together in a multicultural community to create some understanding of how to expand our individual and collective compassion, community, and freedom. There will also be time for affinity groups where people of color and white people can explore and investigate their experiences of these issues in safety.