As a trans practitioner, Ray Buckner has struggled to find a sense of belonging in Buddhist spaces. They offer suggestions for how we can better support sangha members of all genders. When I enter new sanghas, I see people connecting. They smile and laugh, walking with a sense of ease. Their bodies, facial expressions, and loving words spoken to one another communicate a [...]
Advice From a Queer Sangha Leader
“We are all spokes on a wheel. Can you have respect for another spoke?” Haleigh Atwood talks to Against the Stream's Qsangha leader, Steve Levitt. As a gay man in the '80s, Steve Levitt lost many loved ones in the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Coupled with the death of both parents, his suffering morphed into a deep, seething anger — until he learned to meditate. Today, Levitt is [...]
LGBTQ Buddhists: Teachings, Profiles, and Conversations
A collection of teachings from, profiles on, and conversations with LGBTQ folks in Buddhism. Featuring Larry Yang, Rev. angel Kyodo williams, Steve Silberman, George Takei, Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara, Finn Enke, Ellen Krug, Issan Dorsey, Lama Rod Owens, Jeff Wilson, Justin Simien, Caroline Contillo, Koshin Paley Ellison, Robert Chodo Campbell, Pablo Das, Ray Buckner, and [...]
Where Everyone Can Thrive
East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland is a leader in developing dharma for people who don’t feel welcome elsewhere. Lindsay Kyte explores EBMC’s focus on respect, safety, and the joy of being seen for who you are. In a society where many fight to be seen and heard, Mushim Ikeda sees a great need for well-being for the oppressed through spirituality and community. “For [...]
Where I Make Sense
Buddhism teaches us that the buddhas can appear in different bodies. Finn Enke chronicles a lifelong journey to find the identity that makes them feel, finally, “I am here.” Everything is of the nature to change. That’s a fundamental Buddhist teaching, and it might be transgender affirming as well. When I was a trans-struggling child growing up in the 1970s, adults saw [...]
You and Me — It’s All One Thing
Confusion around questions of identity, sexuality, and gender may seem acute and, to some of us, new, today. But James Ishmael Ford finds that an ancient Zen story's wisdom speaks quite well to that confusion. I have two dear friends who married, and then had a child, a lovely boy. They gave him my name for a middle name, so, I was particularly happy on top of the happy [...]
The Fleeting Feeling of Joy
In the wake of tragedy, Buddhism offers a radical path, writes Buddhist practitioner Ray Buckner. A few months ago, I went out for a night of dancing in the Castro district of San Francisco. Gay men danced amongst queer women, who danced amongst gender-queers. Dancing in a circle, we sang along to the music of Adele, Beyonce, and Lady Gaga — music filled with words that [...]
Buddhism & Diversity: Profiles, Teachings, and Conversations
A collection of teachings, profiles, and discussions about diversity in Buddhism. Featuring angel Kyodo williams, Funie Hsu, Roshi Pat Enkyo O'Hara, Arunlikhati, Gina Sharpe, Greg Snyder, Justin Simien, George Takei, Alice Walker, Lama Rod Owens, and more. Diversity is increasingly discussed in Western Buddhism today, and with good reason. Supporting diversity serves three [...]
Does my transgender identity conflict with Buddhism’s teachings on no-self?
Q: I was born male, but after many years of confusion, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m actually a transgender woman and I’m now seeking sex-reassignment surgery. As a Buddhist, I feel conflicted by the teachings on no-self and this unshakable feeling that there is a deep, hidden truth about me that I need to express. Am I wrong to embrace this sense of true self? Sallie [...]
See Us Clearly: A Buddhist’s View of Transgender Visibility
Ray Buckner offers a personal view of what it means to be Buddhist, gender-queer, and trans — and why they all fit together like "a miracle." I identify as gender-queer and trans, and also as Buddhist, and — though it might be surprising to some — it seems to me a miracle how these two ways of being fit together. As Buddhists, we recognize that we suffer very much. Just [...]
