When Zenju Earthlyn Manuel was assigned to clean the Zen temple, she felt generations of oppression rise in her. Conversing with her ancestors about what this work really meant helped her see how it could be healing. Zen practice is a return to the ordinary. It is only in the secular world that Zen is perceived by some as a high and holy practice. The robes are seen as [...]
Watch: Black & Buddhist in America
Fourteen leading Buddhist teachers of black African descent gathered on Sunday for a conversation about dharma and what it means to be a black Buddhist in America today. On Sunday, 14 leading Buddhist teachers of black African descent gathered at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York for “Black & Buddhist in America,” a conversation about dharma, the state [...]
Black & Buddhist in America
15 leading African American Buddhist teachers will hold public dialogue in New York City. Leading Buddhist teachers of black African descent from across the United States will gather at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York on Sunday, October 21, for “Black & Buddhist in America,” a conversation about dharma, the state of the world, and what it means to be [...]
No One Like Me
Lama Rod Owens on taking care of your own needs when you don’t see yourself represented in those around you. Question: I recently moved to a Buddhist retreat center where I am pretty much the only person of color. I knew that going in, but it’s been more difficult than I expected. I love the practice and don’t want to leave, but I feel uncomfortable and miss my own people [...]
Do You Know Your True Face?
Lama Rod Owens says we all need to look honestly at who we are, in all our complexity -- and that includes those who teach the dharma. Excerpted in the Fall 2017 Buddhadharma, "The Best of 15 Years." About a year after I finished the traditional three-year retreat program and had begun my work as a dharma teacher, I experienced a kind of breakdown, a severe sense of being [...]
How to Be Equanimous in a Racialized World
In a tense moment on a full plane, Ruth King gets a glimpse of the inner strength of equanimity. Several years ago, I took a long flight from South Africa to California. As I boarded the plane, I looked forward to taking a long nap on the fully-booked plane. As we rose into the air, I relaxed into my seat and pushed the button to recline. The person sitting behind me, a [...]
How Tune-Yards created an indie-rock meditation on race and Buddhism
Lilly Greenblatt talks to Tune-Yards' Merrill Garbus about how race and Buddhism informed the band's latest release. Close your eyes Get in touch With the physical sensations coursing through your body (Honesty) Breathe (Honesty, honesty) Those are the instructions from frontwoman Merrill Garbus on “Honesty,” the fifth track of Tune-Yards’ latest album. The song also [...]
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 [...]
Where Will You Stand?
If we are to uphold the dharma, says Rev. angel Kyodo williams, we must stand up to racism and expose its institutionalized forms—even in our Buddhist communities. We are at a critical moment in the history of the nation as well as within the Buddhist teaching and tradition in America. This is the "back of the bus" moment of our time. Fifty years after civil rights laws were [...]
North American Buddhist Alliance issues response to racial violence
In a new statement shared with Lion's Roar, the North American Buddhist Alliance (NABA) responds to the current events and crises related to White Supremacy in the United States. NABA describes itself as “a new, idealistic, and organic organization modeled after Northwest Dharma Association. We are not a governing body nor are we interested in developing a hierarchy of any [...]
