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 [...]
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 [...]
Waking Up to Whiteness
For our practice to have meaning in today's world, says Greg Snyder, it must include a thorough understanding of our racial identities and their impact. This is particularly urgent for white practitioners. Like it or not, we have all been racialized—that conditioning affects each and every one of us. Unfortunately, many Buddhists are not working diligently to [...]
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 [...]
A Buddhist Cop’s Approach to Justice
Cheri Maples, a student of Thich Nhat Hanh and former police officer, addresses the U.S.'s crisis in policing and how a Buddhist outlook could help foster more positive relations between citizens and police. A cop meets Thich Nhat Hanh I became serious about developing a consistent mindfulness practice when I attended my first retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh (known [...]
The Best of bell hooks: Life, Writings, Quotes, and Books
When we drop fear, we can draw nearer to people, we can draw nearer to the earth, we can draw nearer to all the heavenly creatures that surround us. —bell hooks Writer, feminist theorist, and cultural critic bell hooks has played a vital role in twenty-first-century activism. Her expansive life's work of writing and lecturing has explored the historical function of race and [...]
“Dear White People” creator Justin Simien talks Buddhism, empathizing with haters
One element of Simien’s identity isn’t obvious in his Netflix hit: Buddhism. But it’s there. Talking to Justin Simien, it’s clear that the characters in his show, Dear White People, come from within. Each episode of the Netflix comedy, which debuted last month, follows a different character at a fictional Ivy League college in the aftermath of a blackface party on campus. [...]
We’re Not Who You Think We Are
Chenxing Han examines the stereotypes that have marginalized Asian American Buddhists and reports on the rich diversity and depth of practice of a new generation of practitioners. During my undergraduate years, a budding interest in Buddhism prompted me to explore various Buddhist communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. At meditation centers where older white practitioners [...]
Why isn’t the “Angry Asian Buddhist” angry?
As his cancer goes from bad to worse, the anonymous blogger known as the "Angry Asian Buddhist" strives to accept the absurdity of life. For the author of a blog called “Angry Asian Buddhist,” Arun isn’t as angry as you might expect. And it isn’t like he doesn’t have cause to be upset. He was diagnosed with lymphoma last July, just after his 33rd birthday. He might not live to [...]
Pema Chödrön & bell hooks on cultivating openness when life falls apart
In this conversation from 1997, bell hooks talks to Pema Chödrön about how to open your heart to life's most difficult challenges. Initially when I enter the classroom, I share with my students that we are there to think critically — to engage the world of ideas that we live in fully, deeply, and with our whole heart. Pema Chödrön's work gives me this gift. Consistently she [...]