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 [...]
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 [...]
“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 [...]
Lama Rod Owens on “having the conversation” at the Third Buddhism and Race Conference at Harvard
We spoke with Lama Rod Owens about the importance of this coming weekend's Third Buddhism and Race Conference at Harvard. Parts of the conference will be livestreamed on Harvard Buddhist Community’s Facebook page. As Lion's Roar reported last week, Harvard Buddhist Community at Harvard Divinity School will be hosting its Third Buddhism and Race Conference on Friday, March [...]
Love Fights the Power
For bell hooks, fighting oppression doesn’t require anger or conflict—just opening our hearts and speaking the truth fearlessly. In his classic profile from 2006, Barry Boyce tells the story of this renowned feminist and social critic, and how she came to embrace activism without enemies and a visionary kind of love. Bell hooks is a woman of many call numbers. If you [...]
Third Buddhism and Race Conference to take place at Harvard, March 3-5
On Friday, March 3rd through Sunday March 5th, 2017, Harvard Buddhist Community at Harvard Divinity School will be hosting its Third Buddhism and Race Conference. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based conference "started two years ago as a forum to address issues surrounding race and racism within the Buddhist community. This year activists, sangha leaders, community members, [...]
Healing the Broken Body of Sangha
Ruth King presents five ways we can address racial ignorance and division to help ourselves and our sanghas become whole. As Buddhist and mindfulness practitioners, we have an opportunity to understand the dynamics of racial suffering and the flesh we put on its bones. Honoring our relatedness, our belonging, and our impact is a necessity for awakening in general and for [...]