Her practice was fiery, full-on gangster compassion, unapologetically Black. She writes, “Her dharma was not all Namaste Namaste. She wanted to be in an environment where her fury and her grief were welcome, where she did not have to be charming to belong, where people would not see her presence as an imposition.Ĭover for radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberationįinding Rev angel Kyodo williams was a big moment for her. What stayed with her was the feeling that she could not relate to anyone. It did not matter how nice people were to her. Jasmine Syedullah shares how she was disheartened when she walked into several Zen and Vipassana centres where she saw nobody who looked like herself. For Western-convert Buddhist America, this is the time when we will actually embody our practice and teachings, or not.” They declare, “If you have ever wondered how you would have shown up in the face of the challenge put before White America when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, upending the accepted social order, now is the time you will find out. Written by Rev angel Kyodo williams, Lama Rod Owens, and Jasmine Syedullah, it unveils how white supremacy and racial injustice shape Buddhist communities in the United States. Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation (2016) is a book that has grown very dear to me. The queer Black Buddhists I write about remind me that spiritual practice is not about severing ties from the world it’s about engaging more authentically with our own embodiment. If you are wondering why I would want to learn about Buddhist practice from people who were not born in Buddhist communities, here’s my answer: I am prepared to learn from anyone who offers teachings that are beneficial to me. I want to highlight the quiet, powerful and life-changing work they have been doing, especially for readers who are hearing about them for the first time. Their teachings are no less important to me than the teachings of Gautama Buddha, also known as Siddhartha or Shakyamuni. These are queer Black Buddhist teachers who have made a difference to my life by speaking of their journeys, and showing me how spiritual practice can be a liberating force in the face of challenges as huge as racism, sexism and queerphobia. I have been thinking of the Black people in my life over the last couple of months, ever since the news of George Floyd’s murder catalysed protests all over the United States. They face hate crimes on a daily basis in the same country that many Indians idealise as a land of opportunity. When Indians chase the shiny American dream, or consume Netflix shows that centre whiteness, we often end up getting dazzled by a vision of affluence that excludes Black Americans.

It is a response to the long history of slavery that the United States has been built upon. What is important to remember is that this decentralised movement against institutional racism, police brutality and racial violence is not a random occurrence. In reading Friends Under the Summer Sun, envisioning queerness as an experience of unabashed joy The Witch Boy reinforces Wiccan literature as a vital source of spiritual nourishment for queer readers

Lama rod owens birthday