Opening Dharma Access: Listening to BIPOC Teachers & Practitioners

Rahil Rojiani and Practicing in Our Stretch Zones with the 5th Precept of Non-Intoxication

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 06:00:00 -0700

In this mindful dharma talk, Rahil invites us all to feel into our bodies and stay with our experience as we contemplate the 5th Precept: Non-intoxication or Clear Heart-Mind. Rahil talks about his own initial aversion to speaking on the Precepts, and the beauty of relating to this framework and tradition of guidance as a path toward deepening our presence to our lives. Rather than seeing them as strict rules that demand perfection and immediate change, Rahil encourages us to allow for authentic growth and evolution that begins in our stretch zones.

Guest

RAHIL ROJIANI, MD (they/them) is a queer, genderfluid, South Asian Ismaili Muslim, and an abolitionist trauma-focused psychiatrist at Cambridge Health Alliance / Harvard Medical School. Rahil’s contemplative practices are informed by their Muslim faith, secular mindfulness traditions, and multiple Buddhist lineages. Rahil has conducted several years of research on the neuroscience of meditation, and they have been facilitating and teaching meditation since 2014— particularly for healthcare professionals, BIPOC, and community organizers.

Speaking Truths Through the Eightfold Path with bruni dávila

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 06:00:00 -0700

bruni dâvila talks about the fourth precept, not lying/honoring truths. What does that look like in practice? bruni gives some examples for the times we are living in together.

GUEST

BRUNI DÁVILA (she/they) has practiced Insight and Zen meditation since 1995. They graduated from the IMS/IRC Teacher Training Program, and has been guided and supported by various wonderful teachers and sanghas, and her ancestors of Puerto Rican heritage. bruni’s practice is grounded in the teachings of Mahasi Sayadaw and Sayadaw U Tejaniya. She teaches at IMC, in Redwood City and in the wider Bay area, in English and Spanish.

How to be safe with sexuality and not hurt with Rev. Willie Mukei Smith

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 06:00:00 -0700

Rev. Willie discusses the 3rd Precept, not misusing sexuality, and frames it as how to be safe and not hurt with sexuality. After his talk, there is a discussion with Rev. Dana Takagi and Rev. Liên Shutt going deeper into what boundaries in sanghas and practice centers might look like, and how awareness of power is an important part of this precept.

You can also watch the talk on YouTube

REVEREND WILLIE SHOMON MUKEI (he/him) is a Zen student at The Village Zendo and novice Zen Priest where he leads the People of Color Sitting Group. He is also a psychoanalyst with a private practice and a member of both the Buddhist Council of New York and a Episcopal Priest. Willie has extensive history working the anti-racism and social justice realm.

Precept of Not Stealing/Promoting Space-Equity with Rev. Dana Takagi

Tue, 19 May 2026 06:00:00 -0700

In week 2 of Precepts for Skillful Engagement: Cultivating loving interactions in turbulent times (BIPOC Teachers, Series 1), Dana talks about the importance of deeper and creative understandings of the precept of not stealing. Drawing from her personal background as an academic, and as a priest and teacher, Dana examines the precept of not stealing when framed in terms of who believes they have expertise or the right to be heard in shared spaces and conversations.

In that spirit, here is a version of the 5 Precepts that may help to shine the light of awareness on how to share space and dialogue without taking what is not given. We hope you enjoy!

You can also watch the YouTube version which includes chanting and Q&A here.

5 Fundamental Precepts (not stealing week)
I vow to promote non-harming.
I vow to promote space-equity.
I vow to promote intimacy.
I vow to promote balanced speech.
I vow to refrain from expertise-ness.

Precepts for Skillful Engagement in Turbulent Times: 3 Ways to Practice Precepts & P1/Non-Harming with Rev Liên Shutt

Tue, 05 May 2026 07:00:00 -0700

First of 6 parts series from AccessToZen.org. For the video of this talk (& Deep Listening prompts & participants' comments, see link at end of show notes).

Week 1 of Precepts for Skillful Engagement in Turbulent Times series:

Rev. Liên gives an overview of 3 ways to practice with the precepts which she connects to how Sama has been translated as "Right," "Wise," & "Skillful" within the 8-Fold Path. Also shared are practice stories of her work with these precepts. The group practice is both the recitations (offered weekly) and the practice of Deep Listening as a form of Repentance (an aspect of precepts taking/vowing).
The affirming/positive aspect of the 5 Precepts offered today are:
I vow to realize & promote non-harming.
I vow to realize & promote mutuality.
I vow to realize & promote connections.
I vow to realize & promote honesty.
I vow to realize & promote clear heart-mind.
The traditional form & full info can be found at AccessToZen.org under the name of this offering.
May this offering be for the benefit of all beings.
Be safe. Bring safety to all.

See the full session's video at: https://youtu.be/l2SuNU85JI8

Contact Info.Access2Zen@gmail.com with questions or if your are able to support the continuation of Opening Dharma Access (ODA). Thank you!

Rev. Liên Shutt (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, immigrants, and those seeking a home in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder & Guiding Teacher of Access to Zen. You can learn more about her work and book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Pathat AccessToZen.org EVENTS

Season 4 Compilation of Interviews: Asian American & Asian Diaspora Buddhists Helping Define Buddhism Today!

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 17:00:00 -0700

Opening Dharma Access podcast, season 4 compilation of highlights of all our fantastic guests this past season. We hope you enjoy!
Guests in order of appearance:
Rev. syd yang, Siddhesh Mukerji, Reverend/Kumu June Tanoue, Rev. Dana Takagi, Judy Nakatomi, Professor Alice Yang, Professor/Rev. Joseph Cheah, Abbess Yuko Yamada, Rev. Liên Shutt, Professor Michael Omi, Mushim Ikeda, Professor Sharon Suh, Eunji Son, Rev. Rebecca Nie.

YouTube Version.

Instagram Version. (Please share!)

If you enjoyed this and you know of funding opportunities for a project like ours, please reach out! We are also receiving donations to help us continue into season 5, which includes the time it takes to find guests, record, edit, and get the word out about the podcast! We would love to continue forwarding BIPOC voices!

Email: info.access2zen@gmail.com
IG: accesstozen

Season 4 Wrap-Up: Can "What is AA & AD Buddhism" Be Answered? with Rev. Liên Shutt & Rev. Dana Takagi

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 09:00:00 -0700

Rev. Liên & Rev. Dana tries -- & about what it might be our future, too! Zen Fools! :)

The Co-Host reflect on 2 Seasons forwarding Asian American (AA) & Asian Diasporic (AD) Buddhist teachers & practitioners; along with other AAs who have shaped our collective understanding of race and racialization in the U.S.

We thank Rev. Dana Takagi for her dedication to these aims for the last 2 seasons! These archives would not be the same without her or her guests' voices!

We'll be dropping a compilation of Season 4 for the "practice" on April 21.

UPDATE on 4/6: We did not get funding to renew this project.

As always, feel free to contact us (about funding or otherwise) at Info.Access2Zen@gmail.com

Your hosts

REV. DANA TAKAGI (she/her) is a retired professor of Sociology and zen priest, practicing zen since 1998. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian American history at UC Santa Cruz, and she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies.

REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, immigrants, and those seeking a home in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder & Guiding Teacher of Access to Zen. You can learn more about her work and book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Pathat AccessToZen.org EVENTS

Well-Being Chant & Reflection Meditation with Rev. Liên Shutt

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 06:00:00 -0700

As our world continues to tumble, here's a Soto Zen chant for Well-being. Kannon, or Kanzeon, are the Japanese names for the Bodhisattva of Compassion. This chant is calling on her/them to support us to be with "the cries of the world."

Traditionally, just a chant. Here, Rev. has embedded it with a meditation, offering guidance to reflect on how to practice being with and be nourished by our kind heart-minds, aching in the midst of difficulties.

May our practice be for the benefit of all beings!

Reverend Joseph Cheah: Lived Experience as the Core of Spiritual Practice

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 06:00:00 -0800

Reverend Joseph Cheah sits down with Dana to discuss his research and writings which push back against dominant understandings of Asian religions that were propagated by Western frameworks. He brings his combination of familial and cultural Buddhist roots with his Catholic faith and livelihood to also offer the idea that anti-hate activism by Asian organizers is a deep kind of spiritual social practice in action.

GUEST

REVEREND JOSEPH CHEAH OSM, Ph.D. is Professor of Religious Studies and Theology, and Chair of the Department of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies.

Fr. Joe has made robust contributions in the fields of Asian American religions and theology, Buddhist Studies, World Christianity, race and religion. He is the author of Race and Religion in American Buddhism (OUP, 2011) which is the first monograph to take race seriously as a category of analysis in American Buddhist scholarship (Brooke Schedneck) and “stands to transform the discourse on American Buddhism and Asian American religions in significant and much needed ways” (Sharon Suh). His recent book Anti-Asian Racism (Orbis, 2023) has been reviewed as “an exceptional book … on the genealogy and variants of anti-Asian racism in the U.S.” (Thomas Hampton) and “a must-read for all Americans” (Peter Phan). He is a co-editor on the Palgrave Macmillan series, “Asian Christianity in Diaspora” with Grace Ji-Sun Kim, with whom he co-authored a book on Theological Reflections on “Gangnam Style.” In recognition of his record of exceptional scholarship, the University in 2018 awarded him with the Sister Mary Ellen Murphy Faculty Scholarship Award.

He has been an invited speaker on anti-Asian racism, Catholic Social Teaching, and other topics to audiences at diverse educational levels across the country. He was part of Asian American Christian Collaborative delegates invited to a White House meeting to address central issues faced by Asian American communities.

HOST

REVEREND DANA TAKAGI (she/her) is a retired professor of Sociology and zen priest, practicing zen since 1998. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian American history at UC Santa Cruz, and she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies.

All Our Ancient Twisted Karma w/ Rev. Dana Takagi

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 03:00:00 -0800

This month on Opening Dharma Access, we continue to shift from our regular schedule to focus on the ongoing ICE occupation and state-supported destruction impacting the globe. Rev. Dana Takagi reflects on her personal experience of returning to some foundational practice tools during a time of grieving, and the necessity as practitioners to double down in times of intense hatred and anger. She also talks about chanting and acknowledging one's own ancient twisted karma, always being a work in progress, and how we should resist furthering hatred and violence in ourselves for even those who perpetuate hatred and violence.

Ideas for Practicing Dharma in the Midst of Fascism w/ Rev. Dana Takagi

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 06:00:00 -0800

This month on Opening Dharma Access, we continue to shift from our regular schedule to focus on the ongoing ICE agency violence. Rev. Dana Takagi speaks about the many ways to respond to fascism from a Dharma perspective, whether that be peaceful protest or staying educated on which systems can be used as shields for the vulnerable. Dana recommends some reading, watching and podcasts, to understand in detail how the current presidential administration is consistently acting as a fascist regime by disregarding legal and communal structures to create an atmosphere of terror. Stay tuned for a second episode from Dana on the third Tuesday of this month.

Here are links to references mentioned by Dana in the episode:

1. Letters from an American, Heather Cox Richardson https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/

2. Rachel Maddow, Burn Order: https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-presents-burn-order

3. Densho ( a digital storehouse of Asian American history). This is an interview with attorney Dale Minami who was one of several attorneys who participated in the Coram Nobis Case which set aside the convictions of Fred Korematsu, Gordon Hirabayashi, and Min Yasui (all of whom challenged different aspects of the constitutionality of the order to evacuate Japanese Americans in 1942). https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTk9cCAiECg/

4. Strict Scrutiny: https://crooked.com/podcast-series/strict-scrutiny/

5 Ways to Respond to the Cries of the World (aka Activism from Giving) with Rev. Liên Shutt

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 16:00:00 -0800

The 5 Ways of "a superior person's gift" are (as ordered in this talk): right time, respectfully, with a generous heart, without denigration, & out of faith.

Given the heart-breaking events in the US this week, ODA will present a series of offerings from both hosts, Rev. Liên Shutt & Rev. Dana Takagi.

This episode is from a talk at Access to Zen, Rev. Liên's sangha. Video of talk & other references can be found on the Dharma Talk page at AccessToZen.org

Rev. Dana's commentaries will drop in 1-week. We'll then offer more responses; formats TBD.

Feel free to reach out to us at Info.Access2Zen@gmail.com

Please take good care meanwhile!

Rev. Liên Shutt (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org. Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path. See all her offerings at EVENTS

Asian American Feminist Buddhist Rage, Trauma, and Self-Love: Reading Excerpt with Sharon Suh (Emergent Dharma)

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 06:00:00 -0800

A reading from Sharon's edited and author of Emergent Dharma (& go get the book!)

Sharon A. Suh is Professor of Buddhism and Associate Dean for Faculty Scholarship and Strategic Initiatives at Seattle University. She is author of Being Buddhist in a Christian World: Gender and Community in a Korean American Temple (University of Washington Press, 2004), Silver Screen Buddha: Buddhism in Asian and Western Film (Bloomsbury Press, 2015), Occupy This Body: A Buddhist Memoir (Sumeru Press, 2019), and editor/author of Emergent Dharma: Asian American Feminist Buddhist on Practice, Identity, and Resistance. She serves as president of Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women

www.mindfuleatingmethod.com; @mindfuleatingmethod

Being with the Body in the Body: Excerpt Reading with Syd Yang (Emergent Dharma)

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 09:00:00 -0800

Reading an excerpt from their chapter in Emergent Dharma. Enjoy (& go get the book!)

Rev. Syd Yang, MDiv (they/them), is a mixed race/Taiwanese American queer trans/non-
binary Buddhist Minister, movement chaplain, spiritual counselor and writer who engages decolonial possibilities for shared liberation through their practice, Blue Jaguar Healing Arts. Syd’s work and writing finds its resonance in the stories we each hold at the intersection of memory, body, sexuality and mental health. Syd works primarily with queer and trans BIPOC as well as regularly leads workshops and facilitates community based practice spaces for wellbeing + healing justice, body liberation and recovery.

www.bluejaguarhealingarts.com / IG @bodyliberationchaplain and @bluejaguarlove

A few recent publications: (article) https://www.lionsroar.com/how-i-reclaimed-my-body/, (book / memoir) Release: A Bulimia Story, (podcast guest) Mending with Gold / Kintsugi Therapist Collective, (chapter) Emergent Dharma, (chapter) Q + A: Voices from Queer Asian North America

Asian American Feminist Buddhists: Undefined! with Prof. Sharon Suh & Rev. Syd Yang

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 09:00:00 -0800

Join us for this embodied & inclusive-focused discussion! It'll leave you wanting more so go out and get Emergent Dharma: Asian American Feminist Buddhist on Practice, Identity, and Resistance!

Guests:
Sharon A. Suh is Professor of Buddhism and Associate Dean for Faculty Scholarship and Strategic Initiatives at Seattle University. She is author of Being Buddhist in a Christian World: Gender and Community in a Korean American Temple (University of Washington Press, 2004), Silver Screen Buddha: Buddhism in Asian and Western Film (Bloomsbury Press, 2015), Occupy This Body: A Buddhist Memoir (Sumeru Press, 2019), and editor/author of Emergent Dharma: Asian American Feminist Buddhist on Practice, Identity, and Resistance. She serves as president of Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women

Links to social media:
www.mindfuleatingmethod.com; @mindfuleatingmethod

www.bluejaguarhealingarts.com / IG @bodyliberationchaplain and @bluejaguarlove

HOST:

Rev. Liên Shutt (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org. Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path. See all her offerings at EVENTS

Rev. Dana Takagi Speaks on Eiheiji's First Teaching Nun, Yuko Yamada

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 06:00:00 -0800

Rev. Dana Takagi reflects on the significance of Abbot Yuko Yamada being the first woman teacher at the founding temple of Soto Zen, Eiheiji. Dana also highlights Yamada's teaching of the Denkōroku, a text written by the ancestor Keizan who emphasized making Buddhism accessible to the masses and not just monastic residential practitioners. Dana emphasizes Abbot Yamada's ongoing contributions to moving Buddhism forward into a more inclusive and accessible future, both in Japan and globally.

This is a supplementary episode to the full interview with Abbot Yamada. Listen first if you haven't already!

GUEST

YUKO WAKAYAMA YAMADA is the abbot of Shogakuji in Tokyo. She currently teaches at the International department of Eiheiji. She is the first nun to teach at Eiheiji, the head monastery of Soto Zen founded by Dogen Zenji. She trained at Aichi Senmon Niso-do, a training temple for female Soto Zen priests, where she also currently teaches. She was ordained in 1999 by the highly respected Rev. Shundo Aoyama-roshi. She was sent to Mt. Equity Zendo in United States for 2.5 years and has also practiced in Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain and Italy. After returning from Europe and finishing 2 more years at the Niso-do she studied at the graduate school of Komazawa University specializing in Chinese Zen History. Prior to becoming a Zen Buddhist nun, Yuko Yamada was a catholic nun in a convent for 3 years.

HOST

Reintroducing Contemplative Zen in Japan w/ Abbot Yuko Yamada

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 06:00:00 -0800

GUEST

HOST

Water Offering with Eunji Son

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 06:00:00 -0800

You are invited to listen in a quiet space with headphones (will be louder) or speakers (will be quieter) at a constant volume. 4 minutes 15 seconds.

Eunji Son is based in South Korea, evolving her relationship with ancestral land, and practicing as a photo collage and mixed media artist. She works behind the scenes at A2Z and ODA as a part-time assistant.

"How Am I Going to Serve My Purpose Today?" with Eunji Son

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 05:00:00 -0800

Find out a bit more about Eunji Son, Access to Zen's (A2Z) part-time admin and all-the-time SUPPORT for us all who practice or engage with any A2Z events or digital content. Hear how her own practice and spiritual journey has taken her far, wide -- and deep!

GUEST:

EUNJI SON is based in South Korea, evolving her relationship with ancestral land, and practicing as a photo collage and mixed media artist. She works behind the scenes at A2Z and ODA as a part-time assistant.

CONTACT: You know how to reach her! :) And, here it is for those who don't: Info.Access2Zen@gmail.com

HOST:

REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org. Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path. See all her offerings at EVENTS

Life Aching for Itself: Zazen & Working with Difficult Emotions

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 16:00:00 -0700

"Practice" part of convo between Siddhesh Mukerji & Rev. Liên.

GUEST:

SIDDHESH MUKERJI (he/him) is a Zen practitioner and a scholar of engaged Buddhism and Buddhist social work. He was born in India, grew up in the United States, and currently lives in Ireland.

HOST:

REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org. Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path. See all her offerings at EVENTS

Buddhism as Engaged & Political with Siddhesh Mukerji

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 06:00:00 -0700

Tune in to this soulful conversation between Siddhesh Mukerji and Rev. Liên on the intersections of Engaged Buddhism & Buddhist Social Work.

GUEST:

SIDDHESH MUKERJI (he/him) is a Zen practitioner and a scholar of engaged Buddhism and Buddhist social work. He was born in India, grew up in the United States, and currently lives in Ireland.

Siddhesh writes and does research on social work and engaged Buddhism.

HOST:

REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org. Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path. See all her offerings at EVENTS

Morning Chant, guided meditation, and Offering of Merit (Ékoku) w/ Judy Yushin Nakatomi

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 06:00:00 -0700

Judy Nakatomi shares meditative offerings: Morning Chant from the Plum Village Tradition, guided meditation, and an Offering of Merit from the Shin Tradition in Japanese (Ékoku). The recording of bird sounds was made by Judy at Plum Village.

Listen to her full interview with Rev. Liên to hear about Judy's experience with biculturality and the complexity and beauty of practicing Buddhism across traditions.

GUEST:

JUDY YUSHIN NAKATOMI (she/we) is a mother, partner, auntie, writer and community cultivator, nurturing BIPOC sangha. past work/life as tea ambassador/ importer, congressional field rep and hospice caregiver. Judy is an ordained dharma teacher in the Plum Village tradition, certified ministerial assistant, and descendant of ancestors incarcerated during war; dedicated to understanding the wisdom of intergenerational joy and sorrow.

Writing highlights:

https://littleawakenings.blogspot.com/

https://www.okaeri.org/okaeri-book

https://www.lionsroar.com/the-evolutionary-journey-of-mothering/

Connect with Judy:

IG: judy_yushin_nakatomi

Subtack: Judy Nakatomi

Belonging to Zen, Belonging to Shin: Two Traditions, One Engaged Heart w/ Judy Yushin Nakatomi

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 06:00:00 -0700

Judy Yushin Nakatomi talks about her practice in the Zen and Shin traditions. She also discusses how she is practicing with her Bodhisattva vows through engaging with the current internment of minority people, while practicing awareness of her own family's history with war wounds. Judy and Rev Liên share with each other some of the nuances of having or not having access to ancestral languages and culture, and how they navigate being Asian American Buddhist practitioners in the United States.

People/Organizations mentioned in the episode:

Dr. Satsuki Ina

Dr. Duncan Ryūken Williams

Bishop Marvin Harada

Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh

Tsuru for Solidarity

Vista Buddhist Temple

GUEST:

Writing highlights:

https://littleawakenings.blogspot.com/

https://www.okaeri.org/okaeri-book

https://www.lionsroar.com/the-evolutionary-journey-of-mothering/

Connect with Judy:

IG: judy_yushin_nakatomi

Subtack: Judy Nakatomi

HOST:

REV LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org. Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path. See all her offerings at EVENTS

How Thinking Drives Our Beliefs & Actions: with Rev. Liên

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 05:00:00 -0700

Buddhist teachings on how we have been conditioned to interpret raw data; which then drives us to behave. -- An excerpt from Rev. Liên's book, Home is Here, to accompany Professor Michael Omi's in-depth interview on racial formation this month.

REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org. Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path. See all her offerings at EVENTS

The Struggle to Construct Racial Meaning with Michael Omi

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 06:00:00 -0700

Professor Michael Omi joins Rev. Dana to help us contextualize the current climate of racial formation, namely the propagation of a far-right ideology of an oppressed white race, in a much longer history of constant changing in definitions of and associations with racial identities. In Buddhist terms, we can see the theory that Michael co-developed contains an essential Buddhist perspective, namely that of Mental Formations. Stay tuned later this month for a practice offering from Rev. Liên!

Michael Omi (he/him/his) is Professor Emeritus of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the co-author, with Howard Winant, of Racial Formation in the United States (Third Edition, 2015), a groundbreaking work that transformed how we understand the social and historical forces that give race its changing meaning over time and place. He is also the co-editor of Japanese American Millennials: Rethinking Generation, Community, and Diversity (2019). At Berkeley, he served from 2012-2016 as the Associate Director of the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society (HIFIS), and in 2020 he was the inaugural Chair of the Asian American Research Center (AARC). Professor Omi is a recipient of UC Berkeley’s prestigious Distinguished Teaching Award --- an honor bestowed on only 285 Berkeley faculty members since the award’s inception in 1959.

I Vow to Save All Beings: Insisting on My Own Humanity with Rev. Dana Takagi

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 06:00:00 -0700

This practice offering is from co-host Rev. Dana Takagi, in connection with Professor and Historian Alice Yang's interview, "Our Heritage of Othering and Resistance" which dropped July 1st.

Dana speaks to the need to address specific kinds of suffering as Buddhist teachers and practitioners, as not all suffering is the same. She reflects on the vow to save all beings, and how this stems from a grounded embodiment of our own humanity to understand the humanity of others who need our support the most in these times.

Your host

REVEREND DANA TAKAGI (she/her) is a retired professor of Sociology and zen priest, practicing zen since 1998. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian American history at UC Santa Cruz, and she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies.

Our Heritage of Othering and Resistance with Historian Alice Yang

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 06:00:00 -0700

Professor Alice Yang helps us put the systematic othering we are seeing in the U.S. today into historical context. She discusses the oppression and disappearance of people, and points out how protest movements are often erased from the history Asian American and other immigrant groups in the United States, when the truth is that we can embrace and continue a deep heritage of resistance. Alice emphasizes the urgency of knowing our history to expand what we think is possible in the present, and why it is important to resist the othering of any community member whether they are in our ethnic group or not.

Guest

ALICE YANG is Chair and Professor of History at UCSC. She is also a founding faculty member of the Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Department at UCSC. Her publications include What Does the Internment of Japanese Americans Mean? Historical Memories of the Japanese American Internment and the Struggle for Redress, and Major Problems in Asian American History. She co-directs the Center for the Study of Pacific War Memories and recently curated the exhibit Never Again is Now: Japanese American Women Activists and the Legacy of the Mass Incarceration.

Host

REVEREND DANA TAKAGI (she/her) is a retired professor of Sociology and zen priest, practicing zen since 1998. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian American history at UC Santa Cruz, and she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies.

"10 Vows" with Rebecca Nie

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 06:00:00 -0700

We hope you enjoy this dharma talk from Rebecca Nie, "10 Vows".

GUEST BIO:

ZEN MASTER REBECCA DAWN NIE is the founder of MV Sanctuary and Vice President of the Maitreya Association for Buddhist College Chaplains. As Stanford’s Chaplain-Affiliate, she oversees the Buddhist religious and spiritual life for students, faculty, and staff. Her offerings ranges from Continental Zen to Buddhist Yoga, offering healing wisdom for contemporary life through dharma teaching, translation, and new media art.

Learn more about Rebecca at

http://mvseon.com/

Highlighted Works

Yin Mountain: The Immortal Poetry by Three Daoist Women (2022, Shambhala).

Heart Sutra: A Network Audio Technology-Assisted Visual Music Composition

Big Heart Resilience with Rebecca Nie

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 06:00:00 -0700

Rebecca Nie talks about the common misconception that China is an ethnic monolith, and how she identifies with her Huaren heritage. Although her spiritual path was discouraged in her early life, she discusses being connected to a centuries old heritage of a resilient Dharma that allows us to dream without limitations even through turbulent times.

Rebecca also mentions a book-in-progress which will be a translation of Chan Zen Master poems responding to turbulent historical moments, pointing out how there is much more to Zen poetry than peaceful monks in serene mountains.

GUEST BIO:

Learn more about Rebecca at

http://mvseon.com/

Highlighted Works

Yin Mountain: The Immortal Poetry by Three Daoist Women (2022, Shambhala).

Heart Sutra: A Network Audio Technology-Assisted Visual Music Composition

HOST

Heart Sutra Fragment 3: Introduction & Reading by Mushim Ikeda

Tue, 20 May 2025 06:00:00 -0700

Mushim Patricia Ikeda is an internationally-known secular mindfulness and Buddhist teacher working primarily with justice activists and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) meditation practitioners and with people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. A core teacher at East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, California, she is an author whose writing has been published in Lion's Roar, Tricycle, Buddhadharma and various anthologies. Mushim was selected by Lion's Roar Buddhist media magazine as one of twenty-six "Great Buddhist Teachers" in the January 2022 issue.

Connect with Mushim at:

Website: www.mushimikeda.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/mushim.ikeda

Bluesky: mushimikeda

X / Twitter: @MushimCA1

Instagram: mushimikeda

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mushim-patricia-ikeda-5307279/

Grow Up in the Dharma with Mushim Patricia Ikeda

Tue, 06 May 2025 06:00:00 -0700

Secular & Buddhist teacher Mushim Patricia Ikeda in convo with Rev. Liên on how mature practice can help us deal with the current conditions of our world.

GUEST

Connect with Mushim at:

Website: www.mushimikeda.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/mushim.ikeda

Bluesky: mushimikeda

X / Twitter: @MushimCA1

Instagram: mushimikeda

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mushim-patricia-ikeda-5307279/

HOST:
REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org. Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path. See all her offerings at EVENTS

June Tanoue Reads "Dwell Nowhere and Browse That"

Tue, 15 Apr 2025 06:00:00 -0700

June Kaililani Tanoue, Kumu Hula, reads her blog post, "Dwell Nowhere and Browse That." Listen as she reflects on a conversation with her husband Roshi Robert Joshin Althouse. Together they are cofounders of Zen Life & Meditation Center of Chicago. You can find the written piece on the Halau i Ka Pono website.

About June

June Ryushin Tanoue, B.S., MPH is co-founder of Zen Life & Meditation Center. Practicing Zen since 1993, she received Transmission in 2014 as a fully empowered Zen Teacher/ Zen Buddhist Priest and Inka as a Roshi in 2022.
June is a Kumu Hula and founded Halau I Ka Pono, the Hula School of Chicago in 2009.

Read June's piece, "The Hula Sutra" at Lion's Roar.

zlmc.org

halauikapono.org

Halau I Ka Pono Facebook

Instagram: @JuneTanoue

June's blog posts: https://halauikapono.org/news

Hula As Resistance w/ June Tanoue

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 06:00:00 -0700

June Kaililani Tanoue, Kumu Hula, talks about how to practice observing our thoughts rather than holding onto them, whether times are easy or tough. Hear about how June started Halau I Ka Pono as an offshoot of the Zen Life & Meditation Center after she moved to Chicago, and how Hula is the dance of being a pillar in one's community.

About June

Read June's piece, "The Hula Sutra" at Lion's Roar.

zlmc.org

halauikapono.org

Halau I Ka Pono Facebook

Instagram: @JuneTanoue

June's blog posts: https://halauikapono.org/news

Season 4 Premiere: Engaged Asian American/Asian Diaspora Buddhism for Our Times

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 06:00:00 -0700

In the season 4 premiere, Rev. Liên Shutt and Rev. Dana Takagi discuss the need to continue to forward Asian American and Asian Diaspora Buddhist voices in these tumultuous times.

Thank you to everyone who has listened so far, and continue to tune in!

It's not too late to take our listener survey! Respond by March 21st and get access to an exclusive meditation recording by Rev. Liên: "Tenderhearted Buddhas for these Times".

Season 3 Compilation - A Beautiful Web of Asian Heritage Buddhists

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 06:00:00 -0800

On season 3, we co-created and witnessed an amazing example of how the Net of Indra weaves and connects. We heard from 13 Buddhist practitioners and teachers of Asian American or Asian Diaspora heritage, and in their own words, spoke to what the AA/AD Buddhist experience is for them.

Season 3 is officially a wrap! Thank you to everyone who listened with us, and we hope you join us for more Asian American/Asian Diaspora forwarding conversations and offerings in season 4.

Full list of guests, and their featured episodes, in order:

Co-hosts Rev. Liên Shutt and Rev. Dana Takagi - Forwarding Asian American & Asian Diasporic Buddhist Experiences with Rev. Liên Shutt & Rev. Dana Takagi

Chenxing Han - Reflections with the 2024 May We Gather Co-Organizers

Mihiri Tillakaratne - Bodhi Leaves: The Asian American Buddhist Monthly Co-Associate Editors

Rev. Jean Paul (JP) de Guzman - O'kagesama-de (All thanks are due to you...)

Paula Arai - There is No Buddhism Without Women

Sharon Suh - Silence is Not the Way

Funie Hsu - Reflections with the 2024 May We Gather Co-Organizers

Bo Hee Moon - Meeting with My Asian Sangha Tonight

Ryan Lee Wong - Zen Practice As Community Building

Ram Appalaraju - Eco-Dharma Care

Yenkuei Chuang - Insight Dialogue & Further Relationality

Rev. Duncan Ryūken Williams - Reflections with the 2024 May We Gather Co-Organizers

Lisa Nakamura - Platforms for Zazen: The Cushion to the Computer

Noel Alumit - Bodhi Leaves: The Asian American Buddhist Monthly Co-Associate Editors

Breath, Perfect Harmony, and a History More Beautiful and More Terrible w/ Rev. Dana Takagi

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 06:00:00 -0800

Rev Dana follows up on her dharma talk from the last episode dropped on February 18th. She adds to her perspective on the current historical conditions of our time in the United States, talks about breath practice, and offers a chant she's used often for the dying, from Thich Nhat Hanh.

Check out the 2011 book Dana discusses in this episode:

More Beautiful and More Terrible: The Embrace and Transcendence of of Racial Inequality in the United States by Professor Imani Perry Ph.D, JD

Widening Our View and The Challenge of Seeing Perfection w/ Rev. Dana Takagi

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 04:00:00 -0800

Hello, listeners of Opening Dharma Access, for February, we're doing things a little bit different by offering you some meditations and Dharma talks on current conditions as 2025 brings to the United States a whole bunch of difficult circumstances: the L.A. fires; the current administration.

This dharma talk is from co-host Rev. Dana Takagi. Dana speaks on what wisdom could look like in times like these, and how to expand our vision as well as awareness about our current national systems work, and the history of how they were built over time, as they are being dismantled.

May it be for the benefit of all beings.

Meditation on Safety with Rev. Liên Shutt

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 06:00:00 -0800

Meditation to find stability in the midst of current threats in our world: nationally, world-wide, and with climate justice. -- Given at EBMC BIPOC Sangha

REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org. Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Pathis being used for one of it's original purposes! Join us in takingThe Dharma of Being Antiracist: Accessing Skillful Engagement for Healing (for all racial locations) Feb. 17-May 12, 2025.See all her offerings at EVENTS

Talk: Healing in Time & Space with Rev. Liên Shutt

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 06:00:00 -0800

NOTE: This talk was given at a BIPOC group, addressing specific fears & issues of people of color in extremely challenging U.S. political and social justice contexts.

May it be for the benefit of all beings.

REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org. Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Pathis being used for one of it's original purposes! Join us in takingThe Dharma of Being Antiracist: Accessing Skillful Engagement for Healing (for all racial locations) Feb. 17-May 12, 2025.See all her offerings at EVENTS

Meditating on Trees with Ram Appalaraju

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 06:00:00 -0800

RAM APPALARAJU was brought up as a Hindu and has been on a spiritual path since 90's, first studying Vedanta and pursuing Buddhism since 2012. After years of practice he chose to pursue a path of service and became a chaplain focused on Ecology as well as supporting marginalized people in prisons and homeless shelters. He is now on the faculty at Sati Center for Buddhist Studies' Eco Chaplaincy program. He also serves as a board member and an advisor at several nonprofits focused on climate education and offers various services to marginalized communities.

Connect with Ram on X/Twitter: @Mindful_Ram

Inauguration Healing Space with Rev. Liên Shutt

Mon, 20 Jan 2025 12:00:00 -0800

As today marks a disturbing time for many of us, I offered a Healing Space today at the same time as the swearing in. It was informal and my aim was to offering 3 aspects of healing: Acknowledging what is with tools we've learned from Buddhism and practice. Second, to attend to the impacts of hurt and harm in ourselves & with each other. Third, committing to enacting qualities and ways we can stay connected and thrive in the net of life which includes us all.

Host:
REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org. Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path. See all her offerings at EVENTS

Eco-Dharma Care with Ram Appalaraju

Tue, 07 Jan 2025 08:00:00 -0800

What does "caring" really mean? Listen in on this fascinating conversation on Nature, Dharma & Caring for self and the Earth between Ram Appalaraju and Host Rev. Liên Shutt.

RAM APPALARAJU was brought up as a Hindu and has been on a spiritual path since the 90's, first studying Vedanta and pursuing Buddhism since 2012. After years of practice he chose to pursue a path of service and became a chaplain focused on Ecology as well as supporting marginalized people in prisons and homeless shelters. He is now one on the faculty of Sati Center for Buddhist Studies's Eco Chaplaincy program. He also serves as a board member and an advisor at several nonprofits focused on climate education and offers various services to marginalized communities.

Connect with Ram on X/Twitter: @Mindful_Ram

Host:
REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org. Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path. See all her offerings at EVENTS

"Learning From the 60s" - Lisa Nakamura Reads Audre Lorde

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 06:00:00 -0800

When considering what to offer for her ODA practice, Lisa considered chanting or reading from a more traditional Buddhist text such as the Heart Sutra. She found, instead, that reading the words of Audre Lorde resonated more deeply in her body at this time. And co-host Dana Takagi offers some context on Lorde from Lisa before she reads.

Please enjoy, Lisa Nakamura reading an excerpt from "Learning from the 60s", a talk given by Audre Lorde as part of the February 1982 celebration of Malcolm X Weekend at Harvard University.

LISA NAKAMURA (she/her) is the Gwendolyn Calvert Baker Collegiate Professor of American Culture and Digital Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is also a core faculty member of the Asian American Studies Program, the Film, Television and Media department, and the English department at Michigan.

Lisa is the author of four books on racism, sexism, and the Internet and her book “The Inattention Economy: Women of Color and the Internet” is forthcoming in Fall 2025 from University of Minnesota Press. She has published research on Asian stereotypes in massively multiplayer online games, the connections between virtual reality, empathy, and racial and disability justice, the overlooked role of indigenous women in postwar electronics manufacture, and on cross-racial and cross-gender role play in anonymous digital environments like chatrooms and games.

lisanakamura.net

Platforms for Zazen: The Cushion to the Computer w/ Lisa Nakamura

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 06:00:00 -0800

LISA NAKAMURA (she/her) is the Gwendolyn Calvert Baker Collegiate Professor of American Culture and Digital Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is also a core faculty member of the Asian American Studies Program, the Film, Television and Media department, and the English department at Michigan.

Lisa is the author of four books on racism, sexism, and the Internet and her book “The Inattention Economy: Women of Color and the Internet” is forthcoming in Fall 2025 from University of Minnesota Press. She has published research on Asian stereotypes in massively multiplayer online games, the connections between virtual reality, empathy, and racial and disability justice, the overlooked role of indigenous women in postwar electronics manufacture, and on cross-racial and cross-gender role play in anonymous digital environments like chatrooms and games.

lisanakamura.net

"The Practice of Staying" with Yenkuei Chuang

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 06:00:00 -0800

YENKUEI CHUANG was born a Taiwanese girl before she became an American woman. As a licensed psychologist, somatics and mindfulness teacher, she is passionate about helping people heal and find freedom, belonging, and power in the richness of their intersectional identities. Yenkuei loves to eat, cook, dance, do nothing and everything.

IG handle: yenkueichuang

Publications:
Erased No More (Lion's Roar), On Decolonizing My Mind (Blog), Yesterday I Died (Mindfulness), Dukkha of Racism (Arrow Magazine), Development of Bicultural Competence (Stanford Ph.D. dissertation), Politics of Biculturalism (Contemporary Psychology), and upcoming memoir Blood, Sweat, and Dharma

Insight Dialogue & Further Relationality with Yenkuei Chuang

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 06:00:00 -0800

Yenkeui Chuang & Rev. Liên dialogue on some "edges" of "Diasporic Asian Americans," overseas Asian practices, and then Insight Dialogue. Yenkeui shares fascinating details of the interconnections from all the different traditions she's practiced in. Come listen!

YENKUEI CHUANG was born a Taiwanese girl before she became an American woman. As a licensed psychologist, somatics and mindfulness teacher, she is passionate about helping people heal and find freedom, belonging, and power in the richness of their intersectional identities. Yenkuei loves to eat, cook, dance, do nothing and everything.

IG handle: yenkueichuang
Mentioned in podcast: insightdialogue.org

Publications:
Erased No More (Lion's Roar), On Decolonizing My Mind (Blog), Yesterday I Died (Mindfulness), Dukkha of Racism (Arrow Magazine), Development of Bicultural Competence (Stanford Ph.D. dissertation), Politics of Biculturalism (Contemporary Psychology), and upcoming memoir Blood, Sweat, and Dharma

Host:
REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org. Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path. See all her offerings at EVENTS

Part 2 with Dr. Paula Arai "There is no Buddhism without Women" (& forthcoming book!)

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 06:00:00 -0700

In a continuation of the previous episode conversation with Dr. Paula Arai, Paula shares an in-depth overview of her current "embodied" research on the often unacknowledged contributions to Buddhism that are at the foundation of its continuation throughout history, in part because of the perceived simplicity of these acts of generosity and practice.

PAULA ARAI (she/her) (Ph.D., Buddhist Studies, Harvard University) holds the Eshinni & Kakushinni Chair of Women and Buddhist Studies at the Institute of Buddhist Studies. Steeped in ethnographic research, she takes an embodied approach to her work and finds poetic immersive storytelling a potent medium for conveying experiences of transformative healing.

Her publications include:

Women Living Zen (Oxford University Press)
Bringing Zen Home (University of Hawaii Press)
Painting Enlightenment: Healing Visions of the Heart Sutra (Shambhala Publications)
The Little Book of Zen Healing: Japanese Rituals for Beauty, Harmony, and Love (Shambhala Publications)

Explore her website to read some of Paula's poetry, stay up to date on appearances, and learn more about her.

Your host

REVEREND DANA TAKAGI (she/her) is a retired professor of Sociology and zen priest, practicing zen since 1998. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian American history at UC Santa Cruz, and she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies.

"There is no Buddhism without Women" with Dr. Paula Arai (Part 1)

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 06:00:00 -0700

Dr. Paula Arai talks with Dana about being brought up by her Japanese mother, and how she realized the way that she embodied Buddhism in her body and mind not through intellectual study or what Westerners view as formal practice, but through the simple actions and embodied guidance of her mother.

PAULA ARAI (she/her) (Ph.D., Buddhist Studies, Harvard University) holds the Eshinni & Kakushinni Chair of Women and Buddhist Studies at the Institute of Buddhist Studies. Steeped in ethnographic research, she takes an embodied approach to her work and finds poetic immersive storytelling a potent medium for conveying experiences of transformative healing.

Her publications include:

Women Living Zen (Oxford University Press)
Bringing Zen Home (University of Hawaii Press)
Painting Enlightenment: Healing Visions of the Heart Sutra (Shambhala Publications)
The Little Book of Zen Healing: Japanese Rituals for Beauty, Harmony, and Love (Shambhala Publications)

Explore her website to read some of Paula's poetry, stay up to date on appearances, and learn more about her.

Your host

REVEREND DANA TAKAGI (she/her) is a retired professor of Sociology and zen priest, practicing zen since 1998. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian American history at UC Santa Cruz, and she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies.

Connection is Vital: A Re-Visit with Bo Hee Moon (+Finished version of poem!)

Tue, 17 Sep 2024 06:00:00 -0700

Rev. Liên Shutt and Bo Hee Moon continue their conversation on Asian American diasporic identity, and Bo Hee reads the finished version of her poem "Meeting with my Asian Sangha Tonight."

Read the poem here!

Guest:
BO HEE MOON was adopted at three-months-old from South Korea. Her poems have appeared in AGNI, Poetry, swamp pink, and others. Omma, Sea of Joy and Other Astrological Signs, published by Tinderbox Editions, is her debut collection of poems. She previously published under a different name.

Read Bo Hee's
Order her POETRY Book, Omma, Sea of Joy and Other Astrological Signs, at BoHeeMoon.com
Other writings also at:
Afterlives: An AGNI Portfolio of Asian Adoptee Diaspora Writing

"Meeting with my Asian Sangha Tonight" with Poet Bo Hee Moon

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 06:00:00 -0700

Listen in to hear how Bo Hee Moon was inspired by practice in the 3-month course "Lotus Rising from Mud: A Path for Anti-Asian American Restoration.

Guest:
BO HEE MOON was adopted at three-months-old from South Korea. Her poems have appeared in AGNI, Poetry, swamp pink, and others. Omma, Sea of Joy and Other Astrological Signs, published by Tinderbox Editions, is her debut collection of poems. She previously published under a different name.

Connect with Bo at:
BoHeeMoon.com
Afterlives: An AGNI Portfolio of Asian Adoptee Diaspora Writing

Host:
REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org. Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path. See all her offerings at EVENTS

Meeting the Mentor with Ryan Lee Wong

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 06:00:00 -0700

Guest

Ryan Lee Wong is author of the novel Which Side Are You On, a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel. He lived for two years at Ancestral Heart Temple and is the Administrative Director of Brooklyn Zen Center.

Some of Ryan's publications include:

Which Side Are You On, his novel published in 2023.
Every Past Life All At Once, a critical essay on the films Past Lives and Everything Everywhere All At Once on The AMP.
The Buddha on TV: Nam June Paik's fraught relationship to Buddhism, on PBS: American Masters

Check out his website to read more and stay updated.

IG: @ryanlwong

Zen Practice As Community Building with Ryan Lee Wong

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 06:00:00 -0700

Which Side Are You On, his novel published in 2023.
Every Past Life All At Once, a critical essay on the films Past Lives and Everything Everywhere All At Once on The AMP.
The Buddha on TV: Nam June Paik's fraught relationship to Buddhism, on PBS: American Masters

Check out his website to read more and stay updated.

IG: @ryanlwong

Your Host

REVEREND DANA TAKAGI (she/her) is a retired professor of Sociology and zen priest, practicing zen since 1998. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian American history at UC Santa Cruz, and she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies.

"Compassionate Touch Meditation" with Sharon Suh

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 06:00:00 -0700

Enjoy this short guided meditation from Sharon Suh, called, "Compassionate Touch Meditation."

Guest:
SHARON SUH is professor of Buddhism at Seattle University and author of Being Buddhist in a Christian World: Gender and Community (2004); Silver Screen Buddha: Buddhism in Asian and Western Film (2015); and Occupy This Body: A Buddhist Memoir (2019). She focuses on racialized trauma experienced by people of color and emphasizes the importance of embodiment. She's also President of Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women. Her upcoming book, Emergent Dharma: An Anthology of Asian American Feminist Buddhist Women scheduled for Fall 2025.

Links to social media:
www.mindfuleatingmethod.com; @mindfuleatingmethod

In addition to books mentioned in bio:
•. “Western Buddhism and Race,” co-authored with Joseph Cheah, Oxford Research Encyclopedia (Oxford University Press, May 2022).
• “Jeong as the Expression of the Interrelationality of Self and Other in Korean Buddhist Cinema” in Edward Y. J. Chung and Jea Sophia Oh, eds. Emotions in Korean Philosophy and Religion: Confucian, Comparative and Contemporary Perspectives.” (Palgrave, 2022).
• “Taking Refuge in the Body to Know the Self Anew: Buddhism, Race, and Embodiment,” Embodying Knowledge: Asian and Asian American Women’s Contributions to Theology and Religious Studies, ed. by Kwok Pui Lan (Palgrave MacMillan).
• “We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programming to Bring You This Very Important Public Service Announcement . . .”: aka Buddhism as Usual in the Academy,” in Emily McCrae and George Yancy, eds., Buddhism and Whiteness: Critical Reflections (Rowman & Littlefield).
•Suh. Sharon., “Buddhist Meditation as Strategic Embodiment: An Optative Reflection” in Flashpoints for Asian American Studies, ed. by Cathy Vials-Schlund. (Fordham University Press, 2017).
•Suh, Sharon. A., “Buddhism and Gender” in Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism, ed. by Michael Jerryson. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016):635-649.
•Suh, Sharon A., “Buddhism, Rhetoric, and the Korean American Community: The Adjustment of Korean American Buddhists to the United States” in Richard Alba, Albert J. Raboteau, and Josh DeWing, eds., Immigration in America: Comparative Historical Perspectives. (New York: New York University Press, 2009):166-190.

"Silence is Not the Way" with Professor Sharon Suh

Tue, 02 Jul 2024 06:00:00 -0700

A layered and engaging discussion with Prof. Sharon Suh on what "Asian American Buddhism can be defined as; including the refusal to be silenced.

Guest:
SHARON SUH is professor of Buddhism at Seattle University and author of Being Buddhist in a Christian World: Gender and Community (2004); Silver Screen Buddha: Buddhism in Asian and Western Film (2015); and Occupy This Body: A Buddhist Memoir (2019). She focuses on racialized trauma experienced by people of color and emphasizes the importance of embodiment. She's also President of Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women. Her upcoming book, Emergent Dharma: An Anthology of Asian American Feminist Buddhist Women scheduled for Fall 2025.

Links to social media:
www.mindfuleatingmethod.com; @mindfuleatingmethod

In addition to books mentioned in bio:
•. “Western Buddhism and Race,” co-authored with Joseph Cheah, Oxford Research Encyclopedia (Oxford University Press, May 2022).
• “Jeong as the Expression of the Interrelationality of Self and Other in Korean Buddhist Cinema” in Edward Y. J. Chung and Jea Sophia Oh, eds. Emotions in Korean Philosophy and Religion: Confucian, Comparative and Contemporary Perspectives.” (Palgrave, 2022).
• “Taking Refuge in the Body to Know the Self Anew: Buddhism, Race, and Embodiment,” Embodying Knowledge: Asian and Asian American Women’s Contributions to Theology and Religious Studies, ed. by Kwok Pui Lan (Palgrave MacMillan).
• “We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programming to Bring You This Very Important Public Service Announcement . . .”: aka Buddhism as Usual in the Academy,” in Emily McCrae and George Yancy, eds., Buddhism and Whiteness: Critical Reflections (Rowman & Littlefield).
•Suh. Sharon., “Buddhist Meditation as Strategic Embodiment: An Optative Reflection” in Flashpoints for Asian American Studies, ed. by Cathy Vials-Schlund. (Fordham University Press, 2017).
•Suh, Sharon. A., “Buddhism and Gender” in Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism, ed. by Michael Jerryson. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016):635-649.
•Suh, Sharon A., “Buddhism, Rhetoric, and the Korean American Community: The Adjustment of Korean American Buddhists to the United States” in Richard Alba, Albert J. Raboteau, and Josh DeWing, eds., Immigration in America: Comparative Historical Perspectives. (New York: New York University Press, 2009):166-190.

Host:
REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org. Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path. See all her offerings at EVENTS

What Happens When We Don't Get What We Want? with JP deGuzman

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 06:00:00 -0700

Enjoy this short dharma talk from Reverend Jean Paul Contreras deGuzman.

GUEST

REV. DR. JP DEGUZMAN (he/him) is minister’s assistant at the 103-year-old San Fernando Valley Hongwanji Buddhist Temple and received tokudo ordination at Nishi Hongwanji in Kyoto, Japan in 2023. He teaches history and Ethnic Studies at Windward School and UCLA where he earned the University Distinguished Teaching Award.

His publications include:

Lions Roar: "The Pure Land is in the West"
Everyday Buddhist: "The Dharma of a Turkey Sandwich"
Wheel of Dharma: "Mindful Action in Mindless TImes: A Buddhist Response to Injustice"
Young Buddhist Editorial: "Gratitude For My Mom"

Explore his website to learn more about his academic publications as well.

O'kagesama-de (All thanks are due to you...) with Reverend Jean Paul Contreras deGuzman

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 06:00:00 -0700

Rev. Dr. Jean-Paul Contreras deGuzman talks about how he came to Jodo Shinshu Pureland Buddhist practice coming from a Catholic family and after moving forward from a traditional path as an academic. He and Dana Takagi have an enlivened discussion about the importance and power of cultural gatherings like Mochi-tsuki for sangha and the wider community, and the role of pop culture references in Rev JP's talks in the San Fernando Valley.

REV. DR. JP DEGUZMAN (he/him) is minister’s assistant at the 103-year-old San Fernando Valley Hongwanji Buddhist Temple and received tokudo ordination at Nishi Hongwanji in Kyoto, Japan in 2023. He teaches history and Ethnic Studies at Windward School and UCLA where he earned the University Distinguished Teaching Award.

His publications include:

Lions Roar: "The Pure Land is in the West"
Everyday Buddhist: "The Dharma of a Turkey Sandwich"
Wheel of Dharma: "Mindful Action in Mindless TImes: A Buddhist Response to Injustice"
Young Buddhist Editorial: "Gratitude For My Mom"

Explore his website to learn more about his academic publications as well.

Your Host

REVEREND DANA TAKAGI (she/her) is a retired professor of Sociology and zen priest, practicing zen since 1998. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian American history at UC Santa Cruz, and she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies.

Meditating on the Dharma Joy and Disquiet of Asian American and Identity

Tue, 28 May 2024 08:00:00 -0700

Dana provides us with some reflections and meditations on this season of ODA so far, inspired by some of the discussion around Asian joy in the last episode with Mihiri Tillakaratne and Noel Alumit. She talks about Asian American versus Asian Diaspora being claimed by some of our conversation partners on the podcast. Dana also talks about a colleague Gary Okihiro, who passed away on May 20th, and his deep impact on expanding the field of Asian American studies to go beyond solely the history of oppressed minorities.

Co-Host: Reverend Dana Takagi
Dana (she/her) is a retired professor of Sociology and also a zen priest. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian Am history at UC Santa Cruz, she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies. Zen practice since 1998.

Check out more of Dana's work:
2022: Sutra and Bible: an Interview with Duncan Ryūken Williams
2020: Most Intimate, Ordinary Way, Recollections of Katherine Thanas (co-eds. with Eugene Bush; 2nd printing 2022)

Bodhi Leaves: The Asian American Buddhist Monthly Co-Associate Editors Mihiri Tillakaratne and Noel Alumit

Tue, 21 May 2024 06:00:00 -0700

In this rich and joyful conversation, Rev. Liên and Rev. Dana talk with Mihiri Tillakaratne and Noel Alumit, the co-founders and co-associate editors of Bodhi Leaves: The Asian American Buddhist Monthly at Lion's Roar. Bodhi Leaves is the first published series of its kind, highlighting and focusing on the experiences and perspectives of Asian American Buddhist practitioners. We learn about Mihiri and Noel's views on their own identities and spiritual backgrounds, as well as about how Bodhi Leaves got started and visions for its future.

MIHIRI TILLAKARATNE (she/her) is an associate editor at Lion’s Roar focusing on Asian American Buddhist experiences. She has a PhD in Ethnic Studies and Gender, Women, and Sexuality (UC Berkeley) and a M.A. in Asian American Studies (UCLA). She studied Pali and Sinhala Buddhist nationalism in post-independence Sri Lanka at Harvard. Her publications include a documentary on Sri Lankan American Buddhist identity, I Take Refuge, a study published at UC Berkeley: Feelin' Diasporic: Embodied Memory in Sri Lankan America, and an article with South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, Spilling the Tea: Aunty Discipline and Queer Diasporic Child in D'Lo's To T, or Not To T?

NOEL ALUMIT (he/him) is an Associate Editor at Lion’s Roar, actor and bestselling author. He has a Master of Divinity in Buddhist Chaplaincy from the University of the West, where he is also an Adjunct Professor. He facilitates meditation workshops for LA Artcore and Meditation Coalition. His award-winning books include Talking to the Moon, Letters to Montgomery Clift and Music Heard in Hi-Fi.

Your Hosts

REVEREND DANA TAKAGI (she/her) is a retired professor of Sociology and zen priest, practicing zen since 1998. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian American history at UC Santa Cruz, and she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies.

REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. She is an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). Her new book is Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path.

Rev. Liên's 2024 May We Gather Dharma Message: Stewarding the Net of Indra

Tue, 14 May 2024 06:00:00 -0700

This is the audio of a recording of Rev. Liên's dharma message at May We Gather 2024: A National Buddhist Pilgrimage for Asian American Buddhists, in Antioch, California. You can also watch the video here.

Find out more about May We Gather. Listen to Rev's interview with the co-organizers, Funie Hsu, Chenxing Han and Duncan Ryūken Williams. Also check out the full event summary, either in audio or video form.

REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org.

Summary of May We Gather 2024: A National Buddhist Pilgrimage for Asian American Ancestors

Tue, 07 May 2024 06:00:00 -0700

This is the audio of a video of a summary of the events at May We Gather 2024: A National Buddhist Pilgrimage for Asian American Ancestors, Co-Coordinated by Funie Hsu, Chenxing Han, & Duncan Ryūken Williams.

Here is a list of the voices, chants, & Dharma Messages you'll hear: (Time-stamps are from the actual YouTube VIDEO Summary):
· 0:26- 0:56 O-Daiko drum roll led by Dr. Paula Arai (Institute of Buddhist Studies) and Kansho Bell ringing led by Rev. Harry Bridge (Buddhist Church of Oakland)

· 0:57-2:30 Emcee introduction, Funie Hsu/Chhi and Chenxing Han

· 2:31-2:57 Chanting of the Three Refuges by Ven. Phra Khru Manas Siriratanathammawithet, Ven. Phra Maha Saichon Santikaro, and Ven. Phra Khru Baidika Jungrak Khemacaro (Wat Mongkolratanaram)

· 2:58- 3:33 Recitation of the Hyobyakumon (Pronouncement of Intention) by Rev. Duncan Ryūken Williams (Zenshuji Soto Mission)

· 3:34-3:57 Dharma message by Arisika Razak of East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland

· 3:58-4:12 Chenxing- Introduction of Offerings+Chanting+Recitation of Memorial Tablets

· 4:13-5:07 Chanting of Heart Sutra, led by Ven. Dr. Longyun Shi (American Bodhi Sea Buddhist Association) and presentation of tablet for Yik Oi Huang by Sasanna Yee (Communities as One)

· 5:08-5:36 Dharma message by Jee Suthamwanthanee (Bay Area Thai Sangha)

· 5:37- 6:08 Dharma message by Rev. Liên Shutt (Access to Zen)

· 6:09-6:35 Prayer for Caste Equity by Thenmozhi Soundararajan (Equality Labs)

· 6:36-6:54 Chenxing-Introduction of Kintsugi Lotus Offering and Chant

· 6:55-7:11 Offering of Kintsugi Lotus by Ven. Hyongjeon and Ven. Hyokeun (Borisa Zen Center), accompanied by chant in Praise of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, led by Ven. Thich Tinh Nghia (Thien Tam Buddhist Temple)

· 7:12-7:38 Dharma message by Rev. Grace Song (Won Institute of Graduate Studies)

· 7:39-8:30 Dharma message by sujatha baliga (Gyuto Foundation)

· 8:31-9:15 Protection Chant, led by Ven. Khammai Sayakoummane (Wat Lao Saysettha of Santa Rosa)

· 9:16-9:43 Chanting and Taiko drumming by Diablo Taiko

· 9:44-9:53 Daoist conducted by Master E-Man and Sumo Liu

· 9:54-10:21 Chenxing- Introducing Antioch Mayor Pro Tem Monica Wilson and her reading of the city's 2021 apology

· 10:22-10:55 Mayor Monica Wilson reading the city's apology

· 10:56-11:10 Chenxing introducing flower offerings by the family of Angelo Quinto and Yik Oi Huang

· 11:11-11:33 Daoist ceremony conducted by Master E-Man and Sumo Liu

(Not able to be included in our practice as it didn't have voiced audio -- but will be in the MWG Summary video -- Khenpo Paljor Gyatso leading the draping of Tibetan blessing scarves, or khatas, at Antioch's town marker.)

Link to website of May We Gather 2024: A National Buddhist Pilgrimage for Asian American Ancestors

HOST

REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org.&nb

Reflections with the 2024 May We Gather Co-Organizers: Funie Hsu, Chenxing Han and Duncan Ryūken Williams

Wed, 01 May 2024 06:00:00 -0700

Funie Hsu, Chenxing Han, and Duncan Ryūken Williams are the co-organizers of May We Gather, a collaborative project of commemorative healing, by and for Asian American Buddhists and their spiritual friends. What began in 2022 as a response to the uptick in violence and hate towards Asian Americans, has continued into 2024, as a second iteration of May We Gather, this time in the form of ritual memorial, and also as a precious and much needed space for gathering and community. In this interview, the three co-organizers share their reflections on the 2024 event.

Watch the entire live stream recording of May We Gather 2024.

Learn more about May We Gather.

GUESTS:

FUNIE HSU (she/they) is an Associate Professor of American studies at San Jose State University whose transdisciplinary research interests are shaped by their background as a former public elementary school teacher and a Taiwanese American heritage Buddhist from a working class, multilingual family. Look for their upcoming article in the Review of Education, Pedagogy and Cultural Studies which examines contemporary challenges to mindfulness in US K-12 public schools within the framework of White Christian nationalism, particularly with the perpetuation of positioning Asians and Buddhism as heathen, immoral, and a threat to the US.

CHENXING HAN (she/her) is an author, educator, and speaker whose work explores the possibilities that emerge at the intersections of Buddhism, Asian America, spiritual care, and creative expression. She is the author of Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists and One Long Listening: A Memoir of Grief, Friendship, and Spiritual Care.

DUNCAN RYŪKEN WILLIAMS (he/him) was ordained as a Soto Zen Buddhist priest at Kotakuji Temple (Nagano, Japan) in 1993. He served as a Buddhist chaplain at Harvard University, where he received his Ph.D. in 2000. Currently, he serves as a priest at Zenshuji Soto Mission in Los Angeles and Professor of Religion at the University of Southern California. He is the author of American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Second World War and The Other Side of Zen: A Social History of Soto Zen Buddhism in Tokugawa Japan.

HOST

REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org. Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path. See all her offerings at EVENTS

Grief Practices with Rev. Dana Takagi

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 06:00:00 -0700

Rev. Dana shares some of the ways she practices with grief.

Mentioned in the episode:
World Central Kitchen (website)

Dai Hi Shin Dharani (Sutra of Great Compassion) (text)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjSzOHqYBK4 (video)
(read this blog post by Dana: https://danatakagizenlife.squarespace.com/blog)

Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo (Well-Being Chant) (Access to Zen text and audio)

NEW Co-Host: Reverend Dana Takagi
Dana (she/her) is a retired professor of Sociology and also a zen priest. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian Am history at UC Santa Cruz, she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies. Zen practice since 1998.

Check out more of Dana's work:
2022: Sutra and Bible: an Interview with Duncan Ryūken Williams
2020: Most Intimate, Ordinary Way, Recollections of Katherine Thanas (co-eds. with Eugene Bush; 2nd printing 2022)

Season 3 Premiere! The Disquiet & Forwarding Asian American & Asian Diasporic Buddhist Experiences with Rev. Liên Shutt & Rev. Dana Takagi

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 06:00:00 -0700

NEW Co-Host: Reverend Dana Takagi
Dana (she/her) is a retired professor of Sociology and also a zen priest. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian Am history at UC Santa Cruz, she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies. Zen practice since 1998.

Check out more of Dana's work:
2022: Sutra and Bible: an Interview with Duncan Ryūken Williams
2020: Most Intimate, Ordinary Way, Recollections of Katherine Thanas (co-eds. with Eugene Bush; 2nd printing 2022)
Mentioned in the episode, her 1993 book on affirmative action: "The Retreat from Race: Asian American Admissions and Racial Politics"

https://danatakagizenlife.squarespace.com/

This season, we will have a new focus: Uplifting and Forwarding Asian American/Asian Diasporic Buddhist Experiences in the West.

With our guests and audience, we will explore the specificities of Asian American/Asian Diasporic experiences. We take as given that there are generational differences (hence the historical moment matters!) and we hope to also delve into Asian family norms and values, our inchoate understanding of ancestor worship, issues of identity, representation, stereotypes about sexuality and sexual identity, and Asian American depression.

A theme we'll be using to help guide our conversations is The Disquiet - a term we are adapting from writer/poet Fernando Pessoa (The Book of Disquiet) - which in our view signals a complex recognition of self, mind, and body. The evidence for the foregoing includes scholarly research indexed in aggregate statistics on depression, youth suicide, and other issues in immigrant or first-generation families. While Asian Americans are not alone in experiencing trauma, the racial languages and discourses of othering are different for us than for other groups.

What do we hope is the outcome of this podcast? Our first aim is to give voice to the range and depth of Buddhism in Asian and Asian American generations. We hope that in doing so, we help to shine a light on the limited or myopic envisioning of race in primarily white sanghas. Asian and Asian American diasporic truths about practice are a teaching for contemporary dharma organizations and centers. We recognize the depth and range of Asian and Asian Diasporic Buddhists is a wisdom mirror for organized Buddhism in the West.

Co-Host: REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org. Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path. See all her offerings at EVENTS

info.access2zen@gmail.com

Resting Where You Are Meditation with Rev. Liên Shutt

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 06:00:00 -0700

Rest in this meditation with Rev. Liên, Creator, Producer, & Co-host of ODA, as we transition Seasons. Offered at her weekly Access to Zen Meditation Group. Join us!

REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a co-founder of Buddhists of Color (1998) and founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org. Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path. See all her offerings at EVENTS

Expanding The Dharma: ODA Season 2 Wrap-Up with All 4 Hosts

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 09:00:00 -0800

Listen to this really amazing discussion between the 4 hosts on themes and highlights from all our interviews in Season 2. Listening will "make" you want to go listen to all of our wonderful guest teachers again! Or, check out the ones you've missed!

9 bows of love and appreciation for all the Hosts of Season 2!
1. LAMA KARMA YESHE CHÖDRÖN is a scholar, teacher, and translator of Tibetan Buddhism at Rigpe Dorje Institute at Pullahari Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal and co-founder of Prajna Fire. In addition to Opening Dharma Access, Lama Yeshe co-hosts Prajna Sparks, a podcast for listening to, contemplating, and meditating on the Buddhadharma. Check out Lama Yeshe's articles published in Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Guide, Lion's Roar Magazine, and Tricyle Magazine. Join the Prajna Fire global community and follow Lama Yeshe on Instagram @karmayeshechodron.
2. SISTER PEACE spent five years in government work before realizing that something was missing. Feeling spiritually bereft, she began practicing at the Washington Mindfulness Community where she encountered the teachings of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Compelled by his teachings, she relocated in 2006 to the Plum Village Monastery in France to deepen her mindfulness practice and where she was ordained a Buddhist nun in 2008, and received the Dharma Lamp Transmission in 2017. Sister Peace currently resides in Memphis, TN, where she practices Engaged Buddhism. Sister Peace's writing with Parallax Press.
3. DALILA BOTHWELL (she/her) is a Dharma practitioner in the Insight Meditation/Theravada Buddhist tradition and a graduate of Spirit Rock's Community Dharma Leader Program. She served as Deputy Director of New York Insight Meditation Center for nearly a decade where she learned the priceless value of sangha and the role relationships play in embodying the teachings and in creating kinder human beings. With a formal education in food and nutrition, her practice meets at the intersection of physical and emotional wellbeing while being Black and queer and her love of recovery, nature, community, and justice. A native of the Southwest, Dalila currently lives in Papago / Tohono O'odham territory in Arizona with her handsome pup, Brisco. www.dalilabothwell.com / IG: @moonearthlove
4. REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a co-founder of Buddhists of Color (1998) and founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org. Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path. See all her offerings at EVENTS

The Middle Seat, guided meditation with Solwazi Johnson

Tue, 20 Feb 2024 06:00:00 -0800

A 30 minute guided meditation led by Solwazi Johnson at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. It was part of a larger talk he gave called "The Middle Seat." This recording is from DharmaSeed.org. Listen to our latest conversation with Solwazi "What's Values Got to Do With It?" to hear more.

GUEST

Solwazi Johnson (he/him) teaches mindfulness meditation classes and leads mindfulness meditation retreats and workshops throughout the U.S. and the world. He has practiced mindfulness meditation for over 25 years, focusing on Vipassana since 2003. In addition, he has studied and practiced meditation in many places, including Thailand, Burma, India, and South Africa. He is a graduate of Spirit Rock's Community Dharma Leaders' Training and Spirit Rock's four-year Retreat Teacher Training. In addition, for over five years, he served as the guiding volunteer teacher for the Prison Buddhist Ministry/Mindfulness Meditation Program in a Federal Prison located in Englewood, CO. He is currently with the Mindfulness Mentor Teacher Certification Program.

"What's Values Got to Do With It?" asks Solwazi Johnson

Thu, 01 Feb 2024 17:00:00 -0800

Solwazi Johnson has a laughter-filled conversation with Dalila Bothwell about his many life experiences before finding the Dharma, and how he believes the Dharma is for every person interested in freedom.

GUEST

Solwazi Johnson (he/him) teaches mindfulness meditation classes and leads mindfulness meditation retreats and workshops throughout the U.S. and the world. He has practiced mindfulness meditation for over 25 years, focusing on Vipassana since 2003. In addition, he has studied and practiced meditation in many places, including Thailand, Burma, India, and South Africa. He is a graduate of Spirit Rock's Community Dharma Leaders' Training and Spirit Rock's four-year Retreat Teacher Training. In addition, for over five years, he served as the guiding volunteer teacher for the Prison Buddhist Ministry/Mindfulness Meditation Program in a Federal Prison located in Englewood, CO. He is currently with the Mindfulness Mentor Teacher Certification Program.

HOST

Dalila Bothwell (she/her) is a Dharma practitioner in the Insight Meditation/Theravada Buddhist tradition and a graduate of Spirit Rock's Community Dharma Leader Program. She served as Deputy Director of New York Insight Meditation Center for nearly a decade where she learned the priceless value of sangha and the role relationships play in embodying the teachings and in creating kinder human beings. With a formal education in food and nutrition, her practice meets at the intersection of physical and emotional wellbeing while being Black and queer and her love of recovery, nature, community, and justice. A native of the Southwest, Dalila currently lives in Papago / Tohono O'odham territory in Arizona with her handsome pup, Brisco.

To connect with Dalila in other ways:
www.dalilabothwell.com
IG: @moonearthlove

An Opportunity for Practice Has Arrived

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 06:00:00 -0800

A Dharma Talk by Grace Song. Perfect for the beginning of 2024!

GUEST:
Grace Song is an ordained Won Buddhist Kyomunim, meditation teacher, and advocate of interfaith dialogue. She serves as the Chair of the Won Buddhist Studies Department at the Won Institute of Graduate Studies. She has traveled to many countries to present and lead workshops and retreats on interfaith dialogue, social justice, mindfulness in education, and spiritual practice in daily life. She is committed to embodying the truth of interconnection and invests her time putting into practice her belief that renewing society starts with renewing our inner lives.

Social Media with Grace:
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/3/369
https://tricycle.org/article/timeless-son/
https://tricycle.org/article/mindful-journaling/

Connect with her at:https://www.gracesangjinsong.com

Dharma Stories for Visibility with Grace Song

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 06:00:00 -0800

An engaging conversation with Grace about creating space for self, community, & collective inclusion for 21st Century Dharma.

GUEST:
Grace Song is an ordained Won Buddhist Kyomunim, meditation teacher, and advocate of interfaith dialogue. She serves as the Chair of the Won Buddhist Studies Department at the Won Institute of Graduate Studies. She has traveled to many countries to present and lead workshops and retreats on interfaith dialogue, social justice, mindfulness in education, and spiritual practice in daily life. She is committed to embodying the truth of interconnection and invests her time putting into practice her belief that renewing society starts with renewing our inner lives.

Social Media with Grace:
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/3/369
https://tricycle.org/article/timeless-son/
https://tricycle.org/article/mindful-journaling/

Connect with her at: https://www.gracesangjinsong.com

HOST
Rev. Liên Shutt (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a co-founder of Buddhists of Color (1998) and founder of Access to Zen (2014). As the creator, producer, and host, she launched a podcast series, “Opening Dharma Access: Listening to BIPOC Teachers,” in 2021. In Season 2, she hosts with Lama Karma Yeshe Chödrön, Sister Peace ,and Dalila Bothwell. You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org

Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path. See all her offerings at EVENTS

Praises to the 21 Taras with Pema Khandro Rinpoche

Tue, 19 Dec 2023 18:00:00 -0800

Praise to Tārā with Twenty-One Verses of Homage (Skr. Namastāraikaviṃśatistotraguṇahitasahita) is a liturgy that consists of twenty-seven verses of praise and reverence dedicated to the deity Tārā. The first twenty-one verses are at once a series of homages to the twenty-one forms of Tārā and a poetic description of her physical features, postures, and qualities.
- 84000 Reading Room

Chanted by Pema Khandro Rinpoche and Buddhist Studies Institute dharma friends, using the English translation and melody arranged by the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition.

The English text used in this practice, with accompanying Tibetan phonetics, is available for free pdf download here, through the courtesy of Maitripa College of Portland, Oregon and the FPMT.

.................................................................

PEMA KHANDRO RINPOCHE is an internationally renowned teacher and scholar of Buddhist philosophy. She is the founder of Ngakpa International and its three projects, The Buddhist Studies Institute, Dakini Mountain and the Yogic Medicine Institute.

Visit Khandro-la's website for more resources
and learn more about the Buddhist Studies Institute here.
You can find Khandro-la on social media on:
Facebook
Instagram
X (formerly Twitter)

--------------------------------------------

HOST LAMA KARMA YESHE CHÖDRÖN is a scholar, teacher, and translator of Tibetan Buddhism at Rigpe Dorje Institute at Pullahari Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal and co-founder of Prajna Fire.

Hear more about Lama Yeshe as ODA co-hosts Rev. Liên Shutt and Kaira Jewel Lingointerview her about her Dharma experiences as a practitioner and teacher of color here.

In addition to Opening Dharma Access, Lama Yeshe co-hosts Prajna Sparks, a podcast for listening to, contemplating, and meditating on the Buddhadharma.

Watch her on the Lion's Roar Podcast hosted by Mariana Restrepo, discussing the Vajrayana yidam practice of Chenrezig.

Lama Yeshe also shares with ODA this guided practice of tonglen and sacred creativity as well as this guided practice of being love.

Check out Lama Yeshe's articles published in Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Guide, Lion's Roar Magazine, and Tricyle Magazine.

Join the Prajna Fire global community and follow Lama Yeshe on Instagram @karmayeshechodron.

Speaking for the Silenced with Pema Khandro Rinpoche

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 06:00:00 -0800

PEMA KHANDRO RINPOCHE is an internationally renowned teacher and scholar of Buddhist philosophy. She is the founder of Ngakpa International and its three projects, The Buddhist Studies Institute, Dakini Mountain and the Yogic Medicine Institute.

In her work as a Buddhist teacher, she is an authorized Lama and lineage holder of the Nyingma and Kagyu traditions and was enthroned to carry on the lineage of her predecessor, the first Pema Khandro, an early twentieth century yogini from Eastern Tibet.

Khandro-la has led a vibrant world-wide community since 1999. Through the Buddhist Studies Institute, she also offers a complete curriculum of training in Tibetan meditation and Buddhist Philosophy.

She has a bachelor's degree in Sociology, a Master’s degree specializing in Tibetan studies, and a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from the University of Virginia. Her scholarly research focuses on the history of Dzogchen and on Women in Tibetan Buddhism.

Visit Khandro-la's website for more resources
and learn more about the Buddhist Studies Institute here.
You can find Khandro-la on social media on:
Facebook
Instagram
X (formerly Twitter)

---

HOST LAMA KARMA YESHE CHÖDRÖN is a scholar, teacher, and translator of Tibetan Buddhism at Rigpe Dorje Institute at Pullahari Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal and co-founder of Prajna Fire.

Hear more about Lama Yeshe as ODA co-hosts Rev. Liên Shutt and Kaira Jewel Lingointerview her about her Dharma experiences as a practitioner and teacher of color here.

Guided Meditation with Rebecca Li

Tue, 21 Nov 2023 06:00:00 -0800

GUEST:
Dr. Rebecca Li, a Dharma heir in the lineage of Chan Master Sheng Yen, is the founder and guiding teacher of Chan Dharma Community. Her books include Allow Joy into Our Hearts: Chan Practice in Uncertain Times and the upcoming book Illumination: A Guide to the Buddhist Method of No-Method. She lives in New Jersey with her husband.

Illumination: A Guide to the Buddhist Method of No-Method, clarifies the practice of "Silent Illumination," (shikantaza in the Japanese tradition) and outlines the potential "traps and snares" that are encountered on the path to Awakening, as well as the potential remedies. Each chapter illuminates mind habits that cause difficulty to earnest meditation students, including: craving mode (striving for enlightenment), aversion mode (trying to eliminate thoughts completely), trance mode (cultivating a peaceful but foggy mind state), Intellectualization mode (substituting concepts for direct experience), quietism mode (dwelling in a cave of no thoughts), and forgetting emptiness (belief in someplace to arrive at and dwell in).

CONNECT with her writings, talks, guided meditation, teaching, buy her book, & see the book tour schedule at www.rebeccali.org

Illumination of Chan with Rebecca Li

Tue, 07 Nov 2023 06:00:00 -0800

An open, spacious conversation with Dr. Rebecca Li on her practice & teachings on Chan Buddhism and her newly released book, Illumination: A Guide to the Buddhist Method of No-Method

GUEST:
Dr. Rebecca Li, a Dharma heir in the lineage of Chan Master Sheng Yen, is the founder and guiding teacher of Chan Dharma Community. Her books include Allow Joy into Our Hearts: Chan Practice in Uncertain Times and the upcoming book Illumination: A Guide to the Buddhist Method of No-Method. She lives in New Jersey with her husband.

Illumination: A Guide to the Buddhist Method of No-Method, clarifies the practice of "Silent Illumination," (shikantaza in the Japanese tradition) and outlines the potential "traps and snares" that are encountered on the path to Awakening, as well as the potential remedies. Each chapter illuminates mind habits that cause difficulty to earnest meditation students, including: craving mode (striving for enlightenment), aversion mode (trying to eliminate thoughts completely), trance mode (cultivating a peaceful but foggy mind state), Intellectualization mode (substituting concepts for direct experience), quietism mode (dwelling in a cave of no thoughts), and forgetting emptiness (belief in someplace to arrive at and dwell in).

CONNECT with her writings, talks, guided meditation, teaching, buy her book, & see the book tour schedule at www.rebeccali.org

HOST
Rev. Liên Shutt (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a co-founder of Buddhists of Color (1998) and founder of Access to Zen (2014). As the creator, producer, and host, she launched a podcast series, “Opening Dharma Access: Listening to BIPOC Teachers,” in 2022 with Lama Karma Yeshe Chödrön, Sister Peace and Dalila Bothwell. You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org

Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path was released on Tuesday, Aug. 22! To see when it's in your part of the U.S. or is virtual, go to BOOK TOUR INFO. See all her offerings at EVENTS

Four Elements Meditation with René Rivera

Tue, 17 Oct 2023 09:00:00 -0700

Resourcing our Practice in Nature with René Rivera

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 06:00:00 -0700

GUEST:
René Rivera (he/him) is a meditation teacher and restorative justice facilitator working and learning in all the spaces in-between race, gender, and other perceived binaries, as a queer Latinx trans man. René teaches heart-centered, trauma-informed meditation, as a core teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center. He has co-led the first residential meditation retreats for transgender, nonbinary and gender expansive people, and offers classes and retreats for many Buddhist centers and groups. René is a restorative justice facilitator for the Ahimsa Collective, working to heal sexual and gender based violence.

Find René’s talks and guided meditations for EBMC’s Alphabet Sangha on YouTube. Here are also a few of his talks and conversations on Spotify on Gender and No Self, Attachment Trauma Repair, Bringing our Mindfulness to Powerand Bringing Compassion to Conflict.
Article in Lion's Roar: Finding Nonself on My Gender Journey

HOST
Dalila Bothwell (she/her), a Dharma practitioner in the Insight Meditation/Theravada Buddhist tradition and a graduate of Spirit Rock's Community Dharma Leader Program. She served as Deputy Director of New York Insight Meditation Center for nearly a decade where she learned the priceless value of sangha and the role relationships play in embodying the teachings and in creating kinder human beings. With a formal education in food and nutrition, her practice meets at the intersection of physical and emotional wellbeing while being Black and queer and her love of recovery, nature, community, and justice. A native of the Southwest, Dalila currently lives in Papago / Tohono O'odham territory in Arizona with her handsome pup, Brisco.

To connect with Dalila in other ways:
www.dalilabothwell.com
IG: @moonearthlove

Mother Earth Relaxation Meditation with Joe Reilly

Tue, 19 Sep 2023 06:00:00 -0700

A meditation with guidance by words and song!

JOE REILLY (he, him) is a singer, songwriter, social worker, and ordained Dharma Teacher in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. Joe was raised Catholic and currently studies and practices progressive Catholicism, Native American spirituality, and engaged Buddhism. Joe has been a student of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh since 2004 and is often found singing and writing songs on spiritual retreats. He currently lives in Waawiyatanong/Detroit, where he co-leads the Building Beloved Community Sangha. He is of Cherokee, Choctaw, Italian, and Irish descent and identifies as Native American.

Connect with Joe and LISTEN to more of his music at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joereillymusic/
YouTube, Instagram @JoeReillyMusic
https://www.joereilly.org/music/

Dharma Songs for Connection with Joe Reilly

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 08:00:00 -0700

GUEST:
JOE REILLY (he, him) is a singer, songwriter, social worker, and ordained Dharma Teacher in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. Joe was raised Catholic and currently studies and practices progressive Catholicism, Native American spirituality, and engaged Buddhism. Joe has been a student of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh since 2004 and is often found singing and writing songs on spiritual retreats. He currently lives in Waawiyatanong/Detroit, where he co-leads the Building Beloved Community Sangha. He is of Cherokee, Choctaw, Italian, and Irish descent and identifies as Native American.

Connect with Joe and LISTEN to more of his music at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joereillymusic/
YouTube, Instagram @JoeReillyMusic
https://www.joereilly.org/music/

This EPISODE is in MEMORIAM for Mary Randolph
(Rev. Liên covered for Sr. Peace so she could attend to her sister)

HOST
Rev. Liên Shutt (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a co-founder of Buddhists of Color (1998) and founder of Access to Zen (2014). As the creator, producer, and host, she launched a podcast series, “Opening Dharma Access: Listening to BIPOC Teachers,” in 2022 with Lama Karma Yeshe Chödrön, Sister Peace and Dalila Bothwell. You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org

Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path was released on Tuesday, Aug. 22! To see when it's in your part of the U.S. or is virtual, go to BOOK TOUR INFO

For full info on all her offerings: EVENTS

Lovingkindness Meditation with Anushka Fernandopulle

Tue, 15 Aug 2023 09:00:00 -0700

A short, but lovingly offered, meditation from Anushka Fernandopulle. Originally offered on Dharma Seed.

Anushka Fernandopulle (she/they) is on the Spirit Rock Teacher's Council and has trained for over 30 years in the Theravada Buddhist tradition in the U.S., India, and Sri Lanka. Anushka lives in San Francisco and teaches retreats and workshops around the world. They also works as a leadership coach and management consultant, influenced by a BA in anthropology and religion from Harvard and an MBA from Yale. Her teaching is informed by nature, creative arts, political engagement and modern urban life.

Connect with Anushka at:

https://www.anushkaf.org/

HOST
Rev. Liên Shutt (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a co-founder of Buddhists of Color (1998) and founder of Access to Zen (2014). As the creator, producer, and host, she launched a podcast series, “Opening Dharma Access: Listening to BIPOC Teachers,” in 2022 with Lama Karma Yeshe Chödrön, Sister Peace and Dalila Bothwell. You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org

Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path launches on Tuesday, Aug. 22! Join her in-person or livestream at Book Inc Berkeley

For full info on all her offerings: EVENTS

The Nature of Practice & Teaching with Anushka Fernandopulle

Tue, 01 Aug 2023 09:00:00 -0700

GUEST
Anushka Fernandopulle (she/they) is on the Spirit Rock Teacher's Council and has trained for over 30 years in the Theravada Buddhist tradition in the U.S., India, and Sri Lanka. Anushka lives in San Francisco and teaches retreats and workshops around the world. They also works as a leadership coach and management consultant, influenced by a BA in anthropology and religion from Harvard and an MBA from Yale. Her teaching is informed by nature, creative arts, political engagement and modern urban life.

Connect with Anushka at:

The Voiceless Voice with Rev. Mark Unno

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 06:00:00 -0700

A multidimensional practice of hearing Dharma, chanting, and silent meditation in the Shin Buddhist tradition, offered by Rev. Mark Unno.

Rev. Mark Unno is Professor of Buddhist Studies & Department Head of Religious Studies at the University of Oregon, specializing in Pure Land, Zen, and Shingon Buddhism. He is the 14th generation minister of Shin Buddhism in his family. He is also the President of the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies.

Click to access the abbreviated Juseige Chant (Song of Praise) that Rev. Mark shares with us in this episode.

Listen to Lama Yeshe's interview with Rev. Mark Unno on Opening Dharma Access.

Visit Rev. Mark Unno's website for more resources.

Going Deep with Rev. Mark Unno

Tue, 04 Jul 2023 06:00:00 -0700

REV. MARK UNNO is Professor of Buddhist Studies & Department Head of Religious Studies at the University of Oregon, specializing in Pure Land, Zen, and Shingon Buddhism. He is the 14th generation minister of Shin Buddhism in his family. He is also the President of the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies.

Read articles by Rev. Mark Unno at Lion's Roar Magazine online

Visit his website for more resources

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HOST LAMA KARMA YESHE CHÖDRÖN is a scholar, teacher, and translator of Tibetan Buddhism at Rigpe Dorje Institute at Pullahari Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal and co-founder of Prajna Fire.

Hear more about Lama Yeshe as ODA co-hosts Rev. Liên Shutt and Kaira Jewel Lingo interview her about her Dharma experiences as a practitioner and teacher of color here.

In addition to Opening Dharma Access, Lama Yeshe co-hosts Prajna Sparks, a podcast for listening to, contemplating, and meditating on the Buddhadharma.

Check out Lama Yeshe's articles published in Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Guide, Lion's Roar Magazine, and Tricyle Magazine.

Join the Prajna Fire global community and follow Lama Yeshe on Instagram @karmayeshechodron.

Don't Hold On To Anger with Cristina Moon

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 06:00:00 -0700

A reading of a piece from the CMOON Substack Newsletter, by the author, Cristina Moon.

As a strategist, author, and Chozen-ji priest, Cristina Moon works with individuals and organizations to develop the sensitivity and spiritual strength needed to lead in today’s challenging world.

Cristina ordained as a Zen priest in December 2020 at Daihonzan ChInozen-ji, a Rinzai Zen temple in Hawaii in the Tenryu-ji line. Cristina publishes a Substack newsletter called CMOON, with published work appearing in Tricycle, Lion's Roar, and Buddhadharma magazines. Cristina's memoir is coming out in June 2024 with Shambhala Publications.

Find out more about Cristina at:
www.cristinamoon.com
https://cmoon.substack.com
Instagram: @moon.c.moon

I Belong Everywhere with Cristina Moon

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 06:00:00 -0700

About Our Guest for this Episode

As a strategist, author, and Chozen-ji priest, Cristina Moon works with individuals and organizations to develop the sensitivity and spiritual strength needed to lead in today’s challenging world.

Find out more about Cristina at:
www.cristinamoon.com
https://cmoon.substack.com
Instagram: @moon.c.moon

About Our Host for this Episode

Dalila Bothwell (she/her), a Dharma practitioner in the Insight Meditation/Theravada Buddhist tradition and a graduate of Spirit Rock's Community Dharma Leader Program. She served as Deputy Director of New York Insight Meditation Center for nearly a decade where she learned the priceless value of sangha and the role relationships play in embodying the teachings and in creating kinder human beings. With a formal education in food and nutrition, her practice meets at the intersection of physical and emotional wellbeing while being Black and queer and her love of recovery, nature, community, and justice. A native of the Southwest, Dalila currently lives in Papago / Tohono O'odham territory in Arizona with her handsome pup, Brisco.

To connect with Dalila in other ways:
www.dalilabothwell.com
IG: @moonearthlove

Healing Meditation - Breathing, Relaxing & Wishing on a Star with Dr. Ava Avalos

Tue, 16 May 2023 10:00:00 -0700

A 20 minute guided meditation and visualization on the sacred body with Dr. Ava Avalos, a Dharma teacher in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, living in Botswana. No experience necessary. The meditation is held while lying down. Get ready to let-go, breath and consider our embodied possibilities.

2 Links to connect with Dr. Avalos:
1. Facebook: Studies in Zen Buddhism Botswana.
2. The next Africa based retreat Tshedisa Sangha Botswana is holding: :
Sacred Body - Wonderful Body - Coming Home to Ourselves with Ava Avalos, MD

When Action is Graced with Compassion: A Conversation with Dr. Ava Avalos

Tue, 02 May 2023 06:00:00 -0700

Sister Peace interview of Dr. Ava Avalos from the Order of Interbeing (OI) branch of the Thich Nhat Hanh tradition.

BIO:
Dr. Ava Avalos was ordained as a Dharma teacher in 2018, after over 20 years of study and Zen practice. She facilitates the Tshedisa Sangha in Botswana - the first African Sangha established in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh on the continent.

Originally from San Diego, California, for the last 22 years she has worked as HIV/TB specialist physician and AIDS activist in Africa. In addition to clinical care, she focuses medical research on optimizing anti-retroviral treatment for HIV/AIDS patients, preventing the development of HIV drug resistance and improving implementation of public health programs.

She currently leads the Botswana National Advanced HIV Care Initiative, is a Research Associate of the Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Initiative and Botswana-Baylor Children’s Centre for Clinical Excellence and sits on the Editorial Board of the Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine.

She also does her best to keep up with her two high spirited pups, paints, teaches yoga and dances as often as she can.

3 Links to connect with Dr. Avalos:
1. Facebook: Studies in Zen Buddhism Botswana.

2. The next Africa based retreat I am facilitating:

Sacred Body - Wonderful Body- Coming Home to Ourselves
Tara Rokpa Centre, Groot Marico, South Africa. October 13, 14, & 15th, 2023
Inquire at careenahealth@gmail.com

3. Tshedisa Sangha holds monthly Days of Mindfulness on the first Sunday of each month. Inquire at careenahealth@gmail.com

Rest Meditation with Dalila Bothwell

Tue, 18 Apr 2023 11:00:00 -0700

Dalila Bothwell (she/her) is a Dharma practitioner in the Insight Meditation/Theravada Buddhist tradition and a graduate of Spirit Rock's Community Dharma Leader Program. She served as Deputy Director of New York Insight Meditation Center for nearly a decade where she learned the priceless value of sangha and the role relationships play in embodying the teachings and in creating kinder human beings. With a formal education in food and nutrition, her practice meets at the intersection of physical and emotional wellbeing while being Black and queer and her love of recovery, nature, community, and justice. A native of the Southwest, Dalila currently lives in Papago / Tohono O'odham territory in Arizona with her handsome pup, Brisco.

To connect with her in other ways:
www.dalilabothwell.com
IG: @moonearthlove

Frank Dharma with Dalila Bothwell

Tue, 04 Apr 2023 06:00:00 -0700

Get to know ODA's Season 2 other new co-host, Dalila Bothwell, as she shares with Rev. Liên frank talk about what it takes to teach and stay true to their experience as queer, Black, and other social locations in predominantly white convert-Buddhist settings.

Dalila Bothwell (she/her) is a Dharma practitioner in the Insight Meditation/Theravada Buddhist tradition and a graduate of Spirit Rock's Community Dharma Leader Program. She served as Deputy Director of New York Insight Meditation Center for nearly a decade where she learned the priceless value of sangha and the role relationships play in embodying the teachings and in creating kinder human beings. With a formal education in food and nutrition, her practice meets at the intersection of physical and emotional wellbeing while being Black and queer and her love of recovery, nature, community, and justice. A native of the Southwest, Dalila currently lives in Papago / Tohono O'odham territory in Arizona with her handsome pup, Brisco.

To connect with her in other ways:
www.dalilabothwell.com
IG: @moonearthlove

----
Host Info:
Rev. Liên Shutt (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism.

As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and others seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia.

Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Four Noble Truths is her new book coming out Aug. 22, 2023. Published by North Atlantic Books.

Advance praise from ODA's Season 1 Cohosts!
“With tenderness, an open heart, and characteristic grace, Rev. Liên Shutt shares her knowledge and practice of Buddhadharma alongside her own searing experiences of being Asian American in our racialized culture. Anyone wishing to bring the wise compassion of the Buddha’s teachings to bear on their journey with systemic oppression of any ilk will find in Rev. Liên a skillful and kind guide whose footsteps are well worth following.”

—Karma Yeshe Chödrön, author of Heal Transform Transcend

“Presenting a powerful and fresh look at core Buddhist teachings, [Home Is Here] offers innovative and effective ways to free ourselves from the bondage and illusions of white supremacy culture and a compassionate, accessible path to experiencing that we are already whole.”

—Kaira Jewel Lingo, author of We Were Made for These Times

Pre-Order options HERE

Connect with Rev. Liên & all her offerings at: AccessToZen.org (including soon to-be-added info on an upcoming LGBTQIA+ Yoga & Dharma retreat over Labor Day & an 8-month Asian American affinity group for precepts studies!)

Calm, Ease with Sister Peace

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 06:00:00 -0700

Enjoy this lovely practice, as Sister Peace walks us gently through a guided meditation to learn to pay attention to the quality of our breath so that we become anchored in the feelings of calm and ease.

This guided practice is also available on the Plum Village App and on YouTube.

SISTER PEACE spent five years in government work before realizing that something was missing. Feeling spiritually bereft, she began practicing at the Washington Mindfulness Community where she encountered the teachings of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.

Compelled by his teachings, she relocated in 2006 to the Plum Village Monastery in France to deepen her mindfulness practice and where she was ordained a Buddhist nun in 2008, and received the Dharma Lamp Transmission in 2017.

She has dedicated her life to bringing the practice of mindfulness to people around the world –from educators and teenagers to artists and politicians. In particular, Sister Peace is interested in helping people understand the aspiration of Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to build the “Beloved Community.”

Sister Peace has organized retreats in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America; and facilitated retreats for People of Color, Business Leaders, Silicon Valley, Educators, Artists and others. Most recently, her heartfelt focus of service and practice has been with the children in the Shelby County Juvenile Detention Center – a jail for children in Memphis, Tennessee. She is on a virtual team offering Mindfulness and the Arts during the COVID-19 Crisis with students at East High School in Memphis.

Sister Peace currently resides in Memphis, Tennessee, where she practices Engaged Buddhism.

You can find Sister Peace in Meditations on the Plum Village app, as well as articles in Lions Roar and The Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation Newsletter - The Raft, the Mindfulness Bell Magazine, and an upcoming article in the Arrow Magazine.

Here are a few links to her teachings:

YOUTUBE video
Uncomfortable Spaces - Cultivating Love & Peace for Racial Healing

Articles in the Mindfulness Bell
Ancestral Insights Article
When Giants Meet

Click here to learn more about the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh and Plum Village.

Unmasked When We Are Together with Sister Peace

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 06:00:00 -0800

SISTER PEACE spent five years in government work before realizing that something was missing. Feeling spiritually bereft, she began practicing at the Washington Mindfulness Community where she encountered the teachings of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.

Compelled by his teachings, she relocated in 2006 to the Plum Village Monastery in France to deepen her mindfulness practice and where she was ordained a Buddhist nun in 2008, and received the Dharma Lamp Transmission in 2017.

She has dedicated her life to bringing the practice of mindfulness to people around the world –from educators and teenagers to artists and politicians. In particular, Sister Peace is interested in helping people understand the aspiration of Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to build the “Beloved Community.”

Sister Peace has organized retreats in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America; and facilitated retreats for People of Color, Business Leaders, Silicon Valley, Educators, Artists and others. Most recently, her heartfelt focus of service and practice has been with the children in the Shelby County Juvenile Detention Center – a jail for children in Memphis, Tennessee. She is on a virtual team offering Mindfulness and the Arts during the COVID-19 Crisis with students at East High School in Memphis.

Sister Peace currently resides in Memphis, Tennessee, where she practices Engaged Buddhism.

Articles in the Mindfulness Bell
Ancestral Insights Article
When Giants Meet

Click here to learn more about the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh and Plum Village.

---

HOST LAMA KARMA YESHE CHÖDRÖN is a scholar, teacher, and translator of Tibetan Buddhism at Rigpe Dorje Institute at Pullahari Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal and co-founder of Prajna Fire.

Hear more about Lama Yeshe as ODA co-hosts Rev. Liên Shutt and Kaira Jewel Lingo interview her about her Dharma experiences as a practitioner and teacher of color here.

Body / Breath Meditation by Noliwe Alexander

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 06:00:00 -0800

Noliwe Alexander has been a student of Vipassana meditation for over 20 years.
This is a meditation from a POC Retreat at Spirit Rock 2020

You can reach her at Deep Time Liberation and Peace at Any Pace

Practicing to Touch Our Edges with Noliwe Alexander

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 06:00:00 -0800

Noliwe Alexander has been a student of Vipassana meditation for over 20 years. Throughout this time of deep devotion to the Dharma, Noliwe has become a dedicated practitioner, meditation teacher of various retreats and sitting groups, day-longs and class series programs. She dedicates much her BuddhaDharma practice and teachings to the BiPOC, LGBTQIA+, At Risk and Elder communities. She is a graduate of Spirit Rock's CDL4 program, EBMC's Commit 2 Dharma program in 2010 and is a graduate of Spirit Rock Teacher Training from 2017-2020. Noliwe is the co-founder of Peace At Any Pace, Inc. a non-profit organization that offers a Journey to Healing from Intergenerational & Ancestral Trauma retreats and Elder & Youth programs, which are exclusively for people from the African Diaspora. Noliwe is a wisdom keeper and humbled by the presence of her ancestor’s spirit that lives within and walks beside her.

You can reach her at Deep Time Liberation and Peace at Any Pace

And writitng at:
https://www.lionsroar.com/free-at-last/
https://www.lionsroar.com/heal-the-wounds-and-trauma/

~~~
Your Host for this episode is Rev. Liên Shutt (she/they) is a priest lineage holder in the Shunryu Suzuki tradition. Born to a Buddhist family in Vietnam, she received her meditation training in the Insight and Soto Zen traditions in the U.S., Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam. She was a founding member of the Buddhists of Color in 1998 and currently is the guiding teacher of Access to Zen, an inclusive, anti-oppression sangha and non-profit in the SF Bay Area. She lives on Ohlone land, currently called San Francisco, with her partner, exploring waterways and forests as often as they can. Visit AccessToZen.org for ways to connect and practice together.

Loving Our Skin: Farewell & Meditation with Kaira Jewel Lingo

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 06:00:00 -0800

In the meditation, Kaira Jewel Lingo refers to the Garrison BIPOC meditation sangha which meets every Thursday at noon, run by her and Marisela Gomez.

Order my book, We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons on Moving through Change, Loss and Disruption

Order from Indie Bound or Bookshop

To stay in touch and learn about my upcoming mindfulness teaching and events, please sign up for my e-newsletter here.

My article in Lion's Roar: How Equanimity Powers Love

Connect with me:

at kairajewel.com

on Insight Timer

on YouTube

on Instagram

on Facebook

on Dharmaseed

Attending: A New Year's Meditation with Rev. Liên Shutt

Tue, 03 Jan 2023 06:00:00 -0800

Happy 2023! Enjoy this meditation to support you bring the quality of attending (my latest word for our natural access to the quality of mindfulness.

The "Meditation Training" course referred to in the meditation is "Meditation Training: Establishing a Meditation Practice in 4 Short Week." It's a popular and effect course taken by thousands at this point. Back in-person in SF and online for everyone else. It starts this Thursday, 1/5, 7:30 pm PT so for full info and registration, CLICK HERE.

For other practices and full programming, go to AccessToZen.org or email me at SuddenLeap.A2Z@gmail.com

Happy 2023!
(Also, join us for Lunar New Year A2Z Meditation Group Sangha Night on Monday, Jan. 23, 7 pm PT, by clicking HERE!)

Being Love with Lama Yeshe

Tue, 20 Dec 2022 06:00:00 -0800

A guided meditation invoking creative imagination to cultivate familiarity with our innate quality of being love within a space of active repose. Led by Lama Yeshe.

LAMA KARMA YESHE CHÖDRÖN is a scholar, teacher, and translator of Tibetan Buddhism at Rigpe Dorje Institute at Pullahari Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal and co-founder of Prajna Fire.

HOST LAMA KARMA YESHE CHÖDRÖN is a scholar, teacher, and translator of Tibetan Buddhism at Rigpe Dorje Institute at Pullahari Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal and co-founder of Prajna Fire.

Hear more about Lama Yeshe as ODA co-hosts Rev. Liên Shutt and Kaira Jewel Lingointerview her about her Dharma experiences as a practitioner and teacher of color here.

Private spiritual counsel sessions with Lama Yeshe are available for online booking with immediate confirmationat Prajna Fire.

Learn more about tsewa in Tibetan Buddhist heritage fromDzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche's book, Training in Tenderness.

May all beings benefit!

Reflecting on 2022 and Transitioning to 2023

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 06:00:00 -0800

Tune in as Rev. Liên and Lama Yeshe share a lively discussion of their experiences with Opening Dharma Access during 2022. They also bid farewell to Kaira Jewel Lingo as she transtions from Opening Dharma Access to other Dharma activities.

Rev. Liên Shutt can be reached at: AccessToZen.org

Learn more about Kaira Jewel Lingo and her Dharma Offerings at kairajewel.com to learn more about her Dharma offerings.

Lama Karma Yeshe Chödrön shares the Dharma through the Prajna Fire global community. Follow Lama Yeshe on Instagram @karmayeshechodron.

May all beings find genuine happiness and true freedom from suffering!

Stay tuned in the coming weeks as Rev. Liên, Kaira Jewel, and Lama Yeshe share practice offerings over the holiday season.

May your new year be bright, peaceful, and rich in all goodness!

Shodaigyo Meditation for Healing with Bishop Myokei Caine-Barrett

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 06:00:00 -0800

Bishop Myokei Caine-Barrett chanting is part of this larger program:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0o2e4wsxdicmr1t/Shodaigyo.pdf?dl=0

For the YouTube version of this chant (with about 20 minutes of silent meditation first):
https://www.facebook.com/NBSTX/videos/201551801729358/
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Myokei Caine-Barrett currently holds the position of Bishop of the Nichiren Shu Order of North America. She is the first woman to hold this position and the first person of African-American and Japanese descent to be fully ordained in the Nichiren Shu order. She is also the chief priest and guiding teacher of Myoken-ji Temple in Houston, TX.

Myokei Shonin is engaged in spreading the Dharma behind bars at Texas Department of Criminal Justice. She supports weekend trainings for Healing Warrior Hearts, a Texas for Heroes project designed to truly welcome veterans home. She is a facilitator in dialogues on racism and mindful cross-cultural conflict resolution, as well as engaging in interfaith and intrafaith dialogue.
Her writings have been published in a variety of Buddhist magazines, including Tricycle and Lion’s Roar, and is featured in The Hidden Lamp: Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women.

Learn more about Myokei at https://myoken-ji-usa.org/

You Can Polish the Mirror of Your Life with Myokei Caine-Barret, Shonin

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 06:00:00 -0700

Listen in on this candid and wise interview with Myokei Caine-Barret, Shonin, as she shares about her own path of transformation and how we can all create a deeper experience of refuge for each other in the Dharma. She names the importance of sharing about race and increasing awareness in dharma spaces in the face of resistance. And how empowering it can be to leave space for listening, honoring people's unique experiences, and the importance of offering a warm welcome. She encourages us to learn from the radical hospitality in cultures of color, and describes how she used chanting to work with her rage. She also addresses the challenges of offering the Dharma in BIPOC communities based in Christianity.

We apologize for the brief moments of echo in the recording.
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Learn more about Myokei at https://myoken-ji-usa.org/
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TODAY'S HOST

Kaira Jewel Lingo began practicing mindfulness in 1997 and is a teacher in the Zen and Vipassana lineages. Author of We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons in Moving through Change, Loss, and Disruption (Parallax Press), she teaches Buddhist meditation, mindfulness, and compassion internationally, focusing on waking up in daily life. Ordained for 15 years in Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastic community, Kaira Jewel now teaches both Buddhism and secular mindfulness, writes, and offers spiritual mentoring to groups.

Hear more about Kaira Jewel as ODA co-hosts Rev. Liên Shutt and Lama Karma Yeshe interview her about her Dharma experiences as a practitioner and teacher of color.

Kaira Jewel also shares with ODA this guided practice on getting grounded.

Visit kairajewel.com to learn more about her Dharma offerings.

May all beings find refuge!

"A Tale of Two Healers" with Thomas Davis IV

Tue, 18 Oct 2022 06:00:00 -0700

Listen to this dharma story Thomas created and shared at East Bay Meditation Center in August 2022.

This tale deals with our developmental struggles and aversion to what the Path is asking of us, and ends with an invitation to a new perspective about how we can engage with less entanglement.

Thomas can be reached at: www.avant-dharam.com

Fusion Dharma with Thomas Davis IV

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 06:00:00 -0700

A fascinating conversation with Thomas Davis IV and Rev. Liên about the possibilities of expanding the range for assessing BIPOC teachers' readiness to teach and the connections between the Dharma and the creative process.

Thomas Davis IV is a Contemplative Artist based in Los Angeles who explores the connections between the principles of the Dharma, Christian Mysticism, Jazz Ethics, Art and Sciences. Thomas self-identifies as a Contemplative Artist which allows for a consistent and fluid commitment to personal authenticity; and for the exploration of emerging ideas, concepts and individual expressions of Liberation.

Media: Lions Roar Juneteenth Edition 2022

Thomas can be reached at: www.avant-dharam.com

This week's Interviewer, Rev. Liên, can be reached at: AccessToZen.org

The Caturārakkhā, or Four-Fold Protective Contemplations, with Bhante Sanathavihari

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 06:00:00 -0700

In this month's practice offering, Bhante Sanathavihari shares a chanting practice central to the novice monastic training in the Sri Lanka tradition. The Pali and English text is available here for those who want to follow along with the chant.

The Caturārakkhā, or Four-Fold Protective Contemplations, consists of:

(1) Buddhānussati Recollection on the Buddha

(2) Mettā Loving-Kindness Meditation

(3) Asubha Meditation on Impurities of the Body

(4) Maraṇsati Mindfulness of death

The contemplations in the third and fourth parts of the practice are challenging, in language, import, and emotional impact. In particular, the third contemplation is consistently a topic of vigorous discussion among practitioners (see, for example, this contemporary discussion thread). Considering what does and does not resonate for us, and how we can find ways to relate to the essence of the teaching, despite what jars, can be very helpful.

For example, we may consider the meditation on the impurities of the body from the perspective of how it might help overcome misconceptions about the body, in order to connect with our embodied experience in ways that are meaningful, wholesome, and wise.

We might also consider how much the cultural context impacts our practice, and in what ways contemporary understanding advances or detracts from the essence of the practice.

LOS ANGELES SANATHAVIHARI BHIKKU is a Mexican-American Theravāda monk at the Sarathchandra Buddhist Center in North Hollywood, a Sri Lankan center. He is a student of the late Dr. Bhante Punnaji, and the director of Casa De Bhavana – an outreach project to bring the Dhamma to the Spanish-speaking world. He is also the co-author of Buddhism in Ten Steps. Bhante is a U.S. Air Force veteran, has a B.A. in Religion, and is a Mindfulness researcher at Mount St. Mary University, Los Angeles, and a Graduate Student in Counseling Psychology at Mount St. Mary University.

Visit Bhante Sanathavihari on the web and social media:

www.casadebhavana.com
https://www.facebook.com/sanathaviharibhikkhu
https://www.instagram.com/casadebhavana/

Or on YouTube:
Youtube channel (English)
Youtube channel (Spanish)

And check out Bhante's Spanish-language introduction to Buddhism:
Buddhismo en 10 Pasos: Una introducción práctica y sencilla al buddhismo para principiantes (Spanish Edition)

Meeting La Familia Where They Are At with Bhante Sanathavihari

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 06:00:00 -0700

Los Angeles Sanathavihari Bhikkhu is a Mexican-American Theravāda monk at the Sarathchandra Buddhist Center in North Hollywood, a Sri Lankan center. He is a student of the late Dr. Bhante Punnaji, and the director of Casa De Bhavana – an outreach project to bring the Dhamma to the Spanish-speaking world. He is also the co-author of Buddhism in Ten Steps. Bhante is a U.S. Air Force veteran, has a B.A. in Religion, and is a Mindfulness researcher at Mount St. Mary University, Los Angeles, and a Graduate Student in Counseling Psychology at Mount St. Mary University.

Visit Bhante Sanathavihari on the web and social media:

www.casadebhavana.com

https://www.facebook.com/sanathaviharibhikkhu

https://www.instagram.com/casadebhavana/

Or on YouTube:

Youtube channel (English)

Youtube channel (Spanish)

And check out Bhante's Spanish-language introduction to Buddhism:

Buddhismo en 10 Pasos: Una introducción práctica y sencilla al buddhismo para principiantes (Spanish Edition)

TODAY’S HOST

LAMA KARMA YESHE CHÖDRÖN is a scholar, teacher, and translator of Tibetan Buddhism at Rigpe Dorje Institute at Pullahari Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal and co-founder of Prajna Fire. Their work is featured in Tricycle Magazine, Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Guide, and Lion's Roar Dharma en Espanol.

In addition to Opening Dharma Access, Lama Yeshe co-hosts Prajna Sparks, a podcast for listening to, contemplating, and meditating on the Buddhadharma.

Hear more about Lama Yeshe as ODA co-hosts Rev. Liên Shutt and Kaira Jewel Lingo interview them about their Dharma experiences as a practitioner and teacher of color.

Lama Yeshe also shares with ODA this guided practice of tonglen and sacred creativity.

Join the Prajna Fire global community and follow Lama Yeshe on Instagram @karmayeshechodron to learn more about their Dharma offerings.

May all beings benefit!

Practicing with Outbreath: A Meditation with Rev. Dana Takagi

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 06:00:00 -0700

A short, guided meditation on breath with Rev. Dana Takagi

Dana is a retired professor of Sociology and also a zen priest. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian Am history at UC Santa Cruz, she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies. Zen practice since 1998.

2022: Sutra and Bible: an Interview with Duncan Ryūken Williams
2020: Most Intimate, Ordinary Way, Recollections of Katherine Thanas (co-eds. with Eugene Bush; 2nd printing 2022)

More of Dana at: https://danatakagizenlife.squarespace.com/

A Real Take on Race & Dharma in Convert Soto Zen: Conversation with Rev. Dana Takagi

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 06:00:00 -0700

Check out this in-depth interview with Rev. Dana Takagi on being Japanese American practicing convert Soto Zen.

Dana is a retired professor of Sociology and also a zen priest. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian Am history at UC Santa Cruz, she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies. Zen practice since 1998.

2022: Sutra and Bible: an Interview with Duncan Ryūken Williams
2020: Most Intimate, Ordinary Way, Recollections of Katherine Thanas (co-eds. with Eugene Bush; 2nd printing 2022)

More of Dana at: https://danatakagizenlife.squarespace.com/

Spacious Embodiment Meditation

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 06:00:00 -0700

A meditation offering from Margarita Loinaz

She has trained in the Tibetan and Theravada traditions. She met her root teacher Kalu Rimpoche in 1977 and is a Dzogchen student of Lama Drimed Norbu. She is a graduate of the first Community Dharma Leader’s Program at SRMC and began teaching in l997 leading the Women of Color Sitting Group in Marin City with Marlene Jones and co-organizing the first People of Color Retreat at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in 1999. Her current teaching integrates Dzogchen practice with social justice and environmental awareness. As a physician, she served Day Laborers, the Latinx and Homeless communities in San Francisco. She is a grandmother and originally from the Dominican Republic.

Talks and Videos present on Youtube, Vimeo and Dharma Seed, EBMC POC Sangha recordings, and Spirit Rock Meditation Center recordings on programs such as BIPOC Voices, day-longs and BIPOC retreats.

She can be reached at: greatmotherinquiry@gmail.com

Receiving & Understanding: An Interview with Margarita Loinaz

Tue, 05 Jul 2022 06:00:00 -0700

Margarita Loinaz and Rev. Liên talks about how practice and teachings to & from BIPOCs was challenging, shifted and transformed in the SF Bay Area since they first met at the Women of Color group in 1996.

Margarita Loinaz, MD has trained in the Tibetan and Theravada traditions. She met her root teacher Kalu Rimpoche in 1977 and is a Dzogchen student of Lama Drimed Norbu. She is a graduate of the first Community Dharma Leader’s Program at SRMC and began teaching in l997 leading the Women of Color Sitting Group in Marin City with Marlene Jones and co-organizing the first People of Color Retreat at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in 1999. Her current teaching integrates Dzogchen practice with social justice and environmental awareness. As a physician, she served Day Laborers, the Latinx and Homeless communities in San Francisco. She is a grandmother and originally from the Dominican Republic.

Talks and Videos present on Youtube, Vimeo and Dharma Seed, EBMC POC Sangha recordings, and Spirit Rock Meditation Center recordings on programs such as BIPOC Voices, day-longs and BIPOC retreats.

She can be reached at: greatmotherinquiry@gmail.com

Guided Practice: Four Immeasurables: Loving-kindness, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity

Mon, 20 Jun 2022 21:00:00 -0700

Stay tuned after the meditation for Comfortable with the Fluidity of East-West, Tradition-Modernity, Dungse-la’s interview with ODA co-host Lama Karma Yeshe Chödrön.

DUNGSE JAMPAL NORBU is son and Dharma Heir of Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche in the Mangala Shri Bhuti community. His mother is Dharma teacher Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel.

Dungse la has lived and traveled extensively in Asia, but spent much of his youth in Colorado. If you were to ask Dungse la how long he has been studying the Buddhist path, he would say, “Since I was born.”

When Dungse la was still an infant, Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche instructed Kongtrul Rinpoche to train Dungse la to uphold and continue Kongtrul Rinpoche’s lineage, particularly that of Mangala Shri Bhuti.

With the foundation of his life-long guidance and education from Kongtrul Rinpoche, Dungse la also teaches widely and engages in an annual 100-day retreat at Longchen Jigme Samten Ling. Dungse la’s anecdotal style and first-hand curiosity about how Buddhism relates to actual experience imbue his teaching with a fresh perspective, and reveal a natural wisdom and humor.

Check out Dungse-la’s Dharma talks on the EveryBodhi Podcast

Dungse Jampal Norbu: Comfortable with the Fluidity of East-West, Tradition-Modernity

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 06:00:00 -0700

DUNGSE JAMPAL NORBU is son and Dharma Heir of Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche in the Mangala Shri Bhuti community. His mother is Dharma teacher Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel.

Check out Dungse-la’s Dharma talks on the EveryBodhi Podcast.

TODAY’S HOST

LAMA KARMA YESHE CHÖDRÖN is a scholar, teacher, and translator of Tibetan Buddhism at Rigpe Dorje Institute at Pullahari Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal and co-founder of Prajna Fire.

In addition to Opening Dharma Access, Lama Yeshe co-hosts Prajna Sparks, a podcast for listening to, contemplating, and meditating on the Buddhadharma.

Hear more about Lama Yeshe as ODA co-hosts Rev. Liên Shutt and Kaira Jewel Lingo interview them about their Dharma experiences as a practitioner and female-identified teacher of color.

Lama Yeshe also shares with ODA this guided practice of tonglen and sacred creativity.

Join the Prajna Fire global community and follow Lama Yeshe on Instagram @karmayeshechodron to learn more about their Dharma offerings.

May all beings benefit!

Guided Heart Meditation: Compassion Practice

Mon, 16 May 2022 21:00:00 -0700

La Sarmiento shares a meditation.

You Can't Touch This: A Journey towards Self-Love with La Sarmiento

Mon, 02 May 2022 21:00:00 -0700

So many of us struggle to truly accept and understand ourselves, to find our own place of belonging and feeling at home in ourselves. In this intimate conversation between friends, La shares their powerful journey to fully loving and honoring themselves as a trans, immigrant, Filipinx, ukelele-playing dharma teacher and how they practice to transmit this dharma of radical self-acceptance, and resistance to oppression, to other BIPOC practitioners in the dharma world.

To connect with La: www.lasarmiento.com, Instagram: @bodhila, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BodhiLa

Photo Credit: Suzanne Kulperger

Relaxing Into the Present Meditation

Mon, 18 Apr 2022 21:00:00 -0700

Venerable Thuần Tuệ, Abbess of Diệu Nhân Zen Monastery, shares a short meditation from a visit at Folsom Prison.

For more info go to dieunhan.net

Mind to Mind Connection with Venerable Thuần Tuệ

Mon, 04 Apr 2022 21:00:00 -0700

Venerable Thuần Tuệ, Abbess of Diệu Nhân Zen Monastery in Rescue, CA, is interviewed by Rev. Liên Shutt. They first met when Rev. Liên practiced at Trúc Lâm Zen Monastery in Đà Lạt, Vietnam in 2006-2007.

We discussed happiness, Buddha Nature and relaxing into Tranquil Mind to connect to self, others and all beings.

Born in Vietnam, Venerable Thuần Tuệ was ordained in 1981 by Venerable Zen Master Thích Thanh Từ, Founder of the Trúc Lâm (Bamboo Forest) Zen lineage. She practiced at Bát Nhã Zen Monastery, Viên Chiếu Zen Monastery and Trúc Lâm Zen Monastery in Vietnam. Since 2012, she has traveled to England, Belgium, France, Germany, Canada, and many states in the U.S. to give Dharma talks and lead Zen retreats in mostly Vietnamese communities.

Her books include Keys to Buddhism (Vietnamese & English. Translation with Huyen Bach & Rev. Thuy Liên Shutt - Publication 2011), Tâm Bình Thường (Publication 2016- in Vietnamese) and Từ Một Tâm Trong Lặng (Publication 2019 - in Vietnamese)

For more info go to dieunhan.net

Thank you to Sister Phương Thiền and lay person Thanh Ngữ for their translation support.

May this be for the benefit of all beings.

Tonglen Meditation & Sacred Creativity with Lama Yeshe

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 21:00:00 -0700

A guided meditation for practicing tong len, openhanded welcome, towards ourselves. Led by Lama Yeshe.

HOST LAMA KARMA YESHE CHÖDRÖN is a scholar, teacher, and translator of Tibetan Buddhism at Rigpe Dorje Institute at Pullahari Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal and co-founder of Prajna Fire.

Hear more about Lama Yeshe as ODA co-hosts Rev. Liên Shutt and Kaira Jewel Lingo interview her about her Dharma experiences as a practitioner and teacher of color here.

Private spiritual counsel sessions with Lama Yeshe are available for online booking with immediate confirmation at Prajna Fire.

May all beings benefit!

Getting Grounded Meditation

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 21:00:00 -0700

Kaira Jewel Lingo offers a guided practice.
You can use this 15 minute guided meditation to help you come back to the present moment, to centre and ground yourself whenever you are feeling anxious, fearful or lost, distracted and confused.

Meet Host Lama Karma Yeshe Chödrön

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 10:00:00 -0800

LAMA KARMA YESHE CHÖDRÖN is interviewed by the other two hosts, Rev. Liên Shutt & Kaira Jewel Lingo. Find out how Tibetan Buddhism gave her a sense of belonging right from the start & how that's brought into her teachings.

LAMA YESHE is a scholar, teacher, and translator of Tibetan Buddhism at Rigpe Dorje Institute at Pullahari Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal and co-founder of Prajna Fire.

In addition to Opening Dharma Access, Lama Yeshe co-hosts Prajna Sparks, a podcast for listening to, contemplating, and meditating on the Buddhadharma.

Hear more about Lama Yeshe as ODA co-hosts Rev. Liên Shutt and Kaira Jewel Lingo interview them about their Dharma experiences as a practitioner and female-identified teacher of color.

Watch her on the Lion's Roar Podcast hosted by Mariana Restrepo, discussing the Vajrayana yidam practice of Chenrezig.

Lama Yeshe also shares with ODA this guided practice of tonglen and sacred creativity as well as this guided practice of being love.

Join the Prajna Fire global community and follow Lama Yeshe on Instagram @karmayeshechodron to learn more about their Dharma offerings.

May all beings benefit!

Meet Host Kaira Jewel Lingo

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 09:00:00 -0800

Kaira Jewel Lingo is interviewed by the other two hosts, Rev. Liên Shutt & Lama Karma Yeshe Chödrön. Find out how Plum Village Zen & North American Insight practices inform how she teaches.

Find out more about Kaira Jewel at kairajewel.com

Meet ODA Creator, Producer & Host Rev. Liên Shutt

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 08:00:00 -0800

Rev. Liên Shutt is interviewed by the other two hosts, Kaira Jewel Lingo & Lama Karma Yeshe Chödrön. Find out how opening our awareness to differences is what transforms us. Lessons from her Soto Zen & North American Insight experiences guide her to make accessible & inclusive practices for all.

Her latest offering for BIPOCs: A Lotus Rising from Mud
Connect with Rev. Liên at AccessToZen.org

ODA Trailer: Visions & Intentions for this Podcast

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 17:00:00 -0800

The three hosts of Opening Dharma Access (ODA), Rev. Liên Shutt, Kaira Jewel Lingo & Lama Karma Yeshe Chodron, meet and share their visions, intentions & hopes for this project.

March 1st we launch the podcast with interviews of each of us so come get to know who we are. Join us on this exciting project to bring you more voices of BIPOC teachers!

Thank you to the Kataly Foundation for their support of this project & Season 1 offerings!

Questions? Email SuddenLeap.A2Z@gmail.com

Rev. Liên's website: AccessToZen.org
Kaira Jewel Lingo's website: kairajewel.com
Lama Karma Yeshe Chodron's website: prajnafire.com

(Re)Centering Meditation

Fri, 18 Feb 2022 13:00:00 -0800

Opening offering from Rev. Liên Shutt of Access to Zen. Come back for our official LAUNCH on March 1st when all three hosts' interviews will be shared!