Black and Buddhist: What Buddhism Can Teach Us about Race, Resilience, Transformation, and Freedom

“Black lives that are Buddhist matter, and the new anthology edited by Pamela Ayo Yetunde and Cheryl A. Giles sees to it that the world knows about it. Being black and Buddhist has been a movement of awakening for decades. In this book, teachers share their experiences and teachings, unapologetically, of leaning into blackness while walking the ancient path of Buddha, a mystic who questioned the inequity of despair in his country. As you read, it becomes clear that these heart-filled essays serve as a new mandala of truth, love, and resistance. May the Dharma wheel continue to turn.”

“From Gotama Buddha to George Floyd, this varied collection of inspiring essays offers us real insight into how Black Buddhists imagine, and seek to create, genuine freedom. This book is truly a feast—for our minds, and our hearts.”

“Black and Buddhist is a wise, welcome, long overdue, beautiful, and genuinely revolutionary book, a turning of the Wheel of Dharma that points us all toward what we desire most in our daily lives: freedom and joy.”

“Black and Buddhist represents a seismic shift in sharing Dharma relevant to the breadth of human experience. Be cherished, be guided, be elevated, and be transformed by the profound wisdom and compassion of all these authors.”

“This pioneering book is powerful medicine for the suffering of living in racial caste systems. Each author offers a rich, deep, and distinctive dive into the heart and wisdom of Beloved Community.”

“Black and Buddhist is a touching book of stories—a collective sharing of communal history, personal lives, and the threads that join us on the path to freedom from suffering. Wisdom comes through as each storyteller shares the impact of intergenerational trauma, what it means to live in a brown or black body, and how the dharma showed them a way to clear seeing and understanding.”

“The voices of our Black Buddhist sisters and brothers come as a unique gift that, as I hear them, lets me borrow from their courage, wisdom, and enduring hope. If we as a society are to move toward real health and well-being, let these voices of tested compassion and wisdom help lead the way!” — Bill Aiken, (retired) Director of Public Affairs, Soka Gokkai International

“Wow! Black and Buddhist grounds meditation in naked truth-telling, showing that awakening to generational rage and trauma liberates from the inside out. These searing accounts confirm the radical capacity of Black dharma teachers to show the way to freedom both ancient and now.”

“I am often one who skips over the introductory material and the foreword in a book to dive into the ‘meat’ of its pages. To do so with Black and Buddhist would be a tremendous disservice. This is a text that deserves to be fully savored and embraced as it carries one along a journey into the depths of what it means to be human while continuously having one’s right to exist challenged. The introduction is at once a necessary and crucial element to fully engaging with the lives that are shared in these pages. The context is the past uniting with the future to reveal a true ‘now’—a rupture and a continuity—the ‘Buddhist-informed Universal Renaissance in Black Self-Knowledge.’There is richness here in texture, the individual awakenings that engage the senses and the heart—a response to the call of the ancestors walking with all their relations to guide and support the individual authors on their way home. Out of the depths of suffering are born love and joy, giving rise to the artistry of Blackness in all its forms. This journey into Blackness is a way of practicing the paramitas, underscored by the ever-present resilience and abundance of Black magic, of Black joy. Black folks have always known suffering—and have also always exhibited a wide array of ways to end suffering without sacrificing humanity, joy, or love. Accept the invitation. Be bathed in the warmth of Blackness. Black and Buddhist is a collection of dharma teachings that are profound and deep. This book will open your heart.”

“While the personal narratives in Black and Buddhist may be best appreciated by those who have suffered or witnessed the brutality and painful wounds of racism, they may have an equally powerful impact on those who have not experienced what it feels like to be oppressed, despised, and ignored. The voices of those who have opened their hearts about “living while Black” cut through the darkness of ignorance about racial injustice. These deeply meaningful lessons from the lives of distinguished African American Buddhist teachers enrich our understanding of racism and the liberating effects of Buddhist practice. This collection is a major contribution and a tribute to creating an inclusive Buddhism.”