Opening Dharma Access: Listening to BIPOC Teachers & Practitioners

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...

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...

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 exper...

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...

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....

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...

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...

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 M...

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...

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...

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 mem...

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...

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 Intimat...

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...

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 Ti...

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 mindfulnes...

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 medit...

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,...

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 l...

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 Chan...

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 line...

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 ,...

An open, spacious conversation with Dr. Rebecca Li on her practice & teachings on Chan Buddhism and her newly released book, I llumination: 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 T...

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, nonbin...

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, nonbin...