Black & Buddhist

Leading African American Buddhist teachers offer lessons on racism, resilience, spiritual freedom, and the possibility of a truly representative American Buddhism.

What does it mean to be Black and Buddhist? In this powerful collection of writings, African American teachers from all the major Buddhist traditions tell their stories of how race and Buddhist practice have intersected in their lives. The resulting explorations display not only the promise of Buddhist teachings to empower those facing racial discrimination but also the way that Black Buddhist voices are enriching the Dharma for all practitioners. As the first anthology comprised solely of writings by African-descended Buddhist practitioners, this book is an important contribution to the development of the Dharma in the West.

With contributions by Acharya Gaylon Ferguson, Cheryl A. Giles, Gyōzan Royce Andrew Johnson, Ruth King, Kamilah Majied, Lama Rod Owens, Lama Dawa Tarchin Phillips, Sebene Selassie, and Pamela Ayo Yetunde.

"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." —Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, author of The Deepest Peace: Contemplations from a Season of Stillness and The Way of Tenderness: Awakening Through Race, Sexuality and Gender

"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." —Jan Willis, author of Dharma Matters: Women, Race and Tantra and Dreaming Me: Black, Baptist and Buddhist

"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." —Charles Johnson, author of Middle Passage and Taming the Ox

"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." —Larry Yang, author of Awakening Together: The Spiritual Practice of Inclusivity and Community

"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." —Tara Brach, author of Radical Acceptance and Radical Compassion

"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." —Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Change