Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation

Igniting a long-overdue dialogue about how the legacy of racial injustice and white supremacy plays out in society at large and Buddhist communities in particular, this urgent call to action outlines a new dharma that takes into account the ways that racism and privilege prevent our collective awakening. The authors traveled around the U.S. to spark an open conversation that brings together the Black prophetic tradition and the wisdom of the Dharma. Bridging the world of spirit and activism, they urge a compassionate response to the systemic, state-sanctioned violence and oppression that has persisted against Black people since the slave era. With national attention focused on the recent killings of unarmed Black citizens and the response of the Black-centered liberation groups suxh as Black Lives Matter, Radical Dharma demonstrates how social transformation and personal, spiritual liberation must be articulated and inextricably linked. The authors offer their own experiences as queer, Black dharma practitioners and teachers to question how teachings that transcend color, class, and sexual orientation have been hindered by discrimination and the dynamics of power, shame, and ignorance. Their illuminating argument goes beyond a demand for equality and inclusion to advancing a new dharma that deconstructs rather than amplifies systems of suffering and prepares us to weigh the shortcomings not only of our own minds but also of our communities.