Black Buddhists

Buddhism, Black Americans, & Other Modern Traditions

I meditate in a style inspired by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I meditate and strive to adhere to The Five Precepts. I consider myself a simple householder. A Black Buddist householder. Yet when I look around, I don't see many other African-American Buddists.

Imagine my surprise and delight when I met Michael, an African-American monk. We were both hearing the Dalai Lama in San Francisco April 2007. He never knew there are Black software execs and I'd never met a brother in robes. Meeting him was proof it was possible for me; being Black and a Buddhist weren't oil and water. But let's not get ahead of myself. I'm a householder, not sangha.

There are plenty of good web sites about Buddhism. This isn't one of them. Start at Wikipedia (of course). Follow the various links on Wikipedia to learn even more. Wisdom Publications has an excellent list of links and resources related to Buddhism. Our pals at Lotsawa House have a set of links relevant to Buddhism too.

As a former acupuncturist, I'm a big fan of traditional knowledge and practices. But I grew up on corn flakes, TV, rock'n'roll, and other modern influences. With all due respect to those before me, I'd like a more contemporary interpretation of traditional practices.

I've stumbled across several books that offer unique, contemporary perspectives that resonate with my life experiences. The first I read was Being Black. Whoa! Here's an ordained African-American Buddhist!

Next I read Dharma Punx and then Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies, & the Truth about Reality. Both authors are considerably younger than me but their American youth experiences still struck a chord. Irreverent by "traditional" Buddhist standards but valid works nevertheless.

Meeting Faith: The Forest Journals of A Black Buddhist Nun was interesting but not as inspiring given that her commitment to the ordained life was somewhat superficial and fleeting. I'm in the middle of Dreaming Me. So far, so good. Next on my reading list is Dharma, Color, and Culture: New Voices in Western Buddhism.

Other resources:

The Wu Tai Shan Clan a.k.a. Lotswawa House is a collective of translators whose motto is: "Dharma. On the house." One of their unindicted co-conspirators is Gary Dyson (Gary Azukx), chanter of a slammin' Heart Sutra mix. This movement parallels young turks infusing jazz with Hendrix and hiphop, and before that my acupuncture teachers of old (Ted Kaptchuk, Don Halfkenny, Randy Bartlet, et al.) at the New England School of Acupuncture, back in the day (as in the early '80s).