Opening Dharma Access: Listening to BIPOC Teachers & Practitioners

In a continuation of the previous episode conversation with Dr. Paula Arai, Paula shares an in-depth overview of her current "embodied" research on the often unacknowledged contributions to Buddhism that are at the foundation of its continuation throughout history, in part because of the perceived simplicity of these acts of generosity and practice. PAULA ARAI (she/her) (Ph.D., Buddhist Studies, Harvard University) holds the Eshinni & Kakushinni Chair of Women and Buddhist Studies at the Institute of Buddhist Studies. Steeped in ethnographic research, she takes an embodied approach to her work and finds poetic immersive storytelling a potent medium for conveying experiences of transformative healing.Her publications include:Women Living Zen (Oxford University Press)Bringing Zen Home (University of Hawaii Press)Painting Enlightenment: Healing Visions of the Heart Sutra (Shambhala Publications)The Little Book of Zen Healing: Japanese Rituals for Beauty, Harmony, and Love (Shambhala Publications)Explore her website to read some of Paula's poetry, stay up to date on appearances, and learn more about her. Your hostREVEREND DANA TAKAGI (she/her) is a retired professor of Sociology and zen priest, practicing zen since 1998. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian American history at UC Santa Cruz, and she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies. 

Dr. Paula Arai talks with Dana about being brought up by her Japanese mother, and how she realized the way that she embodied Buddhism in her body and mind not through intellectual study or what Westerners view as formal practice, but through the simple actions and embodied guidance of her mother. PAULA ARAI (she/her) (Ph.D., Buddhist Studies, Harvard University) holds the Eshinni & Kakushinni Chair of Women and Buddhist Studies at the Institute of Buddhist Studies. Steeped in ethnographic research, she takes an embodied approach to her work and finds poetic immersive storytelling a potent medium for conveying experiences of transformative healing.Her publications include:Women Living Zen (Oxford University Press)Bringing Zen Home (University of Hawaii Press)Painting Enlightenment: Healing Visions of the Heart Sutra (Shambhala Publications)The Little Book of Zen Healing: Japanese Rituals for Beauty, Harmony, and Love (Shambhala Publications)Explore her website to read some of Paula's poetry, stay up to date on appearances, and learn more about her. Your hostREVEREND DANA TAKAGI (she/her) is a retired professor of Sociology and zen priest, practicing zen since 1998. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian American history at UC Santa Cruz, and she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies. 

Rev. Liên Shutt and Bo Hee Moon continue their conversation on Asian American diasporic identity, and Bo Hee reads the finished version of her poem "Meeting with my Asian Sangha Tonight."Read the poem here!Guest:BO HEE MOON was adopted at three-months-old from South Korea. Her poems have appeared in AGNI, Poetry, swamp pink, and others. Omma, Sea of Joy and Other Astrological Signs, published by Tinderbox Editions, is her debut collection of poems. She previously published under a different name.Read Bo Hee's Order her POETRY Book, Omma, Sea of Joy and Other Astrological Signs, at BoHeeMoon.comOther writings also at:Afterlives: An AGNI Portfolio of Asian Adoptee Diaspora Writing

Listen in to hear how Bo Hee Moon was inspired by practice in the 3-month course "Lotus Rising from Mud: A Path for Anti-Asian American Restoration. Guest:BO HEE MOON was adopted at three-months-old from South Korea. Her poems have appeared in AGNI, Poetry, swamp pink, and others. Omma, Sea of Joy and Other Astrological Signs, published by Tinderbox Editions, is her debut collection of poems. She previously published under a different name.Connect with Bo at:BoHeeMoon.comAfterlives: An AGNI Portfolio of Asian Adoptee Diaspora WritingHost: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 Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org. Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path. See all her offerings at EVENTS

GuestRyan 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 Everything Everywhere All At Once on The AMP.The Buddha on TV: Nam June Paik's fraught relationship to Buddhism, on PBS: American MastersCheck out his website to read more and stay updated.IG: @ryanlwong 

GuestRyan 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 Everything Everywhere All At Once on The AMP.The Buddha on TV: Nam June Paik's fraught relationship to Buddhism, on PBS: American MastersCheck out his website to read more and stay updated. IG: @ryanlwong Your HostREVEREND DANA TAKAGI (she/her) is a retired professor of Sociology and zen priest, practicing zen since 1998. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian American history at UC Santa Cruz, and she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies. 

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 experienced by people of color and emphasizes the importance of embodiment. She's also President of Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women. Her upcoming book, Emergent Dharma: An Anthology of Asian American Feminist Buddhist Women scheduled for Fall 2025.Links to social media:www.mindfuleatingmethod.com; @mindfuleatingmethodIn addition to books mentioned in bio: •.      “Western Buddhism and Race,” co-authored with Joseph Cheah, Oxford Research Encyclopedia (Oxford University Press, May 2022).• “Jeong as the Expression of the Interrelationality of Self and Other in Korean Buddhist Cinema” in Edward Y. J. Chung and Jea Sophia Oh, eds. Emotions in Korean Philosophy and Religion: Confucian, Comparative and Contemporary Perspectives.” (Palgrave, 2022).• “Taking Refuge in the Body to Know the Self Anew: Buddhism, Race, and Embodiment,” Embodying Knowledge: Asian and Asian American Women’s Contributions to Theology and Religious Studies, ed. by Kwok Pui Lan (Palgrave MacMillan).• “We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programming to Bring You This Very Important Public Service Announcement . . .”: aka Buddhism as Usual in the Academy,” in Emily McCrae and George Yancy, eds., Buddhism and Whiteness: Critical Reflections (Rowman & Littlefield). •Suh. Sharon., “Buddhist Meditation as Strategic Embodiment: An Optative Reflection” in Flashpoints for Asian American Studies, ed. by Cathy Vials-Schlund. (Fordham University Press, 2017).•Suh, Sharon. A., “Buddhism and Gender” in Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism, ed. by Michael Jerryson. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016):635-649.•Suh, Sharon A., “Buddhism, Rhetoric, and the Korean American Community: The Adjustment of Korean American Buddhists to the United States” in Richard Alba, Albert J. Raboteau, and Josh DeWing, eds., Immigration in America: Comparative Historical Perspectives. (New York: New York University Press, 2009):166-190.

Professor Sharon Suh discusses Asian American Buddhism, racialized trauma, and embodiment. They explore the struggles of authenticity within a white Buddhist context, personal healing through mindfulness practices, and the significance of deep listening and collective resilience in Asian American Buddhist communities.

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. His publications include:Lions Roar: "The Pure Land is in the West"Everyday Buddhist: "The Dharma of a Turkey Sandwich" Wheel of Dharma: "Mindful Action in Mindless TImes: A Buddhist Response to Injustice" Young Buddhist Editorial: "Gratitude For My Mom"Explore his website to learn more about his academic publications as well.

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 JP's talks in the San Fernando Valley. 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. His publications include:Lions Roar: "The Pure Land is in the West"Everyday Buddhist: "The Dharma of a Turkey Sandwich" Wheel of Dharma: "Mindful Action in Mindless TImes: A Buddhist Response to Injustice" Young Buddhist Editorial: "Gratitude For My Mom"Explore his website to learn more about his academic publications as well. Your HostREVEREND DANA TAKAGI (she/her) is a retired professor of Sociology and zen priest, practicing zen since 1998. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian American history at UC Santa Cruz, and she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies.