Rev. angel Kyodo williams—Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation

ANGEL KYODO WILLIAMS - Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation. Thrust into the Western socioeconomic framework that puts profit above all, coupled with a desire to perpetuate institutional existence, the Dharma has become beholden to commodification as inescapable and de rigueur. Radical Dharma is one that insists we investigate not only the unsatisfactoriness of our own minds but also prepares us for the discomfort of confronting the obscurations of the society we are individual expressions of. Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation, is a catalyst to initiate a long-overdue conversation: How do we have conversations about social transformation while facing the truths of racism and privilege on and of the cushion? It is an invitation to look at how the legacy of racial injustice plays out in our Buddhist communities. We are called upon to dig deeper to discover the radical dharma that truly makes room for the liberation of all. With national attention focused on the recent killings of unarmed black citizens and the response of the Black-centered liberation groups such as Black Lives Matter, Radical Dharma demonstrates how social transformation and personal, spiritual liberation must be articulated and are inextricably linked. In this talk Rev. angel will share her experience while exploring how the teachings that transcend color, class, and sexual orientation have been hindered by discrimination and the dynamics of power, shame, and ignorance.