A Buddhist Life In America

"Joan Halifax is known for her work with the dying. In this book she relates how she found a life of her own through her contact with traditional cultures and through association with people like Alan Lomax, Stanislav Grof and Joseph Campbell. At first a refuge from painful mental anguish, Buddhism became, in time, a place of refreshment and self-rediscovery for her. It also gave texture to her life of service, leading to the practice of "engaged Buddhism" that is attentive to the suffering world and a healing presence within it."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Explores a range of Buddhist perspectives in a distinctly American context.

Charles Prebish is world-renowned as a leading Buddhist scholar, with more than 20 books and 100 academic articles to his credit. Since his involvement with Buddhism began in 1965, he has had the privilege and honor to meet all of America's distinguished and visiting Buddhist teachers, to work with Buddhist scholars around the world, and to deepen the academic study of Buddhism. While his specialization is in monastic discipline, he is most widely known as the first scholar to seriously examine Buddhism in America as a distinct field of study. His pioneering efforts in this regard have had a profound impact on the study of Buddhism's history in North America, which is now one of the most active areas of global Buddhist research. Dr Prebish was Founding Co-Chair of the Buddhism Section of the American Academy of Religion in 1981, Founding Co-Publisher of the first online peer-reviewed journal in the field of religious studies - "The Journal of Buddhist Ethics," and five years later another online journal - "The Journal of Global Buddhism." He recently retired as Professor Emeritus from Utah State University, after a 35-year career teaching at Pennsylvania State University. "An American Buddhist Life" is his story, with reflection on where Buddhism in America has been and where it's going.

Razor-Wire Dharma is an eloquent, enlightening, and utterly inspiring personal story how one man found Buddhism—and real, transformative meaning for his life—despite being in one of the world's harshest environments.

A must-read for modern sanghas--Asian American Buddhists in their own words, on their own terms. Despite the fact that two thirds of U.S. Buddhists identify as Asian American, mainstream perceptions about what it means to be Buddhist in America often whitewash and invisibilize the diverse, inclusive, and intersectional communities that lie at the heart of American Buddhism. Be the Refuge is both critique and celebration, calling out the erasure of Asian American Buddhists while uplifting the complexity and nuance of their authentic stories and vital, thriving communities. Drawn from in-depth interviews with a pan-ethnic, pan-Buddhist group, Be the Refuge is the first book to center young Asian American Buddhists' own voices. With insights from multi-generational, second-generation, convert, and socially engaged Asian American Buddhists, Be the Refuge includes the stories of trailblazers, bridge-builders, integrators, and refuge-makers who hail from a wide range of cultural and religious backgrounds. Championing nuanced representation over stale stereotypes, Han and the 89 interviewees in Be the Refuge push back against false narratives like the Oriental monk, the superstitious immigrant, and the banana Buddhist--typecasting that collapses the multivocality of Asian American Buddhists into tired, essentialized tropes. Encouraging frank conversations about race, representation, and inclusivity among Buddhists of all backgrounds, Be the Refuge embodies the spirit of interconnection that glows at the heart of American Buddhism.

Bringing together 15 essays by international Buddhist scholars, this book offers a distinctive portrayal of the life of Buddhism. The contributors focus on a range of religious practices across the Buddhist world, from New York to Tibet.

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