Black Buddhists and the Black Radical Tradition

Abstract

This book uplifts the distinctive voices and practices of Black people who embrace the religious tradition of Buddhism. The central thesis is that Buddhist teachings and practices liberate Black people from psychological suffering. Black liberation depends on healing intergenerational trauma, and forms of Buddhism facilitate the process of attaining inner freedom. In the practice of Buddhist teachings, meditators cultivate the capacity to see external causes and conditions, identify habitual patterns and refrain from harmful reactivity, and deconstruct false, degrading messages imparted in a white supremacist social order. A second argument is that Buddhist teachings (known as the dharma) practiced by Black Buddhists emphasize different aspects of Buddhism than are experienced in white convert Buddhist communities (known as sanghas), especially in devotional practices to ancestors and in prioritizing community uplift. A third argument is that the socially vilified Black body is, for Black Buddhists, a profound and reclaimed vehicle for liberation. In focusing on embodiment, Black Buddhists uplift the importance of feeling sensuality and joy. A fourth and final argument is that each of these core assertions fulfills the quest for psychological liberation in the Black Radical Tradition.