Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation – we have nothing to lose but our chains

has been bridging the worlds of spirit and justice since her critically acclaimed first book, Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living with Fearlessness and Grace, was hailed as “an act of love” by Pulitzer Prize winner Alice Walker and “a classic” by Buddhist pioneer Jack Kornfield. A powerful voice for love and justice, she been called "the most intriguing African-American Buddhist" by Library Journal and received the first "Creating Enlightened Society" award from Shambhala International. Rev. angel is a Senior Fellow for Faith and Social Justice at Auburn Seminary. Find her at www.angelkyodowilliams.com Read More…

Lama Rod Owens is considered one of the emerging leaders of his generation of Buddhist teachers. An author, activist, and formally authorized Buddhist teacher in the Tibetan tradition of Buddhism, he is the co-founder of Bhumisparsha, a Buddhist tantric practice community as well as a visiting teacher with several Buddhist centers. A graduate of Harvard Divinity School, Lama Rod has also been a guest faculty member at the Harvard School of Education’s program Mindfulness for Educators. He can be reached at www.lamarod.com. Read More…

Jasmine Syedullah is a black feminist political theorist of abolition, and co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation (North Atlantic Books, 2016). She is currently Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology at Vassar College. Syedullah holds a PhD in Politics with a designated emphasis in Feminist Studies and History of Consciousness from University of California Santa Cruz and a B.A. from Brown University in Religious Studies with a focus in Western Nihilism and Buddhist Philosophy. Read More…

This is a book to grow on, to deepen over, to partner with. We are on a magnificent journey of liberation, every moment we are alive in this odd place that has yet to awaken to itself. And we are always, generation to generation, ready to travel. How cool is this?

Alice Walker, American Novelist & Poet http://alicewalkersgarden.com

Radical Dharma is a clear, honest testimony of the heart from three leaders of our time. You may not always see things just as they do (I didn’t) or even feel like you fully understand it all (again, I didn’t) but that makes it even more important to read.

Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness http://sharonsalzberg.com

Radical Dharma is both radical … and courageous. The authors build upon the growing understanding of the connection between personal and societal liberation. Radical Dharma unflinchingly turns this lens to this most challenging and critical nexus of racism and white supremacy…Take the invitation!

Robert Gass, EdD, cofounder, Rockwood Leadership Institute and Social Transformation Project http://sacredunion.com/robert-gass

Radical Dharma is a powerful and vulnerable circle held by three Dharma practitioners who are people of color. It is a beautiful and rare invitation to listen to how each transformed their pain. Some of this is familiar…and some of this, for white people, will be new: What does it look like to truly sit with the pain caused by racism in your body? Radical Dharma demands that we step into the circle and ask: How do we restore our humanity? How do we transform ourselves and the world?

Marianne Manilov, cofounder, Engage Network http://mariannemanilov.com

This is a moving and crucial book for anyone interested in the flourishing of the dharma in the West. Read it, sit with it and then get off the cushion and do something radical to make a difference.

Cheryl A. Giles, Francis Greenwood Peabody Senior Lecturer on Pastoral Care and Counseling at Harvard Divinity School http://hds.harvard.edu/people/cheryl-a-giles