Buddhist Currents is pleased to be hosting this important series of conversations on Abuse, Sex and the Sangha, organized by Ann Gleig and Amy Paris Langenberg. Details and registration links in main menu (above) or here.
Welcome
This website is dedicated to the exploration of contemporary social, political, and ecological crises in light of Buddhist history, thought, and practice. It includes short and long form essays, conversations with Buddhist studies scholars, courses, and more.
Calling All Bay Area Ecosattvas!
This summer Bay Area folks from different Buddhist sanghas and traditions are coming together for collective action in support of local efforts to rematriate indigenous lands, Stop Line 3, Rainforest Action Network, Black Lives Matter, and the international call for Land Back, including the The Red Deal. We will be holding a regular meditation and…
An interesting chapter in engaged Hawaiian Buddhism
Thanks to Engaged Jodo Shinshu Buddhism on Twitter, I just learned of this interesting chapter in engaged Hawain Buddhism–involving an indigenous woman, meeting with Anagarika Dharmapala, Bo tree, establishment of Japanese Buddhism in Hawaii, support of Mahabodhi Society, and Land Back! Read more in these short wikis (1, 2), and in the book by Patricia…
“What B.R. Ambedkar Wrote to W.E.B. Du Bois”
This short article describes an exchange between W.E.B. Du Bois and B.R. Ambedkar on their feeling of common cause in the fight against anti-Black racism in America and caste and colonial oppression in India. B.R. Ambedkar is important to Buddhism in that he drew on Buddhist teachings (especially, its anti-caste ethics) in his drafting of…
Summary of Anālayo’s “Confronting Racism with Mindfulness”
This article[1]Anālayo, B. Confronting Racism with Mindfulness. Mindfulness 11, 2283–2297 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01432-4 by Bhikkhu Anālayo (a foremost scholar of early Buddhist literature) examines Buddhist teachings and modern scientific research on mindfulness in order to recommend ways in which mindfulness may be relevant to anti-racist practice for Buddhists and non-Buddhists. He suggests that while the scientific…
Climate, Corona, and Collapse: The Dharma was Made for these Times
[This is an article I wrote for the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies’ Insight Journal in March of 2020. The original version, a pdf with bibliography, and many articles by other authors relevant to socially and ecologically engaged Buddhism, visit Insight Journal here.] ‘Collapse’ is a scary word. From the Latin prefix col-, meaning ‘together,’ and…
Conversation with Ann Gleig and Brenna Artinger – Feb 25!
“The #BuddhistCultureWars: From Snowflake Sanghas to Alt-Right Buddhism” a conversation with Ann Gleig and Brenna Artinger You’re invited: Thursday, February 25, 2021 – 5-6:30pm Pacific Time on Zoom. More information and registration here.
Decolonizing Dependent Arising
This is a short paper presented at the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, San Diego, November 25, 2019. It outlines the limitations of the categories of “philosophy” and “religion” for examining Buddhist thought and practice and the generative ecological possibilities of decolonizing our approach to the study of Buddhism in the American academy. In…