Magazine Articles and Podcast Appearances
Articles:
Lion’s Roar
Let's Not Walk on Dead Bodies
by Zenzele Isoke
Zenzele Isoke, an urban ethnographer and feminist theorist, calls on Western Buddhists to confront gun culture in the United States.
A Buddhist and a Cop?
by Dexter Cohen Bohn
Dexter Cohen Bohn, a British/American social activist involved with the International Network of Engaged Buddhists, shares how New York Police Department Detective Jeff Thompson incorporates Buddhist teachings in policing.
Miranda Rights? Wrong! ...The Degradation of Tyre Nichols
by Pamela Ayo Yetunde
BJR co-founder Pamela Ayo Yetunde explains how the reduction of Miranda rights to a Miranda rule by the U.S. Supreme Court potentially endangers all people arrested by police officers.
The Bardo of a New Era - Part II - The Practice of Possibility
by Dr. g
Dr. g , a clinical psychologist, activist, and poet, reminds us that change can be practiced with.
How Not to Burn Out
by Keisha Bush
Keisha Bush, the author of No Heaven for Good Boys, helps us understand how we get attached to what we call ourselves and invites us to examine what we call ourselves so we can more effectively do the work we are called to do, for the long run.
The Bardo of a New Era - Part I - The Path of Justice
by Dr. g
Dr. g, clinical psychologist, activist, and poet, examines how embracing the bardo state helps us find meaning in impermanence.
Beginning a Buddhist Pedagogy for the Privileged Oppressed
by Pamela Ayo Yetunde
BJR co-founder Pamela Ayo Yetunde explores how Buddhist pedagogy is an essential framework for Buddhist teachers to educate themselves and their communities about our criminal justice systems.
Embodied Nonviolence
by Singhashri Gazmuri
Inspired by the teachings of the Buddha, Singhashri Gazmuri outlines the steps we must take when seeking a life of nonviolence.
Right Conduct: How Breonna Taylor is Waking Up American Justice
by Dexter Cohen Bohn
Dexter Cohen Bohn, a British/American social activist involved in the International Network of Engaged Buddhists, examines how the police killing of Breonna Taylor awoke the beginnings of a repatterining of justice in the American judicial system, and the work still to come.
To Save the World We Must Come Out of Hiding
by Singhashri Gazmuri
When the suffering of the world knocks at our door, says Singhashri Gazmuri, we must be courageous enough to open it.
Our Storied Bodies: The Interweavings of Coming In
by Hilary North-Ellasante
Hilary North-Ellasante examines how our bodies hold on to suffering and what it can tell us about our experience.
The Ultimate Service
by Indigo Ocean
Indigo Ocean explains the concept of worship, and how it can enrich our practice of awareness.
Stop Woke: The War Against Awakening and Belonging
by Ann Gleig
Ann Gleig offers commentary on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ “Stop WOKE Act,” reminding us that “the path to awakening is not an easy one.”
The Ethics of Abortion: A Black Mama’s Wise Contemplation
by Zenzele Isoke
-Zenzele Isoke offers her commentary on the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and why we must collectively establish a new set of political ethics that are peaceful, compassionate, wise, and loving.
Right Remembering: An Antidote to Scapegoating’s Erasure
by Pamela Ayo Yetunde
BJR co-founder Pamela Ayo Yetunde discusses “right remembering” and how it impacts our collective memory for George Floyd.
Adapting the Precepts for Reconciliation
by Patrice Clark Koelsch
-Patrice Clark Koelsch reimagines the five precepts to apply when engaging in morally-charged activist settings.
Angry Bees and the Questions of 2020
by Marcella Prokop
-Reflecting on the second anniversary of the police murder of George Floyd, Buddhist practitioner and beekeeper Marcella Prokop shares her account of working with the stickiness of suffering, and what the bees have taught her along the way.
As It Is Now: Too Many Guns and Too Much Bypass
by Zenzele Isoke
-“Our guns will not lead to our liberation,” writes Zenzele Isoke following the May 14 mass shooting that killed 10 people and injured three in a racist attack at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. Here, she calls on practitioners to challenge gun culture and “bring the precept of non-harming back into the very center of our ethics and our mindfulness practices.”
A Buddhist Vision of “To Protect and To Serve”
by Dexter Cohen Bohn
-Dexter Cohen Bohn shares how Buddhist practice can provide a non-violent approach when it comes to law enforcement and policing.
When Refuge in Another Sangha on MLK Day Was No Longer Enough
by Tanya Marie Bonner
-For Tanya Marie Bonner, the absence of the commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at her home sangha was always perplexing. Here, she shares the journey of creating an annual program to honor Dr. King and his life’s dedication to the alleviation of the suffering.
The Doctrinal Case for Buddhist Protest Movements
by Sensei Alex Kakuyo
-“What good is an enlightened being if they turn their back on the world?” asks Sensei Alex Kakuyo. Here, he shares why Buddhists belong in activist protest movements.
Tricycle
Buddhist Justice Reporter and the George Floyd Trials
by Pamela Ayo Yetunde
-Introducing the BIPOC Buddhist teachers, writers, and lawyers who are covering the criminal proceedings and creating an engaged dharma for Black Lives.
Showing Up Without Burning Out
by Shannon Gibney
-How the Buddha’s teachings on attachment can help us navigate the trials of the officer charged with George Floyd’s murder.
Hopelessness and the Continued Use of Deadly Force
by Zenzele Isoke
-People march for Black life. But who marches for the principle of non-harming and non-killing?
Cause of Death: The Theories Behind State v. Chauvin
by Camille Bryant and Keika (Karín Aguilar-San Juan)
-A deeper look at what the jury in the Derek Chauvin trial is considering regarding George Floyd’s cause of death.
Prepared for Acquittals, Relieved by the Verdict, Preparing for Transformation
by Pamela Ayo Yetunde
-Reflecting on the Chauvin verdict and what comes next.
Finding Your Way
by Felicia Washington Sy
-How the Black Bodhisattvas can help ease suffering and help us find our way.
Buddhist Justice Versus American Justice
by Tara Mulay and Tuere Sala
-Legally, justice is rooted in a social contract promising to fairly resolve culpability for acts against society. In Buddhism, karma and the intentions behind our actions come first.
Cause of Death Part Two: Now What?
By Camille Bryant and Keika (Karín Aguilar-San Juan)
-Can George Floyd’s death act as a catalyst for a collective rebirth?