Equity and Inclusion Resources
Here's a trove of written resources with information and methods for promoting equity and inclusion in Buddhist communities and the wider world.
MZMC’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) committee would appreciate any feedback or proposed additions for this resource list, please contact: info@mnzencenter.org.
Here's a trove of written resources with information and methods for promoting equity and inclusion in Buddhist communities and the wider world.
MZMC’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) committee would appreciate any feedback or proposed additions for this resource list, please contact: info@mnzencenter.org.
Top recommendations for general reading
- Awakening Together: The Spiritual Practice of Inclusivity and Community, Larry Yang, Wisdom Publications, 2017
- The Way of Tenderness, Awakening through Race, Sexuality, and Gender, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, Wisdom Publications, 2015
- Radical Dharma, Talking Race, Love, and Liberation, Rev. angel Kyodo williams, Lama Rod Owens, with Jasmine Syedullah, North Atlantic Books, 2016
General Resources for Promoting DEIA in Buddhist Communities
- “Undoing Whiteness in American Buddhist Modernism” Dr. Ann Gleig Ann Gleig’s keynote address at the 2018 Soto Zen Buddhist Association Conference.
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Buddhist Teachers Speak! This resource, created by Thomas Bruner for the SZBA, contains demographic information, context, and action steps for promoting DEI in Soto Zen sanghas.
- Global Benchmarks for Inclusion and Diversity by the Centre for Global Inclusion
- East Bay Meditation Center community agreements for multicultural interactions
affinity groups
There are groups across the United States which provide space for Zen practitioners to connect with folks with whom they share identities and experiences. MZMC would be pleased to support members in forming such affinity groups. The following links provide examples of and access to groups around the US for Unpacking Whiteness, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, People of African Descent, people on the autism spectrum, LGBTQ+, European, transgender and gender non-conforming folks.
Buddhist Books on Intersectional DEIA Work
- American Dharma, Buddhism Beyond Modernity, Ann Gleig, Yale University Press, 2019
- Awakening Together: The Spiritual Practice of Inclusivity and Community, Larry Yang, Wisdom Publications, 2017
- The Way of Tenderness, Awakening through Race, Sexuality, and Gender, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, Wisdom Publications, 2015
- Dharma, Color, and Culture, New Voices in Western Buddhism, edited by Hilda Gutierrez Baldoquin, Parallax Press, 2005
Race and Buddhism
- The Inner Work of Racial Justice, Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness, Rhonda Magee, Tarcher Perigree, 2019
- American Sutra, A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Second World War, Duncan Ryūken Williams, Harvard University Press, 2019
- America’s Racial Karma, Larry Ward, Parallax Press, 2020
- Be the Refuge, Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists, Chenxing Han, North Atlantic Books, 2021
- Buddhism and Whiteness, edited by George Yancy, Lexington Books, 2019
- Mindful of Race, Ruth King, Sounds True, 2018
- Taming the Ox: Buddhist Stories and Reflections on Politics, Race, Culture, and Spiritual Practice, Charles Johnson, Shambala, 2014
- A Fierce Heart: Finding Strength, Courage and Wisdom in Any Moment, Spring Washam, Hay House, 2019
- Being Black, Zen and the Art of living with Fearlessness and Grace, Angel Kyodo Williams, Viking, 2000
- Radical Dharma, Talking Race, Love, and Liberation, Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams, Lama Rod Owens, with Jasmine Syedullah, North Atlantic Books, 2016
Whiteness and Anti-Racism
- Whiteawake.org provides an array of excellent online resources
- White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, by Peggy McIntosh
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard to Talk to White People About Racism, Robin Diangelo, Beacon Press, 2018
- So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo, Seal Press, 2019
- White Like Me, Reflections on Race by a Privileged Son, Tim Wise, Soft Skull Press/Counterpoint, 2011
Indigenous People’s Wisdom, Challenging Erasure, and Land Acknowledgement
- Soto Zen Buddhist Association Information on creating a Land Acknowledgment Statement
- What to consider when acknowledging you are on stolen indigenous lands
- Indigenous Land Acknowledgement, Explained
- Invisibility is the Modern Form of Racism Against Native Americans
- Unsettling Ourselves: Reflections and Resources for Deconstructing Colonial Mentality
- Stalking Nirvana: The Native American (Red Path) Zen Way, Rev. Duncan Sings-Alone Sensei. Two Canoes Press, 2013
Beyond Patriarchy: Women and Buddhism
- Buddhist Women on the Edge: Contemporary Perspectives from the Western Frontier edited by Marianne Dresser, North Atlantic Books, 1996
- Buddhism after Patriarchy, Rita Gross, Sri Satguru Publications, 1995
- Being Bodies: Buddhist Women on the Paradox of Embodiment, edited by Susan Moon and Lenore Friedman, Shambhala, 1997
- Women Living Zen: Japanese Soto Buddhist Nuns, by Paula Arai, Oxford, 1999
Teachings of Buddhist Women Ancestors
- The First Free Women: Poems of the Early Buddhist Nuns, tr. Matty Weingast, Shambhala, 2020.
- The Hidden Lamp. ed. Moon/Caplow. Wisdom Publications, 2013
- Daughters of Emptiness, Beata Grant, Wisdom Publications, 2012
- Zen Echoes, Beata Grant, Wisdom Publications, 2017
- The First Buddhist Women, Susan Murcott, Parallax Press, 2002
- Zen Women, Grace Schireson, Wisdom, 2009
- Women of the Way, Sally Tisdale, HarperOne, 2008
Understanding nonbinary gender
- Things not to say to non-binary folks
- What does it mean to be non-binary
- Life Isn't Binary: On Being Both, Beyond and In-Between, Alex Iantaffi and Meg-John Barker, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2019
Confronting/overcoming transphobia
- Transcending: Trans Buddhist Voices, edited Kevin Manders and Elizabeth Marston, North Atlantic Press, 2019
- GLAAD Transgender FAQ
- GLAAD Tips for being a good ally to transgender people
- The Gender Unicorn
Buddhist works addressing LGBTQ+ identity
- Queer Dharma: Voices of Gay Buddhists volumes 1 & 2 edited by Winston Leyland, Gay Sunshine Press, 1998
- Also see books listed under intersectional DEIA work and Race and Buddhism by Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, Larry Yang.
Inclusion for all ages and abilities
- This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism, Ashton Applewhite, Celadon Books, 2019
- Feminist, Queer, Crip, Alison Kafer, Indiana University Press, 2013
- Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2019
Inclusion for people of all economic backgrounds
Trauma Sensitivity
- Trauma-Sensitive Zen, Daishin McCabe, presented at the 2018 SZBA conference.
- When the Body Says No, Gabor Mate, Wiley, 2008
- My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies, Resmaa Menakem, Central Recovery Press, 2017
- Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness, David Treleaven, WW Norton, 2018
Power, Buddhist Teachers, and Sexuality
- Right Use of Power: The Heart of Ethics, Dr. Cedar Barstow, D.P.I.
- Sex and The Spiritual Teacher, Scott Edelstein, Wisdom Publications, 2011
