Radical Buddhism: Claiming Asian America's Revolutionary Vision

Axis Mundi Media + Ryan Lee Wong
  • 5.0 (11)
  • Buddhism
  • Weekly

When most people think of Buddhism, they think of a peaceful escape from the world. Yet the Buddha was a radical who taught us how to change not only our minds, but our societies. When most people think of Asian America, they see a silent and apolitical minority. But at the roots of Asian America, we find a political movement grounded in faith, solidarity, and organizing. This is Radical Buddhism, where Ryan Lee Wong, author and former Zen monastic, talks to Asian American Buddhist leaders about the relationship between inner change and social change, faith and politics. Together, they’ll explore how the Buddha’s teachings of 2,500 years offer us the rituals, insights, and skills to build a more compassionate society. Radical Buddhism is a production of Axis Mundi Media, made possible by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation, which seeks to deepen public knowledge of religion. Andrew Gill is the producer, with original music by Scott Okamoto and cover art by Eric Zwierzynski. The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies is our fiscal sponsor.

Episodes

  1. 9h ago

    Inventing Asian America

    Before we go deeper into the idea of Radical Buddhism, we have to understand Asian America. What if we saw Asian America as it was originally intended: a political strategy, a way to bring people together for liberation? How might this social context open new possibilities for Buddhism in America? Until 1968, we were still ‘Orientals.’ Then thousands of young people, including my parents, began the Asian American Movement, a national political and cultural effort to assert rights and dignity. My guest is May Chen, who was one of the first to teach classes and organize as an Asian American. I’ll ask her how that movement came to be, and how it was not only about race, but labor and solidarity—a radical idea that’s still evolving.  May Ying Chen is an activist and union officer who represented immigrant garment workers in New York City's Chinatown for 20-30 years. May was a founding member of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA). Now retired, she promotes and shares projects related to labor history and Asian American Studies. Ryan Lee Wong is author of the novel Which Side Are You On, a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel. He’s trained in Buddhism for over a decade, and lived for two years at a Zen temple in upstate New York. He co-facilitates Roots and Refuge, an annual Asian American Buddhist writing retreat. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, the son of a fifth-generation Chinese American father and a Korean immigrant mother, and has organized several exhibitions on the 1970s Asian American Movement. Find Ryan on Substack: https://ryanleewong.substack.com/ Instagram: @ryanlwong or his website: https://www.ryanleewong.com/   Radical Buddhism is a production of Axis Mundi Media, and made possible by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation, which seeks to deepen public knowledge of religion. Andrew Gill is the producer, with original music by Scott Okamoto and cover art by Eric Zwierzynski. The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies is our fiscal sponsor. www.foundationsandfutures.org www.laborarts.org/1982 www.apalanet.org “Asian American & American Zen”: Ryan’s personal essay about merging the Asian American Movement and American Buddhism. Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA): More on the history and current work of APALA, which today represents nearly 1 million union members.  Cornell University ILR School Online Resource: Details the history of the ILGWU and the story of the major 1982 Chinatown strike, as well as a short documentary on the strike May Chen Papers: for researchers interested in learning more about May’s life and work through her archives.  Serve the People: Making Asian America in the Long Sixties by Karen L. Ishizuka: An oral history-driven overview of the Asian American movement from one of its veterans.  Black, Brown, Yellow, and Left: Radical Activism in Los Angeles by Laura Pulido: Charts the overlaps and affinities between The Black Panthers, El Centro de Acción Social y Autonomo (CASA), and East Wind during the 1960s and 70s.

    Inventing Asian America

  2. Oct 22

    Freeing a Prisoner, Freeing the Mind

    Is Buddhism at odds with social change? Or is it a way to escape politics and enter a more pure realm of spiritual growth?  I interview my mother, Jai Lee Wong, about how she went from being a radical organizer who raised me without religion to becoming a dedicated Buddhist later in life. We’ll discuss how she helped spark the landmark Chol Soo Lee movement, the first Korean American organizing effort. Then we’ll talk about the meditation retreat she did in Korea, which was an ordeal, but somehow also freeing. Jai Lee Wong is a community organizer and activist. Jai’s life experience as an immigrant has informed her commitment to equity and social justice for people of color, immigrants, and women.  Jai previously worked at The California Endowment as a director of the Southern California Region and a Senior Program Officer. During the 1992 Los Angeles civil unrest, she was a consultant at the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission, and staffed the Black Korean Alliance. She was also an organizer of the “Free Chol Soo Lee Defense Committee,” a campaign that successfully freed a Korean American immigrant who was wrongfully convicted of a murder he did not commit. Jai’s work has been recognized by the Liberty Hill Foundation, Women and Philanthropy, and the National Women’s Political Caucus. Ryan Lee Wong is author of the novel Which Side Are You On, a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel. He’s trained in Buddhism for over a decade, and lived for two years at a Zen temple in upstate New York. He co-facilitates Roots and Refuge, an annual Asian American Buddhist writing retreat. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, the son of a fifth-generation Chinese American father and a Korean immigrant mother, and has organized several exhibitions on the 1970s Asian American Movement. Find Ryan on Substack: https://ryanleewong.substack.com/ Instagram: @ryanlwong or his website: https://www.ryanleewong.com/  Radical Buddhism is a production of Axis Mundi Media, and made possible by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation, which seeks to deepen public knowledge of religion. Andrew Gill is the producer, with original music by Scott Okamoto and cover art by Eric Zwierzynski. The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies is our fiscal sponsor. Free Chol Soo Lee: an award-winning documentary on PBS from 2022, tells the story of Lee’s life, his wrongful conviction, and the movement that freed him. It features my mother, Jai Lee Wong, and many other key figures in the movement.  Which Side Are You On: my first novel, based on conversations with my mother on organizing, Korean history, and cross-racial solidarity.  Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paolo Freire: a classic study of how education can be used to either oppress or liberate people.

    Freeing a Prisoner, Freeing the Mind

  3. Oct 5

    Trailer: Can Buddhism change not just our minds, but our society?

    When most people think of Buddhism, they think of a peaceful escape from the world. Yet the Buddha was a radical who taught us how to change not only our minds, but our societies. When most people think of Asian America, they see a silent and apolitical minority. But at the roots of Asian America, we find a political movement grounded in faith, solidarity, and organizing. This is Radical Buddhism, where Ryan Lee Wong, author and former Zen monastic, talks to Asian American Buddhist leaders about the relationship between inner change and social change, faith and politics. Together, they’ll explore how the Buddha’s teachings of 2,500 years offer us the rituals, insights, and skills to build a more compassionate society. Radical Buddhism is a production of Axis Mundi Media, made possible by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation, which seeks to deepen public knowledge of religion. Andrew Gill is the producer, with original music by Scott Okamoto and cover art by Eric Zwierzynski. The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies is our fiscal sponsor.

    Trailer: Can Buddhism change not just our minds, but our society?
  • 3 Episodes

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About

When most people think of Buddhism, they think of a peaceful escape from the world. Yet the Buddha was a radical who taught us how to change not only our minds, but our societies. When most people think of Asian America, they see a silent and apolitical minority. But at the roots of Asian America, we find a political movement grounded in faith, solidarity, and organizing. This is Radical Buddhism, where Ryan Lee Wong, author and former Zen monastic, talks to Asian American Buddhist leaders about the relationship between inner change and social change, faith and politics. Together, they’ll explore how the Buddha’s teachings of 2,500 years offer us the rituals, insights, and skills to build a more compassionate society. Radical Buddhism is a production of Axis Mundi Media, made possible by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation, which seeks to deepen public knowledge of religion. Andrew Gill is the producer, with original music by Scott Okamoto and cover art by Eric Zwierzynski. The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies is our fiscal sponsor.

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