Opening Dharma Access: Listening to BIPOC Teachers & Practitioners

Rev. Liên Shutt & Rev. Dana Takagi
  • 5.0 (15)
  • BUDDHISM
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

Welcome to "Opening Dharma Access," a podcast where we hear stories from BIPOC teachers & practitioners about their Dharma experiences and practice, and how those inform the ways they are sharing & practicing the Dharma today. Season 3 & 4 description: Hosted by Rev. Liên Shutt & Rev. Dana TakagiThis season, we will have a new focus: Uplifting and Forwarding Asian American/Asian Diasporic Buddhist Experiences in the West.With our guests and audience, we will explore the specificities of Asian American/Asian Diasporic experiences.  We take it as given that there are generational differences (hence the historical moment matters!) and we hope to also delve into Asian family norms and values, our inchoate understanding of ancestor worship, issues of identity, representation, stereotypes about sexuality and sexual identity,  and Asian American depression.   A theme we'll be using to help guide our conversations is The Disquiet - a term we are adapting from writer/poet Fernando Pessoa (The Book of Disquiet) -- which, in our view, signals a complex recognition of self, mind, and body.  The evidence for the foregoing includes scholarly research indexed in aggregate statistics on depression, youth suicide, and other issues in immigrant or first-generation families. While Asian Americans are not alone in experiencing trauma, the racial languages and discourses of othering are different for us than for other groups.     What do we hope is the outcome of this podcast?  Our first aim is to give voice to the range and depth of Buddhism in Asian and Asian American generations.  We hope, in doing so, we help to shine a light on the limited or myopic envisioning of race in primarily white sanghas. Asian and Asian American diasporic truths about practice are a teaching for contemporary dharma organizations and centers. We recognize the depth and range of Asian and Asian Diasporic Buddhists as a wisdom mirror for organized Buddhism in the West.Thank you to the Hemera Foundation for their generous support of Season 3 & 4!  Contact us at:  Info.Access2Zen@gmail.comFurther Info at: AccessToZen.org

  1. Precepts for Skillful Engagement in Turbulent Times: 3 Ways to Practice Precepts & P1/Non-Harming with Rev Liên Shutt

    1D AGO

    Precepts for Skillful Engagement in Turbulent Times: 3 Ways to Practice Precepts & P1/Non-Harming with Rev Liên Shutt

    First of 6 parts series from AccessToZen.org. For the video of this talk (& Deep Listening prompts & participants' comments, see link at end of show notes). Week 1 of Precepts for Skillful Engagement in Turbulent Times series: Rev. Liên gives an overview of 3 ways to practice with the precepts which she connects to how Sama has been translated as "Right," "Wise," & "Skillful" within the 8-Fold Path. Also shared are practice stories of her work with these precepts. The group practice is both the recitations (offered weekly) and the practice of Deep Listening as a form of Repentance (an aspect of precepts taking/vowing). The affirming/positive aspect of the 5 Precepts offered today are: I vow to realize & promote non-harming. I vow to realize & promote mutuality. I vow to realize & promote connections. I vow to realize & promote honesty. I vow to realize & promote clear heart-mind. The traditional form & full info can be found at AccessToZen.org under the name of this offering.  May this offering be for the benefit of all beings.  Be safe. Bring safety to all. See the full session's video at: https://youtu.be/l2SuNU85JI8 Contact Info.Access2Zen@gmail.com with questions or if your are able to support the continuation of Opening Dharma Access (ODA). Thank you! Rev. Liên Shutt (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, immigrants, and those seeking a home in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder & Guiding Teacher of Access to Zen. You can learn more about her work and book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Pathat AccessToZen.org EVENTS

    30 min

  2. APR 22

    Season 4 Compilation of Interviews: Asian American & Asian Diaspora Buddhists Helping Define Buddhism Today!

    Opening Dharma Access podcast, season 4 compilation of highlights of all our fantastic guests this past season. We hope you enjoy! Guests in order of appearance: Rev. syd yang, Siddhesh Mukerji, Reverend/Kumu June Tanoue, Rev. Dana Takagi, Judy Nakatomi, Professor Alice Yang, Professor/Rev. Joseph Cheah, Abbess Yuko Yamada, Rev. Liên Shutt, Professor Michael Omi, Mushim Ikeda, Professor Sharon Suh, Eunji Son, Rev. Rebecca Nie. YouTube Version. Instagram Version. (Please share!) If you enjoyed this and you know of funding opportunities for a project like ours, please reach out! We are also receiving donations to help us continue into season 5, which includes the time it takes to find guests, record, edit, and get the word out about the podcast! We would love to continue forwarding BIPOC voices! Email: info.access2zen@gmail.com IG: accesstozen

    20 min

  3. APR 7

    Season 4 Wrap-Up: Can "What is AA & AD Buddhism" Be Answered? with Rev. Liên Shutt & Rev. Dana Takagi

    Rev. Liên & Rev. Dana tries -- & about what it might be our future, too! Zen Fools! :) The Co-Host reflect on 2 Seasons forwarding Asian American (AA) & Asian Diasporic (AD) Buddhist teachers & practitioners; along with other AAs who have shaped our collective understanding of race and racialization in the U.S. We thank Rev. Dana Takagi for her dedication to these aims for the last 2 seasons! These archives would not be the same without her or her guests' voices! We'll be dropping a compilation of Season 4 for the "practice" on April 21. UPDATE on 4/6: We did not get funding to renew this project.  As always, feel free to contact us (about funding or otherwise) at Info.Access2Zen@gmail.com Your hosts REV. DANA TAKAGI (she/her) is a retired professor of Sociology and zen priest, practicing zen since 1998. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian American history at UC Santa Cruz, and she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies.  REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, immigrants, and those seeking a home in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder & Guiding Teacher of Access to Zen. You can learn more about her work and book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Pathat AccessToZen.org EVENTS

    51 min

  4. MAR 17

    Well-Being Chant & Reflection Meditation with Rev. Liên Shutt

    As our world continues to tumble, here's a Soto Zen chant for Well-being. Kannon, or Kanzeon, are the Japanese names for the Bodhisattva of Compassion. This chant is calling on her/them to support us to be with "the cries of the world." Traditionally, just a chant. Here, Rev. has embedded it with a meditation, offering guidance to reflect on how to practice being with and be nourished by our kind heart-minds, aching in the midst of difficulties. May our practice be for the benefit of all beings! Rev. Liên Shutt (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, immigrants, and those seeking a home in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder & Guiding Teacher of Access to Zen. You can learn more about her work and book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Pathat AccessToZen.org EVENTS

    21 min
  5. Reverend Joseph Cheah: Lived Experience as the Core of Spiritual Practice

    MAR 3

    Reverend Joseph Cheah: Lived Experience as the Core of Spiritual Practice

    Reverend Joseph Cheah sits down with Dana to discuss his research and writings which push back against dominant understandings of Asian religions that were propagated by Western frameworks. He brings his combination of familial and cultural Buddhist roots with his Catholic faith and livelihood to also offer the idea that anti-hate activism by Asian organizers is a deep kind of spiritual social practice in action.  GUEST REVEREND JOSEPH CHEAH OSM, Ph.D. is Professor of Religious Studies and Theology, and Chair of the Department of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies.  Fr. Joe has made robust contributions in the fields of Asian American religions and theology, Buddhist Studies, World Christianity, race and religion. He is the author of Race and Religion in American Buddhism (OUP, 2011) which is the first monograph to take race seriously as a category of analysis in American Buddhist scholarship (Brooke Schedneck) and “stands to transform the discourse on American Buddhism and Asian American religions in significant and much needed ways” (Sharon Suh). His recent book Anti-Asian Racism (Orbis, 2023) has been reviewed as “an exceptional book … on the genealogy and variants of anti-Asian racism in the U.S.” (Thomas Hampton) and “a must-read for all Americans” (Peter Phan). He is a co-editor on the Palgrave Macmillan series, “Asian Christianity in Diaspora” with Grace Ji-Sun Kim, with whom he co-authored a book on Theological Reflections on “Gangnam Style.” In recognition of his record of exceptional scholarship, the University in 2018 awarded him with the Sister Mary Ellen Murphy Faculty Scholarship Award. He has been an invited speaker on anti-Asian racism, Catholic Social Teaching, and other topics to audiences at diverse educational levels across the country. He was part of Asian American Christian Collaborative delegates invited to a White House meeting to address central issues faced by Asian American communities. HOST REVEREND DANA TAKAGI (she/her) is a retired professor of Sociology and zen priest, practicing zen since 1998. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian American history at UC Santa Cruz, and she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies.

    35 min
  6. All Our Ancient Twisted Karma w/ Rev. Dana Takagi

    FEB 17

    All Our Ancient Twisted Karma w/ Rev. Dana Takagi

    This month on Opening Dharma Access, we continue to shift from our regular schedule to focus on the ongoing ICE occupation and state-supported destruction impacting the globe. Rev. Dana Takagi reflects on her personal experience of returning to some foundational practice tools during a time of grieving, and the necessity as practitioners to double down in times of intense hatred and anger. She also talks about chanting and acknowledging one's own ancient twisted karma, always being a work in progress, and how we should resist furthering hatred and violence in ourselves for even those who perpetuate hatred and violence.  REVEREND DANA TAKAGI (she/her) is a retired professor of Sociology and zen priest, practicing zen since 1998. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian American history at UC Santa Cruz, and she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies.

    10 min
  7. Ideas for Practicing Dharma in the Midst of Fascism w/ Rev. Dana Takagi

    FEB 3

    Ideas for Practicing Dharma in the Midst of Fascism w/ Rev. Dana Takagi

    This month on Opening Dharma Access, we continue to shift from our regular schedule to focus on the ongoing ICE agency violence. Rev. Dana Takagi speaks about the many ways to respond to fascism from a Dharma perspective, whether that be peaceful protest or staying educated on which systems can be used as shields for the vulnerable. Dana recommends some reading, watching and podcasts, to understand in detail how the current presidential administration is consistently acting as a fascist regime by disregarding legal and communal structures to create an atmosphere of terror. Stay tuned for a second episode from Dana on the third Tuesday of this month.  Here are links to references mentioned by Dana in the episode: 1.  Letters from an American, Heather Cox Richardson https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/ 2. Rachel Maddow, Burn Order: https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-presents-burn-order 3. Densho ( a digital storehouse of Asian American history).  This is an interview with attorney Dale Minami who was one of several attorneys who participated in the Coram Nobis Case which set aside the convictions of Fred Korematsu, Gordon Hirabayashi, and Min Yasui (all of whom challenged different aspects of the constitutionality of the order to evacuate Japanese Americans in 1942). https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTk9cCAiECg/ 4. Strict Scrutiny:   https://crooked.com/podcast-series/strict-scrutiny/ REVEREND DANA TAKAGI (she/her) is a retired professor of Sociology and zen priest, practicing zen since 1998. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian American history at UC Santa Cruz, and she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies.

    28 min
  8. 5 Ways to Respond to the Cries of the World (aka Activism from Giving) with Rev. Liên Shutt

    JAN 28

    5 Ways to Respond to the Cries of the World (aka Activism from Giving) with Rev. Liên Shutt

    The 5 Ways of "a superior person's gift" are (as ordered in this talk): right time, respectfully, with a generous heart, without denigration, & out of faith.  Given the heart-breaking events in the US this week, ODA will present a series of offerings from both hosts, Rev. Liên Shutt & Rev. Dana Takagi. This episode is from a talk at Access to Zen, Rev. Liên's sangha. Video of talk & other references can be found on the Dharma Talk page at AccessToZen.org Rev. Dana's commentaries will drop in 1-week. We'll then offer more responses; formats TBD.  Feel free to reach out to us at Info.Access2Zen@gmail.com Please take good care meanwhile! Rev. Liên Shutt (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership at the nexus of spirituality and social justice, offering a special warm welcome to Asian Americans, all BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and those seeking a “home” in the midst of North American society’s reckoning around racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Shutt is a founder of Access to Zen (2014). You can learn more about her work at AccessToZen.org. Her new book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path. See all her offerings at EVENTS

    34 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

Welcome to "Opening Dharma Access," a podcast where we hear stories from BIPOC teachers & practitioners about their Dharma experiences and practice, and how those inform the ways they are sharing & practicing the Dharma today. Season 3 & 4 description: Hosted by Rev. Liên Shutt & Rev. Dana TakagiThis season, we will have a new focus: Uplifting and Forwarding Asian American/Asian Diasporic Buddhist Experiences in the West.With our guests and audience, we will explore the specificities of Asian American/Asian Diasporic experiences.  We take it as given that there are generational differences (hence the historical moment matters!) and we hope to also delve into Asian family norms and values, our inchoate understanding of ancestor worship, issues of identity, representation, stereotypes about sexuality and sexual identity,  and Asian American depression.   A theme we'll be using to help guide our conversations is The Disquiet - a term we are adapting from writer/poet Fernando Pessoa (The Book of Disquiet) -- which, in our view, signals a complex recognition of self, mind, and body.  The evidence for the foregoing includes scholarly research indexed in aggregate statistics on depression, youth suicide, and other issues in immigrant or first-generation families. While Asian Americans are not alone in experiencing trauma, the racial languages and discourses of othering are different for us than for other groups.     What do we hope is the outcome of this podcast?  Our first aim is to give voice to the range and depth of Buddhism in Asian and Asian American generations.  We hope, in doing so, we help to shine a light on the limited or myopic envisioning of race in primarily white sanghas. Asian and Asian American diasporic truths about practice are a teaching for contemporary dharma organizations and centers. We recognize the depth and range of Asian and Asian Diasporic Buddhists as a wisdom mirror for organized Buddhism in the West.Thank you to the Hemera Foundation for their generous support of Season 3 & 4!  Contact us at:  Info.Access2Zen@gmail.comFurther Info at: AccessToZen.org

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