MARIANA RESTREPO: Is there something we can identify as BIPOC Buddhism? Are there distinct Buddhist practices or teachings, for example, that have more affinity within the BIPOC context?
MARGARITA LOINAZ: What stands out for me in BIPOC sanghas is the emphasis on community, the relational aspect, the interconnectedness, and the valuing of our ancestors, the understanding of what comes through the lineage that we’re born into physically and culturally. I feel like the priority within the BIPOC sangha is the relational aspect of the teachings.
CAROL IWATA: I agree. And I wonder, how would the relational aspect really take hold in the predominantly white sanghas? I spent some time talking with the Buddhist scholar Jake Nagasawa about how Buddhism was sold, if you will, to white America, because it was very individualistic. You sit on your cushion, you meditate, you work on your stuff, and you don’t have to deal with the world.
Another is that race and racism are central to our practice. Awareness of it and of being safe from white supremacy, voyeurism, all of those things—awareness, too, that race is embodied in us. In that way, our practice is more embodied, as well.
I think this awareness of race gives impetus to a lot of the social justice work that comes out of BIPOC sanghas. It’s not unusual for people in larger, predominantly white sanghas to accuse their communities of spending too much time on social justice. They didn’t come there for that—they came there to get away from it.
The way Buddhism was sold to white America was very individualistic. You sit on your cushion, you meditate, you work on your stuff, and you don’t have to deal with the world.
—CAROL IWATA
For me, having been brought up in a dominant culture sangha, I remember when I went to my first people of color retreat at Spirit Rock. I was like, “Oh my God, people on the stage look like me. And they’re speaking about experiences that I never hear in mainstream retreats.” Whether we came from immigrant families or our ancestors were slaves in this country, there is
