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Daily Buddhism

The Colors of Our Practice, By LaToya Springer

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LaToya Springer

We have a wonderful guest post this morning by LaToya Springer. LaToya is a California native currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada. She works as an administrative assistant, wife, poet, and community activist. She has been meditating for a little over a year, combining Vipassana meditation with Zen Buddhism.

The Colors of Our Practice: Buddhism without Boundaries
By LaToya Springer

I am a fairly new Buddhist practitioner. My introduction to Buddhism was Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse which I read in the 10th grade. My Buddhist education continued when I went to college. I took some religious studies courses that fueled my interest in the practice. In the meantime, I was still trying to be a ‘good Christian’ and attend church, but there was something about Buddhism that interested me. After a long period of soul searching, I dedicated myself to the path. I can’t really say that I converted; Buddhism seemed natural to me. It fit with my personal philosophy. There is nothing spectacular about me. I’m 25-years-old and married. I love to cook and read.

And I happen to be African-American.

I had initial reservations about sharing my new practice with others for good reason. A few people in the Black community took my decision personally. They felt that I was turning my back on my family and culture. Suddenly Easter gatherings and Sunday dinners became a war front in the battle of religious wills. I found myself constantly having to justify my practice. As a result, much of my first year as a Buddhist was spent cultivating patience and loving kindness.

I am met with both curious glances and open arms when I attend retreats or gather with fellow practitioners to meditate. Though I am often the only African-American present, I have never felt out of place. In fact, I am more at ease in these situations than in the past when I attended church services with my peers. While I value my sangha and my experiences, I am concerned about the lack of people of color in American Buddhism, particularly those in leadership roles. The sangha, or Buddhist community, plays a crucial role in the practitioner’s spiritual development. It is the community we go to for support and encouragement.

But what do we do when our sangha is not representative of us?

I have found the Web to be an excellent tool for expanding my Buddhist community. Sites like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter are a great way to reach out to others. The Web has been essential in helping me find other African-American practitioners. Blogs and personal websites that share the experiences of others like mine have helped me to grow in my practice. In addition, I have found great books written by African American Buddhists.

There are more of “us” than one might think.

There are times when I find myself outnumbered. I’m either the only Buddhist in a group of my peers or the only African-American in a group of Buddhists. In these moments it is helpful, when appropriate, to initiate dialogue about my experiences. As a result, I have learned a lot from others and others have learned from me. Educating others or offering a perspective not of the norm has been rewarding.

The Buddha’s teachings transcend race, color, gender, and sexual orientation. We are all brothers and sisters in the practice. However, we must be realistic and not ignore the fact that many of the prominent faces of American Buddhism do not fully represent the community in its entirety. We cannot be naive to think a lack of visible diversity has no affect on the growth of Buddhism in this country. Nobody wants to take part in something that is (real or perceived to be) exclusive or exclusionary. For that reason, it is important to reach out to other communities and make them feel included. Providing a platform to share experiences can be the best kind of spiritual education.

Feel free to leave a comment on LaToya’s article in the comment section below.

Daily Buddhism

Racism and Buddhism

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In last Friday’s post, I discussed genetics a bit. During the article, I mentioned, “whether you are tall or short, black or white, blue-eyed or brown-eyed, is a matter of genetics…” which I intended as a simple statement of fact, and never imagined that anyone would take offense to that. Yet, the following comment came in:

Comment:

I appreciate your common sense approach to the nature-nurture debate. The slideshow of the Temple of the Tigers is fascinating. However, one important point regarding your statement, “Obviously whether you are tall or short, black or white, blue-eyed or brown-eyed, is a matter of genetics. No one has any control over that stuff.” The terms “black” and “white” are racial categories applied by human beings to other human beings. It is well known at this point that the concept “race” is a social construct. The PBS series, “Race: The Power of An Illusion” goes into depth on the complexities of the concept of ‘race’ there is information online available. Whether as a human being you are considered ‘black’ or ‘white’ is, actually, not a matter of genetics, but is a socially constructed categorization. Not too long ago in the United States, both Irish and Italian peoples were not considered to be white, for instance.

My Response:

First, I have not seen the PBS series he describes, so I may be missing his point entirely. Also, I will admit that I chose to use the term “black” rather than the preferred (in America, anyway) “African-American” because there is a large international readership here, and the term really doesn’t work well in an international context.

But anyway, I see no problem with the way I used the term in this context; I could have said light-skinned or dark-skinned person, but I think it’s clearer as I said it. Everyone knows what I meant, and there was no judgment or racism in the way I meant it or, I believe, in the way I said it.

But now we get to the topic at hand. You say that “race is a social construct.” OK, I agree. There are some very dark-skinned people and some very light-skinned people, and a whole spectrum of shades in-between. Where the lines are drawn are vague, and much of our self-identities are caught up in where we (and others) position ourselves in that range. In the way we treat each other, it is completely a social issue.

But yet, anyone with eyes can see a difference.

Buddhists are realists. If you take a so-called “White” person and stand them next to a so-called “Black” person, there is an obvious physical difference. Saying otherwise is political correctness taken to the point of absurdity. Anything else is like saying blue eyes and brown eyes are the same. No, they aren’t. They work the same; they function identically; yet there is a difference.

Internally, spiritually, or in all the ways that matter to a Buddhist, they are the same. To deny the physical difference, just seems like denying the truth. We should embrace the differences, and accept them, even enjoy them; to deny them is just wrong-thinking.