The YBE Update
Hey there, it’s been a minute! Here’s what we’ve been up to:
"What is most noteworthy about YBE’s work is not the expressions of resistance to exclusion but the recitations that depict Asian American Buddhists as ordinary and wholly embodied in their complex existence" - Funie Hsu, Ph.D.
YBE was recently featured in an academic journal article written by Asian American Buddhist scholar Dr. Funie Hsu. Hsu examines the importance of the practice of "reciting" in Asian American Buddhist spaces and its historical/doctrinal precedents.
“Abundance and Belonging” on the Yon-Say Podcast
"Abundance, thinking about the world - Jodo-Shinshu with an abundance mindset rather than a scarcity mindset" - Koki Atcheson
Hear from Koki Atcheson and Devon Matsumoto from our YBE team who were featured on Nikkei Rising's Yon-Say Podcast talk about their experiences in the Jodo-Shinshu Buddhist community and its intersections with their Japanese American identity.
“I Figured I Would Never Find Another: On Being a Queer Asian American Buddhist” by Marissa Wong (she/her/hers)
“It is comforting to know that others hold the same identities as myself and that they will understand where I am coming from.” - Marissa Wong
Our Cultural Conversations Editor and Social Justice Committee member, Marissa Wong, reflects on her experiences with alienation and community as a queer Asian American Buddhist in an article published in Lion’s Roar on March 8, 2022.
“YBE creates community by re-connecting Buddhist friends, educating young individuals about Buddhism, applying Buddhism to current societal issues, and providing people space to share personal stories about their identity.” - Allison Tanaka
Our Gallery Director and Social Justice Committee member, Allison Tanaka, recounts YBE’s founding and future in an article written for Northwest Dharma Association’s Winter 2022 issue.
“The Pure Land Is in the West” by Jean-Paul Contreras deGuzman (he/him/his)
"American Shin Buddhism is experiencing a dynamic moment as its followers use the radical equality of Shinran’s teachings to inform struggles for social justice" - Dr. Jean-Paul deGuzman
Social Justice Committee member, JP deGuzman, discusses the hidden history of Pure Land Buddhists in America in an article he wrote for Lion’s Roar, published on April 25th, 2022.
