Afrikan Wisdom
New Voices Talk Black Liberation, Buddhism, and Beyond
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
A spiritual, political, and interdisciplinary anthology of wisdom stories from Black liberation leaders and teachers.
Afrikan Wisdom represents an intersectional, cross-pollinated exploration of Black life--past, present, and future. Award-winning author and editor Valerie Mason-John (Vimalasara)'s collection of 34 essays--written by an eclectic and inspirational group of Black thought leaders and teachers--reflects on the unique and multilayered experience of being Black in the world today.
This anthology instills in readers the knowledge, awareness, validation, and spiritual tools necessary to nurture both individual and collective liberation. It is both an inspiration and a motivation for Black readers, as well as anyone else interested in reading about emerging spiritual voices. Topics include:
• African and Afro-Diasporan cultures, histories, spiritualities, art, music, and literature
• Black radical traditions of liberation and consciousness
• Anticolonialism and antislavery
• Buddhist philosophy
• Social and environmental justice
• The prison industrial complex and mass incarceration
• (Kemetic) yoga, healing, and mindfulness
• Intersections with Indigenous cultures
• Addiction and recovery
• Transgenerational trauma
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This stimulating anthology brings together 34 essays exploring the intersection of Black experience with Buddhist practice. It opens with pieces highlighting the need to find space for Black people in Buddhist practice and a particularly smart unpacking of different Buddhist traditions by Marisela Gomez. The second section, "Black Liberation," considers a range of liberation-focused religions and practices and includes helpful primers on Rastafari and Kwanzaa by Elisha Precilla and Afua Cooper, respectively. A section focused on social justice features a provocative essay on the impact of Malcolm X in Canada and an unusual reframing of Martin Luther King Jr. as a bodhisattva; another on decolonizing mindfulness features Rima Vesely-Flad's insightful message of turning the feeling of "being silenced" on its head by focusing on how silence brings "regeneration" and "a heightened capacity to be at ease with difference." The final section, "The Personal is Political," is full of moving personal essays, among them Kabir Hypolite's unearthing of his family's intentionally hidden Native American and African ancestry. Detailed liturgies for Buddhists of color appear amid the rich theorizing and individual reflections. These bite-size and profound essays are a powerful introduction to the overlooked possibilities of Black Buddhism.
