Shareouts from the event:
Video recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK1HyuSi1Ro
Audio recording: https://soundcloud.com/be1inda/chenxing
Transcript: https://www.buddhistaction.org/asian-american-buddhism-event-transcript
Asian American Buddhists:
A Conversation with
Chenxing Han and Belinda Ju
Wednesday, June 1, 2022
6:30pm EDT - doors open
7:00–8:30pm EDT - event
Union Theological Seminary
Stewart Room (2nd floor)
3041 Broadway New York, NY 10027 (at W 121st St)
Please RSVP HERE.
The Buddhist Action Coalition, Union Theological Seminary, and Buddhist Council of New York are excited to co-sponsor an evening in conversation with Chenxing Han and Belinda Ju. Chenxing Han is the author of Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists. The event also serves as the official NYC book launch since its release in January 2021. Chenxing will be in conversation with BAC member Belinda Ju, who runs a meditation community called Potluck + Sit. Join us in celebrating Chenxing and her important work.
Please note that proof of vaccination and booster are required at the door, alongside ID. Everyone must remain masked for the event except for the speakers. While no drinks or refreshments will be provided, a water fountain is on the first floor; please prepare accordingly. A select number of books will be available for sale. We ask that folks please arrive on time.
Please RSVP here so that we can estimate the number of people to expect.
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ABOUT CHENXING HAN
Chenxing Han is the author of Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists and a forthcoming memoir, both with North Atlantic Books. She is a regular contributor to Lion’s Roar, Tricycle, Buddhadharma, and other publications, and a frequent speaker and workshop leader at schools, universities, and Buddhist communities. Chenxing holds a BA from Stanford University and an MA in Buddhist Studies from the Graduate Theological Union, and is a co-organizer of May We Gather: A National Buddhist Memorial for Asian American Ancestors. More about Chenxing here: www.chenxinghan.com
ABOUT BELINDA JU
Belinda Ju is a coach, writer, dancer, and convener of a meditation community. Passionate about spiritual community and spiritual friendship, she started Potluck + Sit in 2018, which continues to thrive as a co-created sangha. Through her writing and dance, Belinda explores the concept of care as a practice of freedom and vehicle for liberation in the present moment. She makes and performs work as a dancer and dancemaker, and she is currently completing a memoir. Belinda also serves as an executive coach for founders and leaders in tech. She is proud to be a member of the Buddhist Action Coalition.
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ABOUT THE BOOK
A must-read for modern sanghas—Asian American Buddhists in their own words, on their own terms.
More than two thirds of U.S. Buddhists are Asian American. But you’d never guess this from mainstream representations, which all too often whitewash the racial and cultural diversity of American Buddhist communities.
Be the Refuge is both critique and celebration, countering the erasure of Asian American Buddhists while uplifting their stories and experiences. The Oriental monk, the superstitious immigrant, the banana Buddhist: dissatisfied with these tired tropes, Han asks, Will the real Asian American Buddhists please stand up? Her journey to answer this question led to in-depth interviews with a pan-ethnic, pan-Buddhist group of eighty-nine young adults.
Weaving together the voices of these interviewees with scholarship and spiritual inquiry, this book reenvisions Buddhist Asian America as a community of trailblazers, bridge-builders, integrators, and refuge-makers. Encouraging frank conversations about race, representation, and inclusivity among Buddhists of all backgrounds, Be the Refuge embodies the spirit of interconnection that glows at the heart of American Buddhism.