Find out a bit more about Eunji Son, Access to Zen's (A2Z) part-time admin and all-the-time SUPPORT for us all who practice or engage with any A2Z events or digital content. Hear how her own practice and spiritual journey has taken her far, wide -- and deep! GUEST: EUNJI SON is based in South Korea, evolving her relationship with ancestral land, and practicing as a photo collage and mixed media artist. She works behind the scenes at A2Z and ODA as a part-time assistant. CONTACT: You kno...

"Practice" part of convo between Siddhesh Mukerji & Rev. Liên. GUEST: SIDDHESH MUKERJI (he/him) is a Zen practitioner and a scholar of engaged Buddhism and Buddhist social work. He was born in India, grew up in the United States, and currently lives in Ireland. He writes and does research out of the Department of Applied Social Studies at the University College Cork - Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh. Connect with Siddhesh HERE HOST: REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the...

Tune in to this soulful conversation between Siddhesh Mukerji and Rev. Liên on the intersections of Engaged Buddhism & Buddhist Social Work. GUEST: SIDDHESH MUKERJI (he/him) is a Zen practitioner and a scholar of engaged Buddhism and Buddhist social work. He was born in India, grew up in the United States, and currently lives in Ireland. Siddhesh writes and does research on social work and engaged Buddhism. HOST: REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that...

Judy Nakatomi shares meditative offerings: Morning Chant from the Plum Village Tradition, guided meditation, and an Offering of Merit from the Shin Tradition in Japanese (Ékoku). The recording of bird sounds was made by Judy at Plum Village. Listen to her full interview with Rev. Liên to hear about Judy's experience with biculturality and the complexity and beauty of practicing Buddhism across traditions. GUEST: JUDY YUSHIN NAKATOMI (she/we) is a mother, partner, auntie, write...

Judy Yushin Nakatomi talks about her practice in the Zen and Shin traditions. She also discusses how she is practicing with her Bodhisattva vows through engaging with the current internment of minority people, while practicing awareness of her own family's history with war wounds. Judy and Rev Liên share with each other some of the nuances of having or not having access to ancestral languages and culture, and how they navigate being Asian American Buddhist practitioners in the United States.&...

Buddhist teachings on how we have been conditioned to interpret raw data; which then drives us to behave. -- An excerpt from Rev. Liên's book, Home is Here, to accompany Professor Michael Omi's in-depth interview on racial formation this month. REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed s...

Professor Michael Omi joins Rev. Dana to help us contextualize the current climate of racial formation, namely the propagation of a far-right ideology of an oppressed white race, in a much longer history of constant changing in definitions of and associations with racial identities. In Buddhist terms, we can see the theory that Michael co-developed contains an essential Buddhist perspective, namely that of Mental Formations. Stay tuned later this month for a practice offering from Rev. Liên! ...

This practice offering is from co-host Rev. Dana Takagi, in connection with Professor and Historian Alice Yang's interview, "Our Heritage of Othering and Resistance" which dropped July 1st. Dana speaks to the need to address specific kinds of suffering as Buddhist teachers and practitioners, as not all suffering is the same. She reflects on the vow to save all beings, and how this stems from a grounded embodiment of our own humanity to understand the humanity of others who need our support th...

Professor Alice Yang helps us put the systematic othering we are seeing in the U.S. today into historical context. She discusses the oppression and disappearance of people, and points out how protest movements are often erased from the history Asian American and other immigrant groups in the United States, when the truth is that we can embrace and continue a deep heritage of resistance. Alice emphasizes the urgency of knowing our history to expand what we think is possible in the present, and...

We hope you enjoy this dharma talk from Rebecca Nie, "10 Vows". GUEST BIO: ZEN MASTER REBECCA DAWN NIE is the founder of MV Sanctuary and Vice President of the Maitreya Association for Buddhist College Chaplains. As Stanford’s Chaplain-Affiliate, she oversees the Buddhist religious and spiritual life for students, faculty, and staff. Her offerings ranges from Continental Zen to Buddhist Yoga, offering healing wisdom for contemporary life through dharma teaching, translation, and new med...

Rebecca Nie talks about the common misconception that China is an ethnic monolith, and how she identifies with her Huaren heritage. Although her spiritual path was discouraged in her early life, she discusses being connected to a centuries old heritage of a resilient Dharma that allows us to dream without limitations even through turbulent times. Rebecca also mentions a book-in-progress which will be a translation of Chan Zen Master poems responding to turbulent historical moments, pointing o...

Mushim Patricia Ikeda is an internationally-known secular mindfulness and Buddhist teacher working primarily with justice activists and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) meditation practitioners and with people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. A core teacher at East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, California, she is an author whose writing has been published in Lion's Roar, Tricycle, Buddhadharma and various anthologies. Mushim was selected by Lion's Roar Buddhist media ...

Secular & Buddhist teacher Mushim Patricia Ikeda in convo with Rev. Liên on how mature practice can help us deal with the current conditions of our world. GUEST Mushim Patricia Ikeda is an internationally-known secular mindfulness and Buddhist teacher working primarily with justice activists and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) meditation practitioners and with people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. A core teacher at East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, California,...

June Kaililani Tanoue, Kumu Hula, reads her blog post, "Dwell Nowhere and Browse That." Listen as she reflects on a conversation with her husband Roshi Robert Joshin Althouse. Together they are cofounders of Zen Life & Meditation Center of Chicago. You can find the written piece on the Halau i Ka Pono website. About June June Ryushin Tanoue, B.S., MPH is co-founder of Zen Life & Meditation Center. Practicing Zen since 1993, she received Transmission in 2014 as a fully empowered Zen ...

June Kaililani Tanoue, Kumu Hula, talks about how to practice observing our thoughts rather than holding onto them, whether times are easy or tough. Hear about how June started Halau I Ka Pono as an offshoot of the Zen Life & Meditation Center after she moved to Chicago, and how Hula is the dance of being a pillar in one's community. About June June Ryushin Tanoue, B.S., MPH is co-founder of Zen Life & Meditation Center. Practicing Zen since 1993, she received Transmission in ...

In the season 4 premiere, Rev. Liên Shutt and Rev. Dana Takagi discuss the need to continue to forward Asian American and Asian Diaspora Buddhist voices in these tumultuous times. Thank you to everyone who has listened so far, and continue to tune in! It's not too late to take our listener survey! Respond by March 21st and get access to an exclusive meditation recording by Rev. Liên: "Tenderhearted Buddhas for these Times".

On season 3, we co-created and witnessed an amazing example of how the Net of Indra weaves and connects. We heard from 13 Buddhist practitioners and teachers of Asian American or Asian Diaspora heritage, and in their own words, spoke to what the AA/AD Buddhist experience is for them. Season 3 is officially a wrap! Thank you to everyone who listened with us, and we hope you join us for more Asian American/Asian Diaspora forwarding conversations and offerings in season 4. Full list ...

Rev Dana follows up on her dharma talk from the last episode dropped on February 18th. She adds to her perspective on the current historical conditions of our time in the United States, talks about breath practice, and offers a chant she's used often for the dying, from Thich Nhat Hanh. Check out the 2011 book Dana discusses in this episode: More Beautiful and More Terrible: The Embrace and Transcendence of of Racial Inequality in the United States by Professor Imani Perry Ph.D, JD

Hello, listeners of Opening Dharma Access, for February, we're doing things a little bit different by offering you some meditations and Dharma talks on current conditions as 2025 brings to the United States a whole bunch of difficult circumstances: the L.A. fires; the current administration. This dharma talk is from co-host Rev. Dana Takagi. Dana speaks on what wisdom could look like in times like these, and how to expand our vision as well as awareness about our current national system...

Meditation to find stability in the midst of current threats in our world: nationally, world-wide, and with climate justice. -- Given at EBMC BIPOC Sangha REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a recognized leader in the movement that breaks through the wall of American white-centered convert Buddhism to welcome people of all backgrounds into a contemporary, engaged Buddhism. As an ordained Zen priest, licensed social worker, and longtime educator/teacher of Buddhism, Shutt represents new leadership a...