Skip to main content

Emergent Dharma


Through different Buddhist traditions, the dharma spread through storytelling, with teachers sharing their experiences and observations of awakening to truth, reality, and greater wisdom. In Emergent Dharma, this vital tradition is brilliantly rekindled through the voices of Asian American women artists, scholars, activists, educators, and healers. Edited by Sharon A. Suh, PhD, this volume compiles poignant narratives of deepening and transforming their relationship to Buddhist traditions, offering a contemporary lens on the experiences of immigrants and descendants of immigrants in the United States.

Each essay powerfully articulates the evolving, liberatory nature of personal practices through acts of reframing, inviting readers to consider how cultural nuances can reshape and enrich spiritual practice. Mihiri Tillakaratne offers the liberatory path of embodying a “Bad Buddhist Auntie” – a figure who fearlessly reflects and bridges the sometimes-paradoxical demands of diaspora and spiritual tradition. Syd Yang shares a heartfelt and deeply moving story of healing from an eating disorder, finding profound support and transformation through an unwavering commitment to Bodhisattva Vows. Suh underscores the inherent subversiveness in an arising Asian American “feminist killjoy” brand of Buddhism toward an expansive and inclusive “ethic of love.”

Emergent Dharma is an essential read for anyone committed to understanding the richness of the Asian American experience and the boundless ways in which spirituality can manifest and empower.

Buy from Capital Books

Popular posts from this blog

Enlighten Me

Editor's Note: This review was originally published in Los Angeles Book Review . Author Minh Lê Standing up for oneself seems like doing the right thing. Binh did just that in the face of a racist school bully who was poking fun at his Asian heritage. But physically assaulting another student goes against school policy, and it was Binh who got in trouble. Binh shares a silent retreat with his family and younger siblings. Along with other children, he learns about stories from the previous lives of the Buddha. The stories are interesting, but for Binh, it is difficult to sit still and clear his mind when he misses his Gameboy. While he struggles with silence, he learns important lessons about friendship, community, and being present. In the graphic novel "Enlighten Me," award-winning author Minh Lê and bestselling illustrator Chan Chau tell the story of a boy who gains a better understanding of himself as he works on quieting the mind and reflecting on dharma. Lê and Ch...
Read more

Medicine Wheel for the Planet

Jennifer Grenz, PhD       Working toward ecological healing requires awareness of how Indigenous ancestral knowledge and living ways can complement Western scientific approaches to environmental restoration and protection practices. Dr. Jennifer Grenz (Nlaxa’pamux mixed ancestry) worked for more than two decades as a field researcher and practitioner for environmental nonprofit organizations, where she worked with different levels of government, including First Nations in Canada. "Medicine Wheel for the Planet" compiles Grenz’s most potent realizations about the lack of forward movement in addressing an impending ecological catastrophe.  A warming climate impacts not only human lives but also the natural balance that relies on reciprocal relationships rooted in deep connections to the land. She uses the metaphor of the four directions of the Indigenous “medicine wheel” to invite openness to Indigenous teachings, letting go of colonial narratives, merging lessons f...
Read more

Memento - Embracing the Darkness

Dennis "Dizzy" Doan Stories about overcoming and persevering through family dysfunction, poverty, and mental health challenges offer hope and the promise of better days. Dennis “Dizzy” Doan’s memoir Memento: Embracing the Darkness is one such story, with the added complexity of being raised in an immigrant Vietnamese family. Doan’s parents dealt with the mental and emotional aftermath of war, which forcibly uprooted them from their homeland. In the United States, they struggled to create a safe and stable life for their two sons. Doan shares his journey of finding himself, his craft, and eventually a successful tattoo business in Southern California despite personal strife and run-ins with the law. Doan is best known for developing the aesthetic language to combat anti-Asian hate that erupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. His art series titled “Model Minority” went viral, sparking conversation about Asian American identities and harmful stereotypes. In Memento, Doan showcase...
Read more