Part of a special section on American Buddhism, Race, and Power. This article examines “America’s racial karma,” a concept coined by Larry Ward, to critique the temporal logic underpinning narratives of progress in the US. Drawing from Buddhist conceptions of karma, alongside queer theory, Black studies, and postcolonial critiques, I argue that America’s linear, future-oriented historical narrative functions as a…
Year: 2025
Imagined and Realized Black-Asian Solidarity and American Buddhism
Part of a special section on American Buddhism, Race, and Power. This paper explores the question of Black–Asian solidarities in American Buddhism in response to Rima Vesley-Flad’s examination of the possibility of Black–Asian Buddhist solidarities being stymied by historic tension and aversion among Black and Asian American communities. Rather than lingering on anti-Blackness, I focus on unpacking how Asian American…
Buddhist Exceptionalism behind Bars
Part of a special section on American Buddhism, Race, and Power. Many Buddhist programs in US prisons focus on reforming incarcerated people. Often the leaders of these programs celebrate their incarcerated students for undergoing extraordinary transformations from so-called angry prisoners into calm and compassionate bodhisattvas. Those deemed exceptional may attain celebrity status and often receive privileges both within prison and…
Introduction to the Special Section on American Buddhism, Race, and Power
To say that the United States is experiencing a tumultuous existential crisis of cultural and political identity may, indeed, be an understatement. Race, especially, is at the heart of many current cultural divides and political battles. From debates over Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, to fearmongering over Critical Race Theory (CRT) in public schools, to racialized policies over citizenship…
When Indian “Victorious Crown Ornament” Encounters China
When Indian “Victorious Crown Ornament” Encounters China: A Study on the Ritual Texts, Imagery, and the History of Buddhist Teachings Related to the Uṣṇīṣavijayā Maṇḍala during the Song-Yuan Period (960–1368) In the tantric Buddhist pantheon, “Victorious Crown Ornament” (Skt. Uṣṇīṣavijayā; Tib. Gtsug tor rnam par rgyal ma) represents the personified image of the Uṣṇīṣavijayā dhāraṇī. The veneration of Uṣṇīṣavijayā began between the eleventh and twelfth…
Buddhist Poetics in Medieval Sri Lanka: The Muvadev-dā-vata Reconsidered
This article offers a close reading of the twelfth-century Muvadev-dā-vata, one of the earliest Sinhala-language poetic works to model itself on the Sanskrit kāvya. While earlier studies of the Muvadev-dā- vata have tended to criticize it as a flawed retelling of a Pāli-language jātaka, I argue that the poem instead represents an attempt to seriously grapple with rather serious Buddhological questions: When ought one renounce their worldly status…
Transcendent Understanding: Rennyo’s Soteriology and Plotinus’ Dialectic in Dialogue
This is an eclectic and experimental comparative philosophical analysis of the soteriological thought of Rennyo Shōnin, the eighth monshu of the Honganji temple of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism, and Plotinus, the founder of Neoplatonism. Both thinkers emphasize the necessity of an understanding that transcends mere intellectual knowledge in the liberative process. Rennyo’s soteriology, articulated through his “fivefold method,” underscores the importance of past good conditions…