Quote from Awakening Together

Awakening Together: The Spiritual Practice of Inclusivity and Community

by Larry Yang

Wisdom Publications, Somerville, Massachusetts, 2017.      252 pages

We do not exist in isolation -- and neither does our enlightenment. Our personal liberation is tied up with our collective liberation; we cannot be fully liberated alone. This truth is the chief theme of this powerful and poetic book by Larry Yang -- mindfulness practitioner and teacher, deep inclusivity activist, and diversity change-agent.

Awakening Together is written by a wise and kindhearted man who wants Buddhism to be more widely accessible to people of color and other marginalized groups. It is part personal reflection, part guidebook, part manifesto, and part rich analysis of what ails our country and our Dharma communities . . . gleaned from years of experience and offered with clarity, gentleness, and -- most of all -- love."

Larry Yang is a person of color and a gay, queer man whose first experiences of Buddhist community and traditions left him feeling "awkward, lonely and even unsafe". He shared that "the message I felt was that those aspects were not worthy of awareness and kindness, and by extrapolation, I myself was not worthy of this practice." Rather than turning away from the Dharma, Yang has dedicated his life to making Dharma communities more inclusive and diverse. In Awakening Together, Yang provides insight and direction toward building truly diverse and inclusive sang has.  (p. vii-viii, x from Foreword by Jan Willis)

-- quote submitted by Sally Snyder

To visit the blog and see more reviews and quotes from books in the collection of Center for Sacred Sciences' Library, click here https://centerforsacredscienceslibrary.blogspot.com