Lifting as They Climb is a love letter of freedom and self-expression from six Black women Buddhist teachers, conveyed through the voice of author Toni Pressley-Sanon, one of the innumerable people who have benefitted from their wisdom. She explores their remarkable lives and undertakes deep readings of their work, weaving them into the broader tapestry of the African diaspora and the historical struggle for Black liberation.
Black women in the U.S. have adapted Buddhist practice to meet challenges ranging from the injustices of the Jim Crow South to sexual violence, social discrimination, and bias within their Buddhist communities. Using their voices through the practice of memoir and other forms of writing, they have not only realized their own liberation but carried forward the Black tradition of leading others on the path toward collective awakening.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Preface: Seeking Sanctuary – A Personal Journey
Introduction: How We Do
Part One
1. Jan Willis: Carrying On the Tradition
2. bell hooks: Being Love, Finding Home
3. Osho Zenju Earthlyn Manuel: Embodying the Self, Walking with the Ancestors
4. Rev. angel Kyodo Williams: Waking Up, Staying Woke
5. Spring Washam: A Lotus in the Mud
6. Faith Adiele: Finding Faith
Part Two
7. Buddhism and Black Women
8. The African American Autobiographical Tradition and Its Legacy
Conclusion
Suggested Further Reading
Notes
Index
A worthwhile glimpse at the rich and complicated intersections of Blackness, womanhood, and spirituality.” - Publishers Weekly
“Essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the important contributions black women Buddhist practitioners are bringing to the efflorescence of Dharma in America.” - Charles Johnson, author of The Eightfold Path and Middle Passage
“Toni Pressley-Sanon uplifts the profound wisdom of Black Buddhist women writers and provides for us not only the tremendous practices of awareness that have anchored their lives, but also the contexts that have been so formative for them. And we learn Toni’s story as well. Several pages into reading this beautiful text, I thought to myself: I am going to buy this book for every person in my life. It is that rich, important, necessary.” - Rima Vesely-Flad, author of Black Buddhists and the Black Radical Tradition: The Practice of Stillness in the Movement for Liberation
“Lifting as They Climb is a beautiful tribute and testimony to the labor and care of Black Buddhist women who, in the very spirit of the Buddha, continue to show us how to get free.” - Lama Rod Owens, author of The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors
“Each of these wise, awake Black Buddhist teachers is my teacher. Together, they shine a light that reveals the constricting and deluded lens of the dominant White culture, a healing light that celebrates the potential for all to embody infinite, loving awareness. This collection of writings is an essential weave in our precious, ever-evolving dharma.” - Tara Brach, author of Radical Acceptance and Trusting the Gold
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