Young Asian Americans on Meditation, Appropriation, and Refuge

If two-thirds of American Buddhists are of Asian heritage, why do representations of white convert meditators dominate in the media? Is the rapid rise of secular mindfulness unfair appropriation of an Asian religion or skillful adaptation to an American context? How are young Asian American Buddhists grappling with issues of race, religion, identity, and representation? How are they building spaces of refuge as- and with- racial and religious minorities?
In this talk, Chenxing Han delves into these questions as the author of Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists, a co-organizer of May We Gather: A National Buddhis Memorial of Asian American Ancestors (www.maywegather.org), and a co-teacher of Listening to the Buddhists in Our Backyard (www.listentolocalbuddhists.org).