History of Spiritual Activism

Spiritual activism is a foundational principle of Buddhism that has helped build movements in social and racial justice around the world. What can we learn from this practice and how does it apply to our daily work?

Resources

Books/Literary Texts/Articles:

Social Ethics of “New Buddhists” at the Turn of the Twentieth Century: A Comparative Study of Suzuki Daisetsu and Inoue Shūten by Moriya Tomoe
Buddhism in Action: Overview
The Peacemaker: legendary figure who established power-sharing structure to bring peace to the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca people
LaDonna Brave Bull: Matriarch of the Water Protector Movement at Standing Rock, Dakota & Lakota historian
Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza by** **Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa
Why the Chipko movement was truly a people’s movement by IndianExpress.com
A Jihad for Justice: Honoring the Work & Life of Amina Wadud edited by Kecia Ali, Juliane Hammer & Laury Silvers
Aisha Al Adawiya on Why We All Must Learn African American (Muslim) History
Freedom Fighter & Saint of Senegal: Cheikh Amadou Bamba Mbacke by Kamran Haikal
A Black Theology of Liberation by Jame H. Cone
Martin, Malcolm & America by James H. Cone
African Liberation Theology by Dr. Gwinyai H. Muzorewa
Palestinian Liberation Theology: Creative Resistance to Occupation by Nicole Patierno
Justice & Peace Will Kiss Each Other by Sebastian Kim

Videos/Podcasts

Oren Lyons: Faithkeeper of the Wolf Clan of the Seneca Nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy

Who/What to Follow

Thich Nhat Hanh: Vietnamese Zen Buddhist Monk, author, and founder of Plum Village community of mindfulness. See: Being Peace, Love in Action, Love Letter to the Earth, and The Miracle of Mindfulness
H.H. Dalai Lama
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (founder of the radical Buddhist Dalit Liberation Movement)
Buddhist Peace Fellowship
International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers
Mohandas K. Gandhi (Note: controversies on racism in early writings and possibly non-consensual sleeping alongside young women to prove his celibacy)
Swami Agnivesh (Vepa Shyam Rao)
Christian spiritual activism leaders (compiled by Imani E. Wilson @downhearbelow)

Jungwon Kim

Jungwon Kim leads the creative and editorial team at the Rainforest Alliance, an international nonprofit organization founded on the understanding that people and nature can thrive in harmony. Interdependence is also at the heart of her personal spiritual practice of engaged Buddhism in the tradition of zen master Thich Nhat Hanh (“Thay”), a global spiritual leader, author, and activist who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967 by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Jungwon received teachings from Thay during mindfulness retreats he led at Blue Cliff Monastery in 2009 and 2013. She has since co-founded two sanghas that approach spiritual transformation as inseparable from collective liberation. “A sangha is a community of resistance, resisting the speed, violence, and unwholesome ways of living that are prevalent in our society.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh