Description:

Edmund Perry Lecture presented by Rima Vesely-Flad, Professor of Religious Studies at Warren Wilson College

This lecture is drawn from Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad’s 2022 book Black Buddhists and the Black Radical Tradition: The Practice of Stillness in the Movement for Liberation.  It locates the Buddhist interpretations and practices of people of African descent within a genealogy rooted in the Black Radical Tradition and argues that the emphasis on psychological freedom is congruent with Buddhist teachings on liberation.  Dr. Vesely-Flad will furthermore explore how Black Buddhist teachers employ core Buddhist doctrines to evolve a distinctive hermeneutic of gender and sexuality.  Finally, this lecture will examine the implications of Black Buddhist practices for contemporary racial justice movement activists.

Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad is the author of Black Buddhists and the Black Radical Tradition: The Practice of Stillness in the Movement for Liberation (New York University Press, 2022).  She is the Visiting Professor of Buddhism and Black Studies at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where she teaches classes on Buddhism and social justice.  She formerly taught classes in philosopher and social theory, and directed the Peace and Justice Studies program, at Warren Wilson College.

The event is hybrid and guests are welcome to join in-person or virtually. Reception following.