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Drawing on myth, legend, Zen koans, and Buddhist folklore, as well on his own more than 50 years of formal Zen practice and over 10 years of Zen teaching, in this companion volume to A Zen Life of Buddha, (Sumeru 2022), award-wining author Roshi Rafe Jnan Martin looks at the nature and role of bodhisattvas, the wise and compassionate beings at the core of Zen Buddhism and at the heart of Zen practice. Along the way he explores such questions as: What are bodhisattvas? Are they real? Who are the specific bodhisattvas central to Zen? How do they function? How are they different from Buddhas? From The Buddha? What's the connection between bodhisattvas and our own Zen practice? What's their connection with our ordinary lives?

These volumes are the culmination of sixteen years of research and engagement in the growing Socially Engaged Buddhist movement in Japan by the International Buddhist Exchange Center (IBEC) @ Kodosan in Yokohama, Japan. They follow its two publications dedicated to the Northeast Japantsunami and nuclear disaster in This Precious Life: Buddhist Tsunami Relief and Anti-Nuclear Activism in Post 3/11 Japan (2012) & Lotus in the Nuclear Sea: Fukushima and the Promise of Buddhism in the Nuclear Age (2013).Volume II presents the new Socially Engaged Buddhist activities of 21st century Japan, a dynamic movement arising out of the social crisis of Japan's "disconnected society" (mu-en shakai). It focuses on five sub-movements in end-of-life care, suicide prevention, disaster relief and Buddhist chaplaincy, poverty and homelessness, and anti-nuclear activism and holistic development. An Afterword ponders the possibility of a new movement for gender justice.Volume I provides an essential presentation of historical themes and a comprehensive survey of Socially Engaged Buddhism in the modern era.

This volume is the culmination of sixteen years of research and engagement in the growing Socially Engaged Buddhist movement of Japan. Volume I provides an essential presentation of historical themes that make Japanese Buddhism so unique and hard to understand for even other Buddhists in Asia. Volume I also provides a critical and comprehensive survey of Socially Engaged Buddhism in the modern era, which for the postwar period has never been fully documented.Volume II presents the new Socially Engaged Buddhist activities of 21st century Japan, a dynamic movement arising out of the social crisis ofJapan's "disconnected society" (mu-en shakai).These volumes are the third major publication of the Engaged Buddhism Project of the International Buddhist Exchange Center (IBEC) @ Kodosan in Yokohama, Japan. They follow its two volumes dedicated to the Northeast Japan tsunami and nuclear disaster in This Precious Life: Buddhist Tsunami Relief and Anti-Nuclear Activism in Post 3/11 Japan (2012) & Lotus in the Nuclear Sea: Fukushima and the Promise of Buddhism in the Nuclear Age (2013).

Living Nembutsu is a sourcebook for Jodo Shinshu Buddhists and other interested readers looking to apply Pure Land perspectives to the problems of contemporary society. It lays out concepts and ideas that are central to Pure Land Buddhism but missing from the dominant North American Buddhist conversation (especially in engaged Buddhist circles), ones which offer new ways of thinking and organizing around shared problems.The book's central focus is an exploration of how the life and teachings of Shinran, the founder of Jodo Shinshu (aka Shin) Buddhism, can provide guidance in facing the social and environmental challenges of our times. It examines how Shinran's unique Buddhist philosophy centres marginalized and oppressed experiences, with particular relevance to the LGBTQ+ community, refugees, racialized persons, and other groups.Living Nembutsu also provides examples of Jodo Shinshu Buddhists in action, working to combat climate change, religious intolerance in prisons, racism, and other challenges.

Interviews with:Hadrian Abbot / Chris Amirault / Hogen Bays / Sarah Bender / Roger Brennan / Joshin Byrnes / Gyokuko Carlson / Seiso Paul Cooper / James Córdova / Erin Joen Dempsey / Jean-Luc Foisy / James Ford / Valerie Forstman / Zenshin Michael Haederle / Kate Hartland / Kokyo Henkel / Cynthia Kear / Karin Kempe / Donna Kowal / Michael Leizerman / Debra Seido Martin / Rafe Martin / Winifred Shokai Martin / Sally Metcalf / Meido Moore / Julie Nelson / Dosho Port / Jissai Prince-Cherry / John Pulleyn / Lila Dené Redding / Judy Roitman / Peggy Sheehan / Jeff Shore / Scott Thornton / David WeinsteinOn the scope, practice, and future of North American Zen

In "The Third Step East: Zen Masters of America", Richard Bryan McDaniel continues the story, begun in his earlier work, of the spread of Zen from India to China ("Zen Masters of China: The First Step East"), thence to Japan ("Zen Masters of Japan: The Second Step East"), and then to North America and Europe. As McDaniel points out in the prologue to this book, the history of Zen practice in United States is less than a hundred years old. The first Zen priests sent to America from Japan were assigned to temples which served the immigrant population on the west coast. The temples functioned as community centers where traditional values were retained and respected. The priests' responsibilities were similar to those of their Christian counterparts, to perform wedding and funeral services, to conduct memorial services, and to carry ritual ceremonies for the benefit of their congregations. Although Zen was understood to be the meditation school of Buddhism, meditation was viewed as an activity for monastics and clergy, not for lay people. McDaniel's book demonstrates how this tradition was transformed into a lay practice in the west. He begins by examining the social and cultural factors in America which led to an initial theoretical interest in Zen during the 1940s and '50s, after which he profiles the individuals who fostered that interest, including D. T. Suzuki, Alan Watts, and the Beat Generation of writers. Ironically, during the 1960s, when Zen was on the decline in Japan-because the youth of that country viewed it as a remnant of the old feudal and the militaristic structures responsible for a the war that had ended so disastrously for the country-youth culture in America came to look upon Zen as a way of escaping from the intellectual and social constraints of their culture. Chapters are dedicated to the lives and work of the early teachers who established Zen practice in the West: Robert Aitken, Shunryu Suzuki, Eido Shimano, Taizan Maezumi, Philip Kapleau, Dainin Katagiri, and others. A summary of the main elements of the teaching styles of each of these is provided, giving readers an overview of the different training methods used by these pioneers and the ways in which they adapted an ancient Asian tradition to a new environment. The book also collects and retells some of the stories associated with these teachers which have begun to circulate within Zen circles, much as earlier tales of their Asian predecessors have done. The story of American Zen will be continued in a sequel to this work, entitled "Cypress Trees in the Garden", scheduled for publication by Sumeru in the Autumn of 2015. It will describe the heirs and legacies of the Zen Masters and teachers described in "The Third Step East".

OCCUPY THIS BODY: A Buddhist Memoir is the story of Religious Studies Professor Sharon A. Suh's struggle to overcome a childhood of forced-feeding, emotional neglect, and cruelty from her Korean immigrant mother who battled and eventually succumbed to her own eating disorders. As she matures and awakens to her own body, she must come to terms with her past suffering and how it shapes her experiences as a Korean American woman raised and educated within predominantly upper middle-class white America. In this memoir she shares her discovery, study, and embrace of Buddhism to help her heal from past trauma and lay bare the cultural silence surrounding abuse and mental illness in Asian American families.Occupy This Body offers an intimate portrait of growing up in Long Island as a second generation Korean American in what appears to be a model minority household where respect for elders, sacrifice, hard work, and academic achievement hold sway. But beneath this veneer of success that takes her from the suburbs to Harvard and into a marriage of seeming perfection and eventual divorce, she struggles with the devastating effects of growing up with an abusive mother who suffered from anorexia, bulimia, and mental illness as she directed her wrath-and her eating disorders- onto her. To survive, she must learn to feel at home in her ever-changing body and begin to occupy her own space in the world that has often rendered her invisible as an Asian American woman. Tackling the myth of the Asian American model minority, the shame around mental illness and abuse in Asian American families, and the pervasive pressures aimed at disciplining female bodies, Suh strips away the psychic and social bandages that have shielded her wounds from public view, reimagining Buddhism as an empowering and transformative framework for reclaiming, and occupying, our imperfect bodies.Occupy This Body thus confronts the heavy burdens of silence and invisibility that still threaten to ensnare Asian American women in America today. Appealing to readers interested in Buddhism, women of color, the Korean-American immigration experience, abuse and eating disorders, Occupy This Body contributes to the growing literature in memoirs about the body, second-generation immigrant experiences, and what it means to be a person of color in contemporary America. Theoretically grounded in Buddhist studies, feminism and the growing scholarship on the body, Occupy This Body is a deeply-nuanced personal memoir written in an accessible voice by a professor of religion who learned to keep her childhood trauma, and history of enforced eating disorders, a secret from all but her closest friends.

In A True Person of No Rank, Joseph Bobrow takes a fresh look at Buddha's vision for an awakened person and her awakened activity. He examines the true self (also referred to as no-self) that is at its heart, and unpacks some misunderstandings that can hinder us on the path and impede the distinctive, empowered expression of our realization. He explores a true person of no rank, a Zen expression of no-self, and the notion of an agent of compassion. It takes an insubstantial person of substance, (not fixed or permanent but grounded) not only to survive these dire times but to actively participate in saving the planet and healing the world. It takes a differentiated person, an agent of compassion, to bring to bear the insights

Richard Bryan McDaniel's "Cypress Trees in the Garden" continues the history of North American Zen which he began in "The Third Step East: Zen Masters of America" (Sumeru Press, 2015). The earlier book described the pioneers who established Zen practice in North America; this new book focuses on the heirs and successors of those teachers and the challenges they faced. Between March 2013 and September 2014, McDaniel traveled from San Francisco to Portland, Maine, from Montreal to Albuquerque, interviewing 75 prominent Zen teachers and their senior students. The result is a book which describes the way in which-like the Chinese and Japanese before them-North Americans have taken an Indian tradition which pre-dates Christianity and reformed it into something uniquely their own. Chapters on teachers in the Rinzai, Soto, and Sanbo Zen traditions provide a strikingly honest portrait of contemporary Zen teaching, practice, and social engagement in the United States and Canada. This survey of current American Zen teachers gives an honest, intimate, look into the inspiring efforts and growing pains of the evolution of Zen in the West. It does this by letting the major players speak in their own voice about how they came to Zen practice, their offerings, their troubles and their hopes for the future of American Zen. I couldn't put it down. - Genjo Marinello, Abbot of Chobo-Ji In "Cypresss Trees," Rick McDaniel masterfully gets out of the way and lets his subjects tell their stories. In so doing, we get a whole sense of this great American Zen experiment from satori to debauchery and back (or vice versa), along with much in the middle. If the Zen root does entangle with the American spirit, then Zen students for generations will cherish this book for the honest portrayals of its founders and failures expressed and exposed here. - Dosho Port Roshi, Great Tides Zen ...this offering is at once a history of Zen and a lovely homecoming. Additionally, McDaniel weaves in fundamental teachings, such as differences between Soto and Rinzai Zen within the context of his narrative. This book should be of interest to the serious Zen student, the casual reader as well as students of the history of religion. - Seiso Paul Cooper Sensei, Two Rivers Zen Richard Bryan McDaniel taught at the University of New Brunswick and Saint Thomas University before starting a 27 year career in International Development and Fair Trade. He is the creator of the YMCA Peace Medallion. A long time Zen practitioner, he is the author of "Zen Masters of China," "Zen Masters of Japan," and "The Third Step East: Zen Masters of America."

Calm the mind and tune in to your inner senseDeepen authentic presence and see through self-illusionsOpen yourself to the natural ease and wonderment of beingThe human predicament is such that we strive to fill an inner sense of wanting that afflicts and dominates us throughout our lives. The lifelong sense of discontent, fueling the desire for something less (bad) or more (enjoyable) than what is actually happening, gives rise to compulsive thinking and emotional reactions that cause us endless anxiety, guilt and despair. Opening Yourself presents an understanding of the human condition informed by Buddhist and radical Existential psychology. It details how the self we constantly strive to fulfill, promote and defend is nothing but a chimera, a mental-emotional construct no more real than an image in a mirror.Respecting this dizzying truth, Dr. Ken Bradford presents a contemplative yoga approach to free ourself and others from self-illusions. This existentially-robust approach integrates the skilful means of experience-near therapy, Buddhist meditation and the nondual wisdom of Dzogchen - the highest Tibetan yoga - in the service of opening ourself to who we truly are rather than who we merely think we are.In the service of broadening the range of psychological inquiry and deepening the reach of spiritual realization, this book offers a practical guide for therapists, therapy clients, Dharma teachers and truth seekers. It proceeds by tuning deeply in to innate intelligence, in order to see through self fixations to the unfettered freedom, effortless ease and ecstatic lucency of being as such.

Lotus Petals in the Snow is the result of outreach across Canada with the goal of bringing together the work of scholars and stories from practitioners, scholar-practitioners, Dharma students, teachers, nuns and laywomen. With pieces covering a vast landscape of experiences, this book is unique in focusing entirely on the voices of Canadian Buddhist Women. CONTRIBUTORS Aryadrishti -- Karma: A Method of Evolution and Escape Heesoon Bai -- Buddhism as a System of Education: Reflections on Life and Self Nicole Belanger -- The Things We Leave Behind Kalsang Dolma -- Who is a Tibetan Buddhist Self-Immolator? Freedom Fighter, Martyr, Terrorist or Bodhisattva? Mavis Fenn -- Sakyadhita Canada: Branching Out Tracy Franz -- Authentic Self Ainslie Greig -- Dharma Decisions: I Don't Know Until I Know, and Then I Know Dianne Harke -- Finding the Kingdom of Happiness Usha Heer -- Why Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Chose Buddhism Jackie Ho -- My Path of Vajrayana Practice Patricia Ivan -- Patterns in Groups Tending Toward the Formation of Cults; Applications to Western Buddhism Jayanta -- Heart of Light: Anagarika Dhammadinna Jayanta -- Women at the Forefront: Pioneering and the Dhamma of Perseverance Natalie Karneef -- Why I Never Felt Beautiful and Now I Do Cecilie Kwiat -- Rediscovering the Gift of the Universal Feminine Through Faith, Scripture and Myth Carole Leslie -- Art Is Not for Control Freaks Erin McCarthy -- Buddhism, Maternity and the Body Julia Milton -- Stumbling Into Fields of Joy: A Biography of Cecilie Kwiat Julia Milton -- I Talk to People Everywhere: An Interview with Cecilie Kwiat Kuya Minogue -- Why Do I Feel an Irresistible Urge to Dance? Kuya Minogue -- Summer at the Kootenay Hermitage Lynette Genju Monteiro -- Mother-Daughter: Mastering the Art of Losing Each Other Julie Price -- Convergence Bonni Ross -- Giving and Receiving: Why Dharma Teachers Don't Charge Fees Daryl Lynn Ross -- Dissolving the Pain Body; Abiding in the Body of Wisdom Bonnie Ryan Fisher -- Discovering the Three Jewels in Rural Alberta Laura Sugimoto -- Finding My Way on the Eightfold Path Thich Nu Tinh Quang -- My Rebirth as a Bhikkhuni Thuc Cong -- The Front Runner Sarah E. Truman -- The Despondency (Qi Xia Temple): Nanjing and a Visit to the 1000 Smashed Buddha Caves Vimalasara -- Weeds in the Stream This book was produced in the gift economy. Contributors donated their works. Profits from online sales are being donated to the Buddhist Compassion Tzu Chi Foundation of Canada and all profits from direct sales support local Dharma activities across Canada. ABOUT THE EDITOR Tanya McGinnity has been interested in Buddhism for a few years (since the latter half of the roaring 90's to be exact), yet it all still feels fresh to her. She has been sharing her experiences of studying and practicing the Dharma on her blog, http://www.fullcontactenlightenment.com since 2006.

Catholicism and Zen explores the history of Christian/Buddhist dialogue, and profiles fourteen modern Catholic clergy who have become authorized to teach Zen practice within their Christian faith. These real-life stories of men and women engaged in a spiritual quest enliven the meaning and form of awakening beyond traditional constrictions. Although there are a number of books written on Christianity and Zen, including several by Catholic clergy, this is the first to take it from its origins with the Jesuit missionaries sent to Japan, to interviews with the many contemporary Catholic clergy - priests and nuns both - who maintain their Catholic faith and practice and find it enhanced by their Zen training.

How do we raise our children with a sacred view of their lives? How do we inspire them to be fully engaged members of our society? When author and professor Paul Keddy became seriously ill, he had two very young boys, and had to consider both these questions. Realizing that he might not be there to raise his sons, he decided to write down his instructions so they could some day read them.Dr. Paul Keddy's fatherly advice is based in part on his experiences of the Buddhist path, but with a deep appreciation of western culture. In particular, he draws upon an avowedly secular approach to spirituality called 'the sacred path of warriorship', as taught by the Buddhist meditation master Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche.More than thirty years have passed since this book first appeared. Dr. Keddy is now an elder, and his sons are grown men. This edition includes a new preface with some reflections for a new generation of readers. This book remains timely and appropriate for anyone trying to lead a spiritual life - with or without children.

This book provides a brief overview of China's "One Belt One Road" Initiative (OBOR), now officially re-labeled the BRI (Belt and Road Initiative). Looking back from the vantage point of 2019 to 2013, when OBOR was first announced as China's new international infrastructure and trade initiative, OBOR/BRI has proven to be nothing less than an eye-catching program to assist developing countries in need of financing for sorely-needed infrastructure to achieve their economic development goals.Today, more than 70 countries and organizations are involved in the OBOR/BRI enterprise. Each one of these appears to have its own interesting story to tell related to China's support for its infrastructure projects including but not limited to pipelines, high-speed and other rail lines, communications networks, roads, deep-water and air ports, energy grids and inland transport and cargo hubs. China supplies developing countries with the access to loans, construction materials and workers. OBOR/BRI is sold by China as a win-win(-win) situation in which China and the loan recipient benefit economically (with the third win representing peace).The already rapid growth rate of China's OBOR received an unanticipated major boost when Donald Trump was elected US President in November 2016 and took office in mid-January 2017. Trump's campaign rhetoric and ensuing policies exposed his support for American isolationism as reflected in his campaign slogan "America First." Since his inauguration, the US has aggressively, intentionally, and incrementally embarked on abandoning its global leadership position and commitments, which it had held since the end of WWII. China through its OBOR has since taken advantage of the geopolitical vacuum created by America's self-imposed abdication not only from its global leadership status but from long-standing regional alliances and trade agreements as well.Although each region, country or project mentioned in this book merits its own book-length, in-depth attention, here we highlight OBOR's geographic and functional stealth-like expansion around the globe on land, sea and in space. An extensive reference list is provided to enable readers to pursue various OBOR/BRI-related topics of interest.The potential biases of various observers notwithstanding, there are challenging issues raised about the long-term sustainability of the OBOR/BRI. As the OBOR/BRI matures, questions about its economic viability are increasingly being raised. The issues raised by these questions and concerns should identify lessons that need to be learned both by China (governments, banks and companies) and by prospective OBOR/BRI partners. Fears of debt-trap diplomacy are but one example.Most recently, articles are appearing that question whether such an ambitious global infrastructure development initiative is really viable in the long run. While China can control its actions and what it chooses to invest in to meet a wide range of its objectives, there are intervening factors over which it has little to no control. China's ability to provide loans to developing economies can be reduced by happenings in the global economy, whether a trade war with the US, a downturn in its economy, or an economic inability of people around the globe to buy its goods and services.One Belt One Road: China's Long March to 2049 is the first book to explore both the scope and detail of this transformation of the global balance of power, as seen through the lens of OBOR/BRI.

The Mountains and Rivers Sutra is one of 93 essays of Dogen, the great 13th century Zen Master, collected in a work called, The Shobogenzo. "Shobogenzo" means, "Treasury of the True Dharma Eye." Dogen's essay expressing the reality of the enlightened mind in the poetic natural imagery of his time is a classic of spiritual literature and an essential text for deep Zen practice to this day.In these talks given at the Upaya Zen Center in 2012, Norman Fischer presents Dogen's medieval essay in language understandable to us in the 21st century and gives us a rich commentary on how to apply these principles in our daily lives.The talks are divided into 52 short sections as a weekly guide, with each accompanied by practice suggestions by Kuya Minogue. They originally appeared in this serial format in a long-running local Canadian newspaper column, and have been collected here along with some reflections by fellow Zen practitioners.

INCOGNITO is a truly extraordinary story based on the remarkable life of Alexandra David-Neel, 1868 -1969. Journey "beyond the garden gate" with Alexandra David-Neel, spiritual seeker, opera singer, feminist journalist, intrepid explorer, Buddhist scholar and prolific author of over thirty books. Alexandra's wanderlust takes her all over Asia, and several times into her beloved Tibet. She befriends the Crown Prince of Sikkim, interviews the 13th Dalai Lama and the 9th Panchen Lama, and lives as a hermit in a cave high in the Himalayas, studying Buddhism and the Tibetan language with a revered lama. In 1923, at the age of 55, Alexandra embarks on one of the most courageous journeys ever made. She treks thousands of miles to the forbidden city of Lhasa, Tibet. By her side is Yongden, a young Sikkimese lama. They travel incognito, disguised as Tibetan mother and son; pilgrims on their way to the holy city. Alexandra's hair is dyed black; her face is blackened with soot. Hidden under her clothing is a revolver. They outwit bandits, officials, and ferocious weather, to reach their goal. In 1937, nearing 70 year s of age, Alexandra travels once more into Tibet. She returns to France after the end of the Second World War as a living legend. At 100 year s of age, dreaming of another journey into the unknown, Alexandra renews her passport! "Ever since I was five years old…I craved to go beyond the garden gate, to follow the road that passed it by, and to set out for the Unknown." My Journey to Lhasa, Alexandra David-Neel

This commentary is based on the six bardos teachings from a series of hidden treasure textsknown as the Profound Dharma of Natural Liberation through the Intention of the Peaceful andWrathful Ones (Zab chos zhi khro dgongs pa rang grol), discovered by the great terton Karma Lingpa in the fourteenth century. The word "bardo," made popular in the West through the English translation of the Bardo Thodol or The Tibetan Book of the Dead, which also belongs to the same series of treasure texts, means an intermediate or in-between state. The practice of the six bardos, according to the hermeneutics of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, is essentially the meditative practice of living and dying. Natural Appearances, Natural Liberation not only contains very practical advice, but also hasmany teachings of the Nyingma tantric tradition embedded in it. The original text is not intended as a study of spiritualism or psychology. Neither is it intended to be viewed as handbook for taking care of the deceased, nor as a treatise on emptiness. The intention is to condense the very deep and profound tantric teachings of the six bardos into practices approachable by all sentient beings so that many can swiftly attain various states of liberation. This book offers a scholarly but accessible explanation of the ancient wisdom embedded in this ancient Buddhist classic. Tam Shek-wing (1935-) is a Buddhist scholar, painter, poet, writer and social critic. He is the founder of the Vajrayana Buddhism Association and Sino-Tibetan Buddhist Studies Association in North America. Master Tam was born in Guangzhou, China. As a young man, he received systematic training in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism under the guidance of H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche.In 1986, Master Tam emigrated from Hong Kong to Hawaii, and then to Toronto in 1993. As early as the late 1970s, Master Tam began publishing writings on Buddhism, with an emphasis on the teachings and meditative practice in Vajrayana Buddhism. To establish Sino-Tibetan Buddhist studies as a legitimate field in Buddhology, Master Tamhelped organize publication of the Monograph Series in Sino-Tibetan Buddhist Studies. Thepublished works sparked interest in establishing new curricula in Buddhist Studies in a numberof universities in China, including Renmin University of China in Beijing, Zhejiang Universityin Hangzhou, Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, and Nanking University in Nanjin. Since2008, Master Tam has been a visiting professor at these universities, where he lectures on thetathagatagarbha doctrine and its practice.

Just what does the Third Precept mean for the gay Buddhist? Is being gay a consequence for something we did in a "previous life?" What is meditation and how do you get started?My Buddha Is Pink is a collection of essays designed to help gay practitioners follow the Buddha's path without getting lost in dogma. As with other major religions of the world, there are portions of Buddhism that have persisted through the years that can come off as homophobic at worst, or at the minimum, restrictive toward the LGBTQI community. This book seeks to slice through the baggage and hone in on Buddhism's basics to guide the solo practitioner on a skillful course toward a more fulfilling life.Buddhism isn't so much a religion, but rather a philosophy on how to live a life that brings more happiness and nurtures behavior that is harmless toward other living beings. It's not a passive belief system, but one that allows a practitioner to be engaged with the world without being ensnared by the traps that surrounds our daily lives - deceit, self-absorption, and consumerism. It's a doctrine that can help you understand your own greed, hatred, and delusion, which in turn helps you to identify these in others as well, so you can limit contact with them.But more than anything, My Buddha Is Pink is a fun and lighthearted look at being a happy and healthy modern gay Buddhist in an environment where homophobia remains an issue.