T.D.D. ~ Buddhism and Race

Tricycle Daily Dharma September 28, 2011

Buddhism and Race

The Buddha was not Caucasian, as everybody knows. But Buddhism in the West has taken on the cultural trappings of the West, including racism. We all wish or hope that we’re not bigoted, but it’s culturally a part of us, so we need to look at it in all of its gross and subtle manifestations. In the absolute sense there is no separateness, no color, no race, but in the relative sense there are differences that are very real and very deep and sometimes determinative of our fate.
 
– Gina Sharpe, "Does Race Matter in the Meditation Hall?"