Chenxing Han, Reimagine: A New Generation of Asian American Buddhists

Date: 

Thursday, May 20, 2021, 7:00pm to 8:30pm

Location: 

Online

In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, "Reimagine: A New Generation of Asian American Buddhists" will feature author Chenxing Han in conversation with anthropologist Nalika Gajaweera. They will discuss Chenxing's recently published Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists (North Atlantic Books, 2021), the first book to center Asian American Buddhists as a pan-ethnic, pan-sectarian group. Be the Refuge counters the erasure of this complex and diverse group by resisting essentialized tropes (Oriental monk, superstitious immigrant, banana Buddhist) and reimagining Asian American Buddhists as trailblazers, bridge-builders, integrators, and refuge-makers.

What can we learn from American Buddhism’s invisible majority? How can we grapple with the intersections and contradictions within the category of “Asian American Buddhist”? In what ways does centering karma, rebirth, and ritual reorient our understandings of American Buddhism? Where can we find belonging and connection in the midst of all these perplexities?

Join us for this exploration of identity, language, lineage, generosity, affinity, and more. We look forward to your questions and insights during the audience Q&A portion of the program! Click here to learn more and register.