New conversation series brings Black and Asian-American Buddhist leaders together for public dialogue

September 8, 2026

“How do we meet each other? Black-Asian dialogue in Buddhist America” launches September 30, with new conversations each month through spring 2027

Berkeley, California — September 2, 2026 — Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad, Founding Director of the Initiative for Black Buddhist Studies and Research Fellow at the Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS), is launching a new public conversation series exploring what it means to practice Buddhism in America today. How do we meet each other? Black-Asian dialogue in Buddhist America brings Black and Asian-American Buddhist scholars and practitioners together for honest, monthly conversations, live over Zoom. Advance registration is required to join.

Over seven sessions running from September 2026 through April 2027, Dr. Vesely-Flad will host a rotating group of teachers, scholars, and organizers for conversations that build bridges across community and lineage. Together, they’ll take up questions about ancestral practice and culture, appropriation and erasure, and what it means to evolve the Buddhist tradition to meet this political moment. Each conversation is also meant to be a practice in itself — honoring the cultural roots each guest brings, and modeling what real solidarity and accountability can look like between communities.

The series is generously funded by the Henry J. Luce Foundation, in partnership with the Institute of Buddhist Studies.

“This series comes out of a simple but urgent question: how do we actually meet each other across our different histories and traditions? I wanted to create a space where that meeting could happen in public, out loud, with real care and real accountability.” — Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad

“This conversation series represents an overview of where we are as Buddhists in America. It is exciting to see how Buddhists can offer their thoughts on a number of issues that are impacting our world today. ” — Rev. Dr. Takashi Miyaji, IBS Dean

 

Series schedule

  • September 30, 2026 — Shin Buddhism and Black culture, a conversation with Dean Takashi Miyaji, minister and professor at the Institute of Buddhist Studies

  • October 21, 2026 — Buddhism and incarceration in America, a conversation with Dr. Duncan Ryuken Williams, USC professor and author of American Sutra

  • November 4, 2026 — A Buddhist reading of Octavia Butler, a conversation with Dr. Jessica Zu, author of Just Awakening

  • January 20, 2027 — Buddhist practices for challenging domination, a conversation with Thenmozhi Soundararajan, founder and executive director of Equality Labs

  • February 3, 2027 — Touching the earth with Thích Nhất Hạnh, a conversation with Venerable Clear Grace Dayananda, founder of Sangha House NOLA

  • March 3, 2027 — Constellating Buddhist America, a conversation with Chenxing Han, author of Be the Refuge

  • April 7, 2027 — Black Buddhist experience in the Jodo Shinshu sangha, a conversation with Rev. Victor Ogundipe, Jodo Shinshu priest and IBS student

 

All sessions take place at 4pm PST / 7pm EST over Zoom. Advance registration is required; links for each session are available on our Events page.

About Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad

Rima Vesely-Flad, PhD, is the Founding Director of the Initiative for Black Buddhist Studies and a Research Fellow at the Institute of Buddhist Studies. She is the author of three books, including The Fire Inside: The Dharma of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde (North Atlantic Books, 2026) and Black Buddhists and the Black Radical Tradition (NYU Press, 2022), along with numerous academic articles on Buddhism, Black culture, and religious approaches to systemic violence. She has taught at Union Theological Seminary, Sarah Lawrence College, Warren Wilson College, and inside Sing Sing Prison, and is a two-time Fulbright Scholar.

About the Institute of Buddhist Studies

Founded in 1949, the Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS) is one of the oldest Buddhist seminaries in the country and a member school of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. IBS prepares students to apply Buddhist teachings toward personal and collective transformation, compassionate care, and social impact.