A compelling collection of the many voices and experiences of trans, genderqueer, and nonbinary Buddhists
Transcending brings together more than thirty contributors from both the Mahayana and Theravada traditions to present a vision for a truly inclusive trans Buddhist sangha in the twenty-first century. Shining a light on a new generation of Buddhist role models, this book gives voice to those who have long been marginalized within the Buddhist world and society at large. While trans, genderqueer, and nonbinary practitioners have experienced empowerment and healing through their commitment to the Buddha, dharma, and sangha, they also share their experiences of isolation, transphobia, and aggression. In this diverse collection we hear the firsthand accounts, thoughts, and reflections of trans Buddhists from a variety of different lineages in an open invitation for all Buddhists to bring the issue of gender identity into the sangha, into the discourse, and onto the cushion. Only by doing so can we develop insight into our circumstances and grasp our true, essential nature.
Transcending: Trans Buddhist Voices, Kevin Manders and Elizabeth Marston (Editors), North Atlantic Books, Paperback, 264 pages, $16.95
Kevin Manders is a queer trans Buddhist living in Vancouver, British Columbia, on the unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. He has been on the dharma path for the last twelve years in the Theravada tradition. He is an addictions and mental health worker who is passionate about the dharma, social-justice issues, anti-racist work, feminism, queer and trans issues, disability issues, intersectionality, veganism, cycling, and music. He calls the Queer and Trans sangha, BC Insight Med-itation Society, and Birken Forest Monastery home.
Elizabeth Marston is a trans writer, hacker, anarcho-communist, and Buddhist. She holds a master's degree in philosophy (with study concentrated on ethics and political philosophy).
CONTENTS: Transcending: Trans Buddhist Voices
|
Acknowledgments by Kevin Manders
|
xiii
|
Acknowledgments by Elizabeth Marston
|
xvii
|
Preface by La Sarmiento
|
xix
|
Preface by Caitriona Reed
|
xxiii
|
Blessing: Our Bodhisattva Awakening by Fresh "Lev" White
|
xxvii
|
|
Introduction by Kevin Manders
|
1
|
Introduction by Elizabeth Marston
|
3
|
What Is a Body, Anyway? Form, Deep Listening, and Compassion on a Buddhist Trans Path by Finn Enke
|
5
|
Soil, Shit, and Compost by Cooper Lee Bombardier
|
13
|
untitled by Zave Gayatri Martohardjono
|
21
|
Karma Chameleon? by Michelle McNamara
|
27
|
Conduct Unbecoming: A Transqueer Experience of the Dharma by Shaun Bartone
|
35
|
Trans Is Home: Banci and All by Bk (Brian Otto Kimmel)
|
43
|
My Trip Back Home by Coral Short
|
47
|
Gender and Emptiness by Cypress Atlas
|
53
|
Uppity apostate Transgender Monk Questions Transphobia and Sexism in Buddhist Monasticism by Santino Vella
|
57
|
Queer Radical Dharma: Individual and Social Liberation, or: Gracefully bumbling along the path and finally finding my clear voice by Sasha Strong
|
65
|
Growing to Know by Chance Krempasky
|
75
|
I Am Everything, I Am Nothing, I am Spirit Manifested: My Three (and More) Truths by Fresh "Lev" White
|
81
|
untitled by Luna Rangjung Yeshe |
87 |
"Meditation" and "Little Ghost" by Avren Keating |
97 |
untitled by Ryan Patrick Backer
|
101
|
Yellow Poppy and an Aniccagender Heart by Lu Lam
|
103
|
Alchemy by Drew Jones
|
115
|
Softening by Michaela McCormick
|
119
|
The Bardo by Sebastian De Line
|
125
|
Working with Nothing: Being Trans and Buddhist in North America by Elizabeth Marston
|
131
|
When Duality Falls Away: Gender, Self, and What's Beyond by Adhamh Roland Hoeltzel
|
135
|
The Prodigal Daughter Returns: A Transsexual Woman's Reflection on How Dharma Practice Helped Her (Re)inhabit Her Body--A Memoir in Four Acts by Kathleen P. Lamothe
|
143
|
Trust by Finn Schubert
|
155
|
Becoming Whole Just to Let It Go by Kevin Manders
|
161
|
On Meditation, Gender and the Gravity of Being by Aeva Black
|
169
|
A Lotus Dependent upon the Mud by Jacoby Ballard
|
177
|
Person of color, genderqueer, Buddhist seeking safe space for practice, ideally in the woods by Mx. Finn Lofton
|
185
|
Belief and Disbelief in Buddhist Transsexual Life by Dharmacharini Jnanamitra Emmett
|
193
|
On Transitioning by C. E. Giyu Gillis
|
201
|
"Right Now ... It's Like This" by justin adkins
|
209
|
A New Normal: Is Estrogen an Entheogen? by Jane Whittington
|
217
|
"Abandon Any Hope of Fruition" by Zoyander Street
|
223
|
Barriers Faced by Trans People of Color in Buddhist Communities by Thuy Vanh
|
229
|
"Coming Home to Themselves": The Resonance of Non-self and Impermanence for Transgender Buddhists by Em von Euw
|
235
|
|
About the Authors |
251 |
|