All Beings Zen Sangha Dharma Book study for summer 2021 “American Sutra” by Duncan Ryukan Williams. This is our second meeting to discuss this historical text focusing on the incarceration of Buddhist Americans of Japanese Ancestry who were rounded up and sent to detention camps during the early years of WWII. A fascinating account using: interviews from survivors, dairies, government documents and media accounts of that time, Rev. Williams creates a rich delve into the religious bias and racism that plagued the US 80 years ago. This book is an encouraging account of how people found ways to continue to take refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha while far away from home in uncomfortable and uncertain conditions of incarceration.
With the backdrop of “camps” housing unaccompanied undocumented minors along our southern border currently and the undefined terms of incarceration for men housed at the US Guantanamo Naval Base on the island of Cuba the text is a timely reminder for those of us who vow to “save all beings” to keep our hearts open and minds awake to the realities we face and responsibilities we share.
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