Jeff Wilson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- July 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780807835456
- eISBN:
- 9781469601816
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/9780807869970_wilson.10
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies
Meditation vigils to remember the American slave trade are not a traditional form of Buddhist practice, nor have they featured prominently in mainstream southern religion. In this chapter, the slave ...
More
Meditation vigils to remember the American slave trade are not a traditional form of Buddhist practice, nor have they featured prominently in mainstream southern religion. In this chapter, the slave trade meditation vigil in 2008 and how this event came about in Richmond are discussed. The goal of this vigil was to raise consciousness of Richmond's past—slave history, the practices of antebellum Richmond, and the specific locations in the city had been used for various facets of the slave trade. Another goal of this vigil was to increase awareness of racial issues and attitudes and stimulate concern toward resolving these problems.Less
Meditation vigils to remember the American slave trade are not a traditional form of Buddhist practice, nor have they featured prominently in mainstream southern religion. In this chapter, the slave trade meditation vigil in 2008 and how this event came about in Richmond are discussed. The goal of this vigil was to raise consciousness of Richmond's past—slave history, the practices of antebellum Richmond, and the specific locations in the city had been used for various facets of the slave trade. Another goal of this vigil was to increase awareness of racial issues and attitudes and stimulate concern toward resolving these problems.
Jeff Wilson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- July 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780807835456
- eISBN:
- 9781469601816
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/9780807869970_wilson
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies
Buddhism in the United States is often viewed in connection with practitioners in the Northeast and on the West Coast, but in fact, it has been spreading and evolving throughout the United States ...
More
Buddhism in the United States is often viewed in connection with practitioners in the Northeast and on the West Coast, but in fact, it has been spreading and evolving throughout the United States since the mid-nineteenth century. This book argues that region is crucial to understanding American Buddhism. Through the lens of a multidenominational Buddhist temple in Richmond, Virginia, it explores how Buddhists are adapting to life in the conservative evangelical Christian culture of the South, and how traditional Southerners are adjusting to these newer members on the religious landscape. Introducing a host of overlooked characters, including Buddhist circuit riders, modernist Pure Land priests, and pluralistic Buddhists, the author shows how regional specificity manifests itself through such practices as meditation vigils to heal the wounds of the slave trade. He argues that southern Buddhists at once use bodily practices, iconography, and meditation tools to enact distinct sectarian identities even as they enjoy a creative hybridity.Less
Buddhism in the United States is often viewed in connection with practitioners in the Northeast and on the West Coast, but in fact, it has been spreading and evolving throughout the United States since the mid-nineteenth century. This book argues that region is crucial to understanding American Buddhism. Through the lens of a multidenominational Buddhist temple in Richmond, Virginia, it explores how Buddhists are adapting to life in the conservative evangelical Christian culture of the South, and how traditional Southerners are adjusting to these newer members on the religious landscape. Introducing a host of overlooked characters, including Buddhist circuit riders, modernist Pure Land priests, and pluralistic Buddhists, the author shows how regional specificity manifests itself through such practices as meditation vigils to heal the wounds of the slave trade. He argues that southern Buddhists at once use bodily practices, iconography, and meditation tools to enact distinct sectarian identities even as they enjoy a creative hybridity.
