Paths of Practice: Conversations on Journeys into Buddhism

Bidisha Mallik, PhD, is an Associate Teaching Professor of Social Sciences in the Department of School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington Tacoma. Dr. Mallik is the author of Legends in Gandhian Social Activism: Mira Behn and Sarala Behn: Addressing Environmental Issues By Dissolving Gender And Colonial Barriers.

For more information about the resources mentioned in this episode, please see below:
https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/https://www.amazon.com/Legends-Gandhian-Social-Activism-Environmental/dp/3030954307/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.fgFqbelrBOW_HwCwCua40A.tnkZLuujlNEvqauJZVal8_wM8sGg8mtRS3K3HJQAbQM&dib_tag=se&qid=1783028669&refinements=p_27%3ABidisha&s=books&sr=1-1
We discussed:
*Ahimsa, nonviolence vs. non-violence, as well as Gandhian and Buddhist philosophy and their connections with ecology
*Interbeing, capitalism, creativity, and making concrete examples of the world you want to live in
*Mira Behn (Madeleine Slade), Sarala Behn (Catherine Mary Heilman), and the Chipko movement
*And the importance of investigating the self and approaching actions through the lens of nonviolence

Rev. Syd Yang, MDiv (they/them) is a mixed race/Taiwanese American queer trans/non-binary lay Buddhist Minister, movement chaplain, spiritual counselor and writer who engages decolonial possibilities for shared liberation through their practice, Blue Jaguar Healing Arts. Syd’s work finds its resonance in the stories we each hold at the intersection of memory, body, sexuality and mental health. Syd works primarily with queer and trans individuals of color, as well as regularly facilitates community based practice spaces for wellbeing + healing justice, with a specific focus on grief, sexuality + spirituality, body liberation and recovery.
If you are in the Los Angeles area, you can sit with them, in person, at the monthly Queers Who Sit at Black Being, in Inglewood CA.
Some of their recent writing can be found in Lion’s Roar (Bodhi Leaves), Emergent Dharma: Asian American Buddhist Feminists on Practice, Identity and Resistance,  Q+A: Voices of Queer Asian America,  Chrysanthemum: Voices of the Taiwanese Diaspora, and Bloody Hell! Adventures in Menopause from Around the World.
Syd is also the co-author of Bloody Transitions: A Menopausal Anthology of Asian, Black and Latine Voices, which is set to be released in November 2026 by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

For more information about Syd and the resources mentioned in the episode, please visit the following links:
*Blue Jaguar Healing Arts (https://bluejaguarhealingarts.com/)
*The Dharma of Loneliness podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dharma-of-loneliness/id1875305695)
*Black Being (https://blackbeingla.org/)
We discussed:
*Loneliness and the origins of The Dharma of Loneliness podcast
*Embodiment, belonging, and our bodies relationship with the Earth body
*Menopause, impermanence, transformation, and co-authoring Bloody Transitions
*And the importance of understanding that Buddhist practice involves investigating the mind and body and remembering that bodhisattvas have chosen to stay embodied to help us

Dr. Nicole Wordlaw is a clinical psychologist, a longtime practitioner of Buddhist meditation, a lover of Spirit, and the daughter of a white mother and a Black father. She completed her undergraduate degree in psychology at Stanford University, graduating with honors and distinction in 1992, and then earned a Masters and Doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of California at Berkeley in 1999. She is passionate about helping those she serves notice and follow their own inner guide. She is the author of Waking Up Alone: Navigating the Narrow Passage Through Master-Slave Narratives.

For more information about Nicole and the resources mentioned in the episode, please visit the following links:
https://www.nicolewordlaw.com/
https://substack.com/@nicolewordlaw
https://sentientpublications.com/products/9781591813736_waking-up-alone

We discussed:
*Trauma, learning how to not take things personally by recognizing our conditions, and writing Waking Up Alone
*Vipassana and Zen, breathwork, and practicing in the wilderness to connect with our true nature
*Spiritual teachers, misconduct and accountability, and how to become a lamp unto yourself
*And the importance of remembering that awakening is ongoing and unfolds as a process

Bhante Mangala, born and raised in northeastern Massachusetts, started to take an interest in Buddhism while in high school. He began taking that interest more seriously in his mid 20’s and started to practice meditation with small groups and at home. Seeing results early in life, he grew to want to learn more and came to visit the Bhavana Society for a retreat in 2009. Bhante began living at the Bhavana Society full time in 2012, ordained at the Bhavana Society as a novice in 2013 and received full ordination in 2014.

For more information about Bhante Mangala and the Bhavana Society, please visit the following link:

https://bhavanasociety.org/

We talked about:
*Ordination, the grand opening of the Bhante Henepola Gunaratana Heritage Center, and receiving a visit from the Walk for Peace monks
*Taking an interest in religion at a young age, first experiences with meditation, and being drawn to the brutal honesty of Theravada
*Heading to West Virginia after Googling the Bhāvanā Society, Bhante G, and visiting Sri Lanka
*And the importance of being kind to yourself and remembering that "patience is a meditation"

Muichi is a Cuban-American Mahayana Buddhist layman and Wikipedian currently residing in Florida. Muichi's Buddhist refuge name is Abhayajñāna (originally given in Tibetan as Yeshe Jigme), which means "Fearless Wisdom" (Ch: 無畏智 Wúwèi zhì, Jp.: Muichi). Muichi's contributions to Wikipedia are mainly in the fields of Buddhist Studies, Asian History and Eastern philosophy.

Muichi's knowledge of these fields is mainly self taught, having no formal education in these particular subjects. Muichi mostly studied Greco-Roman history and languages while receiving a B.A. in History from Florida International University and later began to study Eastern philosophy and Buddhist studies as an autodidact.

For more information about Muichi and the resources mentioned in this episode, please visit the following links:

https://sites.google.com/view/abhayajana/home?authuser=0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Javierfv1212
https://www.youtube.com/@FearlessWisdom

We talked about:

*Dharanis, moderating the PureLand subreddit, and contributing to Buddhism-related Wikipedia articles

*Studying philosophy as a lived experience, Western philosophical materialism, and developing space for Eastern religious thought and practice

*Pure Land Buddhism, collective translation and re-translation efforts, providing open source study guides and FAQs, and The Fearless Wisdom podcast

*And the importance of studying Buddhism broadly and how Mahayana Buddhism is all about love