Don’t Miss Justin Whitaker’s New Interview with the Creators of transbuddhists.org

Last updated on: August 21, 2014 at 8:33 am by dannyfisher

Don’t Miss Justin Whitaker’s New Interview with the Creators of transbuddhists.org 2014-08-21T08:33:14-07:00 dannyfisher

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

My friend and colleague in Patheos blogging, Justin Whitaker, has a new interview with the creators of transbuddhists.org over at his blog American Buddhist Perspective. Do make sure you take a look at it.

Here’s a snippet:

Who counts as “trans*” and why is it important for Buddhists today to understand the term?

We use trans* (“trans” or “trans-star”) as an umbrella term to describe anyone who’s had an experience of their internal understanding of their gender not matching the gender they were assigned at birth. That includes people who transition from one gender to another, people whose understanding of their own gender is something other than male or female, people who cross-dress or express their gender in different ways at different times, and more.

As Buddhists, when we practice mindfulness, we come into contact with what’s actually going on for us and others by way of our our sensations and thoughts. This coming into contact allows us to see the truth of what is happening and offer compassion where it’s needed, to ourselves and to others. This happens through connection with each other.

When cisgender people take time to learn more about trans*ness and what it can be like to live as a trans* person, they can find points of connection around shared human experience. For example, while someone who is cisgender may not identify with a particular difficult situation faced by a trans* person, it’s very possible that they can connect to emotions associated with that experience, which could be feelings of being ignored or disrespected, of those of anger, frustration, or shame.

On the other hand, when people don’t understand about trans* people’s experiences, retreat centers or sanghas or any other type of organization unintentionally replicate structures that can exclude or oppress many trans folks, such as gender segregation.

A person who learns about trans* experiences both has the opportunity to concretely support trans* people by taking steps to make Buddhist spaces more accessible, as well as to reconsider and think more carefully about their own conditioned understandings of gender.

Read the whole thing here, and make sure also to visit transbuddhists.org.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

August 21, 2014

Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi's Message for Buddhist Global Relief's 2014 Walks to Feed the Hungry [UPDATED]

Next Post

August 21, 2014 No. 8 (in Absentia)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month March 2015 December 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Naphtali" mean in Hebrew?

Select your answer to see how you score.

God is my rock The Lord is my strength Chosen One My struggle