PODCAST

Opening Dharma Access

Rev. Liên Shutt, Kaira Jewel Lingo and Lama Karma Yeshe Chodron

The three hosts take turns interviewing other BIPOC teachers to hear how their practice experiences inform the way they teach the Dharma today.

religion & spirituality buddhism

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Well-Being Chant & Reflection Meditation with Rev....

Opening Dharma Access ·

2026/03/17

As our world continues to tumble, here's a Soto Zen chant for Well-being. Kannon, or Kanzeon, are the Japanese names for the Bodhisattva of Compassion. This chant is calling on her/them to support us to be with "the cries of the world."Traditionally, just a chant. Here, Rev. has embedded it with a meditation, offering guidance to reflect on how to practice being with and be nourished by our kind heart-minds, aching in the midst of difficulties.May our practice be for the benefit of all beings!Rev

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Lived Experience as the Core of Spiritual Practice w/...

Opening Dharma Access ·

2026/03/03

Reverend Joseph Cheah sits down with Dana to discuss his research and writings which push back against dominant understandings of Asian religions that were propagated by Western frameworks. He brings his combination of familial and cultural Buddhist roots with his Catholic faith and livelihood to also offer the idea that anti-hate activism by Asian organizers is a deep kind of spiritual social practice in action.GUESTREVEREND JOSEPH CHEAH OSM, Ph.D. is Professor of Religious Studies and Theology,

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Ideas for Practicing Dharma in the Midst of Fascism...

Opening Dharma Access ·

2026/02/03

This month on Opening Dharma Access, we continue to shift from our regular schedule to focus on the ongoing ICE agency violence. Rev. Dana Takagi speaks about the many ways to respond to fascism from a Dharma perspective, whether that be peaceful protest or staying educated on which systems can be used as shields for the vulnerable. Dana recommends some reading, watching and podcasts, to understand in detail how the current presidential administration is consistently acting as a fascist regime by

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5 Ways to Respond to the Cries of the World (aka...

Opening Dharma Access ·

2026/01/28

Given the heart-breaking events in the US this week, ODA will present a series of offerings from both hosts, Rev. Liên Shutt & Rev. Dana Takagi.This episode is from a talk at Access to Zen, Rev. Liên's sangha.Rev. Dana's commentaries will drop in 1-week. We'll then offer more responses; formats TBD.Feel free to reach out to us at Info.Access2Zen@gmail.com.

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Asian American Feminist Buddhists: Undefined! with...

Opening Dharma Access ·

2026/01/07

Join us for this embodied & inclusive-focused discussion! It'll leave you wanting more so go out and get Emergent Dharma: Asian American Feminist Buddhist on Practice, Identity, and Resistance!Guest:Sharon A. Suh is Professor of Buddhism and Associate Dean for Faculty Scholarship and Strategic Initiatives at Seattle University. She is author of Being Buddhist in a Christian World: Gender and Community in a Korean American Temple (University of Washington Press, 2004), Silver Screen Buddha:

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Reintroducing Contemplative Zen in Japan w/ Abbot...

Opening Dharma Access ·

2025/12/02

GUESTYUKO WAKAYAMA YAMADA is the abbot of Shogakuji in Tokyo. She currently teaches at the International department of Eiheiji. She is the first nun to teach at Eiheiji, the head monastery of Soto Zen founded by Dogen Zenji. She trained at Aichi Senmon Niso-do, a training temple for female Soto Zen priests, where she also currently teaches. She was ordained in 1999 by the highly respected Rev. Shundo Aoyama-roshi. She was sent to Mt. Equity Zendo in United States for 2.5 years and has also practiced

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"How Am I Going to Serve My Purpose Today?" w/ Eunji Son

Opening Dharma Access ·

2025/11/04

Find out a bit more about Eunji Son, Access to Zen's (A2Z) part-time admin and all-the-time SUPPORT for us all who practice or engage with any A2Z events or digital content. Hear how her own practice and spiritual journey has taken her far, wide -- and deep!GUEST:EUNJI SON is based in South Korea, evolving her relationship with ancestral land, and practicing as a photo collage and mixed media artist. She works behind the scenes at A2Z and ODA as a part-time assistant.CONTACT: You know how to reach

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Buddhism as Engaged & Political with Siddhesh Mukerji

Opening Dharma Access ·

2025/10/07

Tune in to this soulful conversation between Siddhesh Mukerji and Rev. Liên on the intersections of Engaged Buddhism & Buddhist Social Work.GUEST:SIDDHESH MUKERJI (he/him) is a Zen practitioner and a scholar/researcher of engaged Buddhism and Buddhist social work. He was born in India, grew up in the United States, and currently lives in Ireland.

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Belonging to Zen, Belonging to Shin: Two Traditions,...

Opening Dharma Access ·

2025/09/02

Judy Yushin Nakatomi talks about her practice in the Zen and Shin traditions. She also discusses how she is practicing with her Bodhisattva vows through engaging with the current internment of minority people, while practicing awareness of her own family's history with war wounds. Judy and Rev Liên share with each other some of the nuances of having or not having access to ancestral languages and culture, and how they navigate being Asian American Buddhist practitioners in the United

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The Struggle to Construct Racial Meaning with...

Opening Dharma Access ·

2025/08/05

Professor Michael Omi joins Rev. Dana to help us contextualize the current climate of racial formation, namely the propagation of a far-right ideology of an oppressed white race, in a much longer history of constant changing in definitions of and associations with racial identities. In Buddhist terms, we can see the theory that Michael co-developed contains an essential Buddhist perspective, namely that of Mental Formations. Stay tuned later this month for a practice offering from Rev. Liên!Michael

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Our Heritage of Othering and Resistance w/ Historian...

Opening Dharma Access ·

2025/07/01

Professor Alice Yang helps us put the systematic othering we are seeing in the U.S. today into historical context. She discusses the oppression and disappearance of people, and points out how protest movements are often erased from the history Asian American and other immigrant groups in the United States, when the truth is that we can embrace and continue a deep heritage of resistance. Alice emphasizes the urgency of knowing our history to expand what we think is possible in the present, and why it

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Big Heart Resilience with Rebecca Nie

Opening Dharma Access ·

2025/06/03

Rebecca Nie talks about the common misconception that China is an ethnic monolith, and how she identifies with her Huaren heritage. Although her spiritual path was discouraged in her early life, she discusses being connected to a centuries old heritage of a resilient Dharma that allows us to dream without limitations even through turbulent times.Rebecca also mentions a book-in-progress which will be a translation of Chan Zen Master poems responding to turbulent historical moments, pointing out how

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Grow Up in the Dharma with Mushim Patricia Ikeda

Opening Dharma Access ·

2025/05/06

Secular & Buddhist teacher Mushim Patricia Ikeda in convo with Rev. Liên on how mature practice can help us deal with the current conditions of our world.GUESTMushim Patricia Ikeda is an internationally-known secular mindfulness and Buddhist teacher working primarily with justice activists and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) meditation practitioners and with people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. A core teacher at East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, California, she is

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June Tanoue - Hula as Resistance

Opening Dharma Access ·

2025/04/02

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Season 4 Premiere: Engaged Asian American/Asian...

Opening Dharma Access ·

2025/03/20

In the season 4 premiere, Rev. Liên Shutt and Rev. Dana Takagi discuss the need to continue to forward Asian American and Asian Diaspora Buddhist voices in these tumultuous times.Thank you to everyone who has listened so far, and continue to tune in!It's not too late to take our listener survey! Respond by March 21st and get access to an exclusive meditation recording by Rev. Liên: "Tenderhearted Buddhas for these Times".

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Season 3 Compilation - A Beautiful Web of Asian...

Opening Dharma Access ·

2025/03/05

On season 3, we co-created and witnessed an amazing example of how the Net of Indra weaves and connects. We heard from 13 Buddhist practitioners and teachers of Asian American or Asian Diaspora heritage, and in their own words, spoke to what the AA/AD Buddhist experience is for them.Season 3 is officially a wrap! Thank you to everyone who listened with us, and we hope you join us for more Asian American/Asian Diaspora forwarding conversations and offerings in season 4.Full list of guests, and their

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Widening Our View and Practicing Seeing Perfection w/...

Opening Dharma Access ·

2025/02/18

Hello, listeners of Opening Dharma Access, for February, we're doing things a little bit different by offering you some meditations and Dharma talks on current conditions as 2025 brings to the United States a whole bunch of difficult circumstances: the L.A. fires; the current administration.This dharma talk is from co-host Rev. Dana Takagi. Dana speaks on what wisdom could look like in times like these, and how to expand our vision as well as awareness about our current national systems work, and

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Talk: Healing in Time & Space with Rev. Liên Shutt

Opening Dharma Access ·

2025/02/05

Hello, listeners of Opening Dharma Access, for February, we're doing things a little bit different by offering you some meditations and Dharma talks on current conditions as 2025 brings to the United States a whole bunch of difficult circumstances: the L.A. fires; the inauguration.NOTE: This talk was given at a BIPOC group, addressing specific fears & issues of people of color in extremely challenging U.S. political and social justice contexts. May it be for the benefit of all beings.

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Eco-Dharma Care with Ram Appalaraju

Opening Dharma Access ·

2025/01/07

RAM APPALARAJU was brought up as a Hindu and has been on a spiritual path since the 90's, first studying Vedanta and pursuing Buddhism since 2012.After years of practice he chose to pursue a path of service and became a chaplain focused on Ecology as well as supporting marginalized people in prisons and homeless shelters.He is now on the faculty at Sati Center for Buddhist Studies’ Eco Chaplaincy program.He also serves as a board member and an advisor at several nonprofits focused on climate

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"Platforms for Zazen: From the Cushion to the...

Opening Dharma Access ·

2024/12/03

LISA NAKAMURA (she/her) is the Gwendolyn Calvert Baker Collegiate Professor of American Culture and Digital Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is also a core faculty member of the Asian American Studies Program, the Film, Television and Media department, and the English department at Michigan.Lisa is the author of four books on racism, sexism, and the Internet and her book “The Inattention Economy: Women of Color and the Internet” is forthcoming in Fall 2025 from University of

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