Woke, awake, the Awaken One, Buddha

Woke Awaken While the term woke and awake share a connection in their etymology, the term woke now carries a distinct meaning among African Americans. Woke, most commonly now, refer to the awareness of social and political issues, particularly those related to social justice. This word has evolved to mean aware of and actively being attentive to important facts and issues; Woke (African Americans have become Woke) to their situation. The term awake means the state of being not asleep. Awake also describes the state of being alert. Awaken is the verb form of awake. It means to cause someone or something to become awake, or to become aware of something, to become alert. While Woke was originally used to express the fact that the people had become aware of racial prejudice and discrimination, it has evolved to encompass a broader understanding of social inequality. It has become a term used in political discourse. In this aspect, the word woke was originated by the African-American Vernacular English (AAVE). Due to African Americans becoming more active in directing the course of their lives, the term woke has gained prominence in political circles. Some people, those who attempt to keep certain people in a lover social status, attempt to use the term 'Woke' as a pejorative term. Buddha, the Woke Prophet Siddhartha Gautama woke up and became the Buddha (the Awakened One / the enlightened one). He was a prince who renounced his privileged life. Siddhartha Gautama lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE. He achieved a profound understanding of life and the nature of reality by attaining enlightenment through meditation and self-discipline. The significance of the Buddha's teachings was to guide people towards understanding suffering and finding a path to liberation and enlightenment. Today, African Americans stand at the forefront of achieving enlightenment and escaping the cycle of suffering and rebirth (cease the repatition of lover class citizenship). Not just for the African Americans, but for anyone and everyone throughout the global community. Buddhism African American perspective African and African American influence on Buddhism and Buddhist influence on African Americans. The African American perspective on Buddhism emphasizes healing intergenerational trauma, community uplift, and devotional practices to ancestors. It also aligns Buddhism with Black radical teachings and decolonizes the mind to erase racism. Here are some resources that explore the intersection of Buddhism and the African American experience: Black Buddhists Black Buddhists and the Black Radical Tradition This book argues that Buddhist teachings can help achieve Black liberation. It features interviews with Black Buddhist teachers and practitioners, and discusses how Black Buddhists emphasize different aspects of the religion than white convert Buddhists. Power & Heart: Black and Buddhist in America This article discusses how people of African heritage can use Buddhism to decolonize their minds and erase racism. It also explores how Buddhism can help people see that they are in charge of their own liberation. Black and Buddhist This book is a collection of stories that share communal history, personal lives, and the path to freedom from suffering. What does it mean to be Black and Buddhist? In this powerful collection of writings, African American teachers from all the major Buddhist traditions tell their stories of how race and Buddhist practice have intersected in their lives. The resulting explorations display not only the promise of Buddhist teachings to empower those facing racial discrimination but also the way that Black Buddhist voices are enriching the Dharma for all practitioners. As the first anthology comprised solely of writings by African-descended Buddhist practitioners, this book is an important contribution to the development of the Dharma in the West. Black and Buddhist: What Buddhism Can Teach Us about Race, Resilience, Transformation, and Freedom Buddhism in the Age of #BlackLivesMatter This article discusses how the Black Civil Rights movement, Audre Lorde, and other movements can inspire a recasting of the Buddha's story for African Americans. It also suggests that being connected with others in liberation from suffering is part of the African-American experience. The State of Black America The Buddhist, Black Experience	Categories:
“Black Dharma” In 2003, Turning Wheel, the journal of socially engaged Buddhism, devoted a special issue to “Black Dharma.” In that issue, Rebecca Walker, the daughter of the writer Alice Walker and a well-known Buddhist writer herself, interviewed the Vajrayana teacher Choyin Rangdröl. Last year, Rebecca informed me that she and Lama Rangdröl, whom she met at the first black American Buddhist retreat in 2002 at Spirit Rock in Woodacre, California, are now married. During that interview, she asked him, “What led to your decision to bring the Dharma to African Americans?” He replied, “When I discovered that it was possible to avoid becoming ensnared in the mentality of an angry black man by applying Buddhism, I felt I had found a great treasure not just for me but also for resonance in millions of black people’s minds.” African Buddha Buddhism is practiced in Africa, and there are several notable connections between Africa and Buddhism, including: Buddhism in Africa The majority of Buddhists in Africa are of Asian descent, but some Africans have converted to Buddhism. South Africa has the largest Buddhist population on the continent, with an estimated 100–150,000 Buddhists. Mauritius has the highest percentage of Buddhists among African countries, with 1.5–2% of the population identifying as Buddhist. Buddhism in Africa Buddha in Africa A 2019 documentary film about a Malawian orphan who grows up in a Chinese Buddhist orphanage. The film explores the impact of China's growing influence on Malawi and the boy's struggle to balance his African identity with his Chinese upbringing. Buddha in Africa Buddha in Africa Uganda Buddhist Centre Founded in 2005 by Bhante Buddharakkhita, the first African Buddhist monk. The center aims to introduce and preserve Buddhist teachings in the context of African culture, and to promote Buddhist practice through humanitarian services. Uganda Buddhist Centre Video In this video, we are thrilled to highlight the exceptional programs offered by the Uganda Buddhist Centre (UBC). These programs including the novice ordination program, Buddhist study and Mindfulness meditation retreats, buddhist Peace School, women and youth economic empowerment, Compassion Care Centre, Buddha Medical Centre as well as the setting up of a new centre in Bunga, Kampala have fostered an understanding of Buddhism among the local people and have exemplified the Buddhist service to the public as well as increased community resilience and wellbeing. The Buddha's hair Some speculate that the Buddha's hair may have been inspired by afro-textured hair, though it could also be a rendering accident or influenced by local peoples. The Buddha's Woolly Hair Many people have taken interest in how the Buddha's hair is portrayed in Asian art. Simply typing "black buddha" in a search engine will get you results where many suspect an African influence. The Buddha's 'African' appearance in certain cultures was so convincing that some scholars of the 18th-19th century believed the Buddha was African himself (Almond 20-22). The Buddha's Woolly Hair Black Buddhism Some say that Buddhism is a mind science, and that the Black community should learn more about its history and philosophy. Lecture focuses on Black Buddhism "Buddhism has a lot of misunderstandings in general, but most importantly in the Black community," said Dr. K.A. Shakoor, a doctor of acupuncture and Oriental medicine, one of the panelists along with Kane Barr, a member of Shambhala Buddhism. The lecture was held via Zoom on Thursday, and Juan Carlos-Diaz and Pastor Drake Cromer-Moore of The First Christian Church were the moderators during the panel discussion. Some historians and scholars both have stated the historical Buddha was a Black African, Shakoor said. Some historians acknowledge that Buddhism was practiced in Ancient Egypt, Meroe, and Kush (Norhern Sudan) two years before King Ashoka who reigned in 274 to 236 BC, Shakoor said. King Ashoka was a Dravidian emperor who sent Buddhist emissaries to the Nile civilizations, Shakoor said. The word Buddha means to be supremely intelligent, mentally woke, in the know and to have total mental clarity," Shakoor said, adding that Buddhism is a mind science and not a religion. Black Buddhism The Buddha’s long ‘journey’ to Europe and Africa Europeans became increasingly interested in the cultures and religions of the Middle East and Asia, or what they later called ‘the Orient’, as a result of trade relations throughout the first millennium CE. Images of Buddha with the Greek lettering ΒΟΔΔΟ (‘Boddo’ for Buddha) were found on gold coins from the Kushan empire dating back to the second century CE. Buddha was mentioned in a Greek source, ‘Stromateis’, by Clement of Alexandria as early as around 200 CE, and another reference to Buddha is found in St Jerome’s ‘Adversus Jovinianum’ written in 393 CE. A religious legend inspired by the narrative of the ‘Life of Buddha’ was well known in the Judaeo-Persian tradition and early versions in Persian, Arabic, Hebrew, Armenian and Georgian have been discovered. The story became commonly known as ‘Barlaam and Josaphat’ in medieval Europe. The name Josaphat, in Persian and Arabic spelled variously Budasf, Budasaf, Yudasaf or Iosaph, is a corruption of the title Bodhisattva which stands for ‘Buddha-to-be’, referring to Prince Siddhartha who became Gotama Buddha with his enlightenment. Buddha’s long ‘journey’

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