Jun 23 2024 53 mins 2
In this audio essay, Chenxing tells the story of how a Twitter DM from a high school teacher named Andy Housiaux led to a life-changing, refuge-making project in the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts. Listening to the Buddhists in Our Backyard (L2BB) emerged from an inquiry into how U.S.-based educators can teach about Buddhism without erasing the people of Asian heritage who make up the majority of American Buddhists.
In this episode, you'll hear soundscapes—recorded over a span of three years (2021–2024)—from American Wisdom Association, Chua Tuong Van Lowell, Glory Buddhist Temple, Harvard Divinity School, Kurukulla Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Wat Boston Buddha Vararam, Wat Lao Mixayaram, and Wat Samaki Santikaram; as well as excerpts from L2BB high school students' final presentations and insights from an interview with Dr. Tham Tran. How did L2BB challenge and change our methods of learning, our approaches to teaching, and our understandings of Buddhism? Listen below to find out!
