At The Edge of Self
Insight Myanmar30 Loka 2025

At The Edge of Self

Episode #422: “There is beauty in owning one's racial identity. There's beauty in owning, valuing, and respecting one's heritage, ancestors, sexual identity, and gender identity. But on the other side of the coin, there can also be imprisonment there.”

So says Bhante Sumano, an African-American monk at Empty Cloud Monastery. This is the 6th episode in our ongoing “Intersections of Dhamma & Race” series, in which we examineentrenched protocols, practices and biases within the vipassana and mindfulness communities.

Bhante Sumano begins by telling us how he came to take on the monk’s robes. Originally from Jamaica, he moved to New York City for college and has stayed there ever since. Bhante Sumano trained under Thich Nhat Hanh and Thanissaro Bhikkhu before ultimately deciding that Empty Cloud was the best fit for him, as he appreciated the flexibility and openness in how the monastery embraced different Theravadin traditions.

Bhante Sumano goes on to describe how the Buddha’s teachings have guided him in understanding and responding to racism. He expresses disappointment with how he has seen the wider Buddhist community respond to the recent social justice movement, and feels that even many experienced teachers have “blind spots” that prevent deeper understanding. Finally, he shares the value in providing safe spaces where practitioners of color can come to practice the Dhamma.

Jaksot(507)

Taming the Tiger

Taming the Tiger

Episode #230: “Unfortunately, in 2020, after the NLD won a landslide election, there was a military coup. And [then] the PDF resistance started. I took part in the resistance as I had years before, bu...

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Leon Kennedy

Leon Kennedy

Episode #229: Leon Kennedy's life is a chronicle of personal struggle. Growing up in an era of historical significance, his parents were heavily involved in the Civil Rights Movement, with figures lik...

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Shan Chronicles

Shan Chronicles

Episode #228: Jane Ferguson speaks about her recent book, Repossessing Shanland: Myanmar, Thailand, and a Nation-State Deferred. The book’s title refers to Shan attempts to reclaim their land and comm...

2 Huhti 20242h 13min

Above the Fray

Above the Fray

Episode #227: Nathan Ruser, a specialist at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), is an expert in geo-mapping. Building on his experience using satellite imagery to track human rights viol...

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The Long Road Home

The Long Road Home

Episode #226: After the National League for Democracy (NLD) party’s landslide victory in 2015, Ko Ko Gyi remembers thinking to himself, “Okay, this is the time to retire from my activism, so let's jus...

22 Maalis 20241h 13min

Jonathan Crowley, Part 3

Jonathan Crowley, Part 3

Episode #225: In this third part of the ongoing discussion with Jonathan Crowley, we delve deeper into his experiences as an Assistant Teacher in the S.N. Goenka tradition of Vipassana meditation. Jon...

19 Maalis 20242h 9min

Rage Against the Regime

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Episode #224: Saw Htee Char, working under a pseudonym for safety reasons, has been heavily involved in Myanmar since the devastating Cyclone Nargis in 2008. Recognizing a significant gap in accessibl...

12 Maalis 20241h 46min

Thinzar Shunlei Yi

Thinzar Shunlei Yi

Episode #223: Raised in a Myanmar military compound, Thinzar Shunlei Yi grew up sheltered from her nation's realities. University life exposed her to diverse ethnic narratives, challenging her militar...

5 Maalis 20242h 22min

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