At The Edge of Self
Insight Myanmar30 Okt 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.

Episoder(505)

Home Is Where the Heart Is

Home Is Where the Heart Is

You are listening to the second episode in our ongoing series, titled “Love Letters to Myanmar.”This series features guests who share their warmest memories and anecdotes, discuss what life lessons th...

9 Mai 20211h 40min

Operation Defection

Operation Defection

For his contribution to the resistance, Ven Detta is seeking inspiration from Vladmir Lenin, spending the last several months studying the history of how soldiers are coaxed to defect during insurrect...

5 Mai 20211h 6min

Literally A Nightmare Scenario

Literally A Nightmare Scenario

Thiri is no stranger to the trauma brought on by the military coup. She spent five years with Human Rights Watch listening to people with cruel and brutal stories of their families killed or harmed by...

30 Apr 20212h 12min

A Risk-Taker at Risk

A Risk-Taker at Risk

“Thurain” (not his real name) had planned to spend the start of 2021 building on his already impressive worldly achievements. Though a “country boy” from birth, he had made his mark in Yangon, establi...

25 Apr 20211h 49min

Touches with the Golden Land

Touches with the Golden Land

Our team has decided to present a new series that focuses on our love and appreciation for the Golden Land. We hope that upcoming episodes in this series can help to provide some kind of counterbalanc...

21 Apr 20212h 15min

Going Rogue: A Doctor on the Front Lines

Going Rogue: A Doctor on the Front Lines

Coco’s career path in medicine wasn’t supposed to end up this way. But on February 1st, for Coco and so many others, “all of the dreams just got wasted away.”He was initially hesitant to join the stre...

14 Apr 20212h 27min

The End Justifies the Memes

The End Justifies the Memes

What is the deeper, symbolic meaning of an overturned alms bowl? What reasoning goes into the decision as to whether a protest sign is written in English or Burmese, or as pictograms, or emojis? And h...

10 Apr 20212h 6min

A Screeching Halt: The Military Coup Shoots Down Reforms

A Screeching Halt: The Military Coup Shoots Down Reforms

Maw Htin Aung, a Kachin Christian by birth, appeared to be a leader right for his time, the kind of progressive champion needed in Myanmar who could help move the country towards a promising future. I...

5 Apr 20211h 34min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
i-retten
forklart
aftenpodden-usa
stopp-verden
popradet
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
det-store-bildet
fotballpodden-2
rss-gukild-johaug
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-ness
hanna-de-heldige
nokon-ma-ga
aftenbla-bla
e24-podden
frokostshowet-pa-p5
bt-dokumentar-2
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk