Pamela Ayo Yetunde

Recently the nonprofit organizatoin Dharma Relief awarded fellowships to Black Buddhist leaders for their work supporting Black communities. Here, Lion’s Roar’s Pamela Ayo Yetunde hosts a roundtable conversation with four of those fellows: Jean Marie Robbins, Pamela Freeman, Ramona Lisa Ortiz-Smith, and Victoria Cary. Bringing their lived experience to bear, they talk about how Buddhist practice is helping Black people heal from the impact of racism and discover inner peace.

To change your life now and prepare for the inevitable, says Pamela Ayo Yetunde, regularly contemplate these five home truths.

Lion's Roar associate editor Pamela Ayo Yetunde introduces the May 2024 “Black & Buddhist” issue.

In celebration of Black History Month, we find inspiration in the lives and practice of six remarkable Black Buddhists.

What’s it like to provide spiritual care in hospitals, hospices, prisons, and beyond? Seven Buddhist chaplains share their moving stories.

Pamela Ayo Yetunde reflects on why Buddhists of all backgrounds should celebrate Juneteenth, a US federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

This free series offers helpful compassion teachings from Pamela Ayo Yetunde, Jan Willis, Christian Howard, and Cheryl A. Giles.

Ven. Pannavati, Rev. Blayne Higa, Rev. Myokei Caine-Barrett, and Kakumyo Lowe-Charde explore the complexities of guiding others toward leadership roles.

Pamela Ayo Yetunde reflects on the recent shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, sharing how Buddhists can work to create a community of refuge for LGBTQ+ people.

Pamela Ayo Yetunde explores how Buddhist pedagogy is an essential framework for Buddhist teachers to educate themselves and their communities about our criminal justice systems.

Pamela Ayo Yetunde reflects on the future of community in Buddhism in the opening editorial from the September 2022 issue of Lion's Roar.

Lion's Roar associate editor Pamela Ayo Yetunde discusses "right remembering" and how it impacts our collective memory for George Floyd.

African American Buddhist practitioners Jan Willis, Thomas Davis IV, and Larry Ward reflect on Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through the lens of the dharma.

Lion's Roar associate editor Pamela Ayo Yetunde introduces the May 2022 issue.

In the introduction to the first conversation, I wondered whether Sister Clear Grace would find sustaining generosity for this mission from Buddhists and non-Buddhists. I wondered what might be gained by the non-Buddhist strangers who would be in conversation, perhaps for the first time, with a Black Buddhist monastic defying gender norms talking about racial,…

The African philosophy of ubuntu teaches that we are human only through the humanity of others. Buddhists of African descent explore the synergy between ubuntu and the Buddhist teachings on interdependence.

Pamela Ayo Yetunde, Aishah Shahidah Simmons, Kamilah Majied, Lori Perine, and Zenzele Isoke reflect on the profound life and legacy of bell hooks.

Pamela Ayo Yetunde talks to Sister Clear Grace about the journey to becoming a Buddhist nun and hitting the road in a temple on wheels.

Five Buddhist teachers who’ve made helping others through social and political action a keystone of their practice.

Lion's Roar speaks with the co-organizers of Harvard University’s Buddhism and Race Conference, discussing the "Radical Re-Orientation Speaker Series."

Menakem discusses the practices and insights shared in his NYT bestseller, "My Grandmother's Hands."

In this excerpt from her new book co-edited with Cheryl A. Giles, "Black and Buddhist," Pamela Ayo Yetunde offers advice for POC considering entering a dharma community, and shares the importance of utilizing Right Intention when doing so.

We need to update the traditional narrative of the Buddha’s life, says Pamela Ayo Yetunde, for people who know suffering all too well. She offers some alternative stories for the time of #BlackLivesMatter.

Diversity is more than just representation. It’s about really meeting the needs of different communities. Pamela Ayo Yetunde suggests how Buddhism can address the mass incarceration of young black men and its terrible costs.

Many practitioners can’t afford to go on retreats. Pamela Ayo Yetunde says it’s time we start thinking about how to make the practice less exclusive.

Pamela Ayo Yetunde reviews "A Thousand Hands: A Guidebook to Caring for Your Buddhist Community." From the Summer 2017 issue of Buddhadharma.