The Sadhana of Awakened Melanin is officially published!!!!
The word Sadhana means “an effort exercised towards the achievement of a purpose.” The intention of these series of practices is to introduce the practitioner to an experience of sacredness found within, between and as all things by centering our attention on the reality of our everyday existence, relationships and nature. The invitation is to spend time contemplating and meditating on the meaning of the chants and to use the wisdom that arises to be of benefit to ourselves, others and our planet.
This text was created to fulfill the aspirations of four influences:
First, my root guru, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche; the Vidyadhara Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche who continues to fearlessly manifest the teachings of the Kalapayana to assist all beings in all realms with realizing enlightened society; my spiritual friend Gaylon Ferguson, who endlessly enriches me and others with compassion and wisdom, the fruit of his discipline, and exertion. Lastly, my ancestors of the Afrikan diaspora who desire that their children live happy, healthy, and whole lives. That their offspring remember their hearts and never fall prey to coldness; that they stay together as a family despite attempts at separation; that they experience love within, between and as all things, and that they manifest ageless empires that birth doubtless, courageous warriors who are unafraid to sacrifice self-centeredness for the behavior of serving others.
May this text be of benefit to all beings. If there are any faults within, they are mine and reflect the continued unfolding of ignorance as wisdom.
The ancestral home of all things is Afrika. It is where the first humans began to ask questions about how to find contentment in a world that offers no stability or predictable comfort. As Afrikans, we are called to reclaim and affirm our relationship with the cosmology shared by all humans and what that relationship looks like through an Afrikan-centered lens. Buddhism offers a rational view of humanity rooted in the Earth, community and the body that invites us to explore what it means to be a human, born with this body, with this skin, and at this time. It does not ask us to discard our conditioned sense of self. Instead, it asks us to live a meaningful and purposeful life as we are found. Buddhism also asks us to live this life with and for others; to do so to explore the limitations of solidifying our experience of the world around us. Loosening our grip on our projections reveals a natural spaciousness experienced as an awakened unconditional heart-mind of wisdom, compassion, and skillfulness. What this means is that the nature of our Afrikan selves and the myriad ways it manifests—in our everyday lives, culture, society, body, and mind—are useful and worthy as inherent tools of enlightenment. To bring about this enlightenment, we must shine the light of wisdom through the lens of our Afrikanness to determine for ourselves what Enlightened Afrikan society looks like.
When I began contemplating writing and adapting these practices, I remember wondering how the various truths outlined in the Buddhadharma were being taught to me so that I did not only see enlightenment through the lens of Asia and Europe, but also through the lineage of my ancestors. What I found is that there were no teachings or teachers that attempted to include the history and legacy of Afrikan people in the Buddhadharma, and because I was unwilling to wait for someone to do it, I began to write. These practices are an attempt at gathering awareness around our absolute value as humans and relative value as Afrikans. With that, I offer them as a collective experiment for all who are interested to partake in these practices.