Love and Rage - bookrastinating.com

Digital audio read by the author; unabridged; 9 h

English language

Published Jan. 12, 2021 by North Atlantic Books.

In the face of systemic racism and state-sanctioned violence, how can we metabolize our anger into a force for liberation?

White supremacy in the United States has long necessitated that Black rage be suppressed, repressed, or denied, often as a means of survival, a literal matter of life and death. In Love and Rage, Lama Rod Owens, coauthor of Radical Dharma, shows how this unmetabolized anger—and the grief, hurt, and transhistorical trauma beneath it—needs to be explored, respected, and fully embodied to heal from heartbreak and walk the path of liberation. This is not a book about bypassing anger to focus on happiness or a road map for using spirituality to transform the nature of rage into something else. Instead, it is one that offers a potent vision of anger that acknowledges and honors its power as a vehicle for radical social change and enduring spiritual transformation.

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In the face of systemic racism and state-sanctioned violence, how can we metabolize our anger into a force for liberation?

White supremacy in the United States has long necessitated that Black rage be suppressed, repressed, or denied, often as a means of survival, a literal matter of life and death. In Love and Rage, Lama Rod Owens, coauthor of Radical Dharma, shows how this unmetabolized anger—and the grief, hurt, and transhistorical trauma beneath it—needs to be explored, respected, and fully embodied to heal from heartbreak and walk the path of liberation. This is not a book about bypassing anger to focus on happiness or a road map for using spirituality to transform the nature of rage into something else. Instead, it is one that offers a potent vision of anger that acknowledges and honors its power as a vehicle for radical social change and enduring spiritual transformation.

Love and Rage weaves the inimitable wisdom and lived experience of Lama Rod Owens with Buddhist philosophy, practical meditation exercises, mindfulness, tantra, prāṇāyāma, ancestor practices, energy work, and classical yoga. The result is a book that serves as both a balm and a blueprint for those seeking justice who can feel overwhelmed with anger—and yet who refuse to relent. It is a necessary text for these times.

3 editions

Sasu reviewed Love and Rage by Lama Rod Owens

Creative, Radical, Challenging

3 stars

It's hard to know what to write about this one.

On the one hand, I experience much of Lama Rod's teaching in this book as brilliantly creative. The meditation instructions are well-systematized and I found the guidance helpful, especially for the #7homecomings, #tonglen, and #EarthTouching / #bhūmisparśa practices. I also deeply appreciated his acknowledgement of the issues present in the #Tibetan #Buddhist tradition and his way of relating to flawed teachers in a system vulnerable to abuse of power was valuable for me. The way he addresses #racism, #whitesupremacy, #queerphobia, #patriarchy and other forms of #discrimination or #opression reminded me favorably of Sebene Selassie's You Belong.

On the other, having now listened to it in its entirety, it seems like the book might have put together in a piecemeal sort of way. I get the impression that this might have …

It's hard to know what to write about this one.

On the one hand, I experience much of Lama Rod's teaching in this book as brilliantly creative. The meditation instructions are well-systematized and I found the guidance helpful, especially for the #7homecomings, #tonglen, and #EarthTouching / #bhūmisparśa practices. I also deeply appreciated his acknowledgement of the issues present in the #Tibetan #Buddhist tradition and his way of relating to flawed teachers in a system vulnerable to abuse of power was valuable for me. The way he addresses #racism, #whitesupremacy, #queerphobia, #patriarchy and other forms of #discrimination or #opression reminded me favorably of Sebene Selassie's You Belong.

On the other, having now listened to it in its entirety, it seems like the book might have put together in a piecemeal sort of way. I get the impression that this might have been intentional or seen as unproblematic as a way to enhance the sense of authenticity. I listened to the audio version, and while the inclusion of the original audio for the interviews was a nice touch, it felt a lot like recycling content to me—I think I would have preferred a more edited final version with links to the originals for anyone who wanted to dig deeper.

On the whole, it was well worth the time I spent with it. I feel like I've learned quite a bit. If anyone is reading this and trying to decide between the print & audio versions, I would guess that the print version might be a bit easier to use, especially if one intends to refer frequently to the instructions for #meditation and #reflection.

reading crustacean

rated it

July 3, 2023

Subjects

Health
Buddhism
yoga
mindfulness
antiracism
anger
rage
meditation

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Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program (unofficial)