Buddhist Non-self as Relational Interdependence: An NTU-Inspired African American Lesbian Interpretation?

Virtually every published academic study on American Buddhist practitioners excludes the culturally specific experiences of African American Buddhist practitioners. In the Insight Meditation Community (initially created by white Jewish American practitioners who studied and practiced in Southeast Asia before bringing the Theravada-influenced practices and teachings to the United States), there seems to be a growing number of African American practitioners who may interpret the teachings on non-self differently than other Insight practitioners. In this study of thirty-one African American Buddhist same-sex-loving women (lesbians) who grew up in Christian churches, non-self is largely understood as relational interdependence.