Home Is Here

“Home Is Here is a pioneering book and a must-read for all students and teachers of Buddhism. These days, inclusivity in sangha requires the Buddhist world must strengthen and clarify our understanding of self, society, racism and antiracism, and dharma. Antiracism is neither an ad-hoc addition to Buddhism nor are the ancient teachings a ready-made or obvious response to the complexities of racism in the contemporary world. This book is a jewel and essence of Reverend Liên’s teachings on dharma and race, evolved over her many years of teaching.

Home Is Here is about wholeness and Buddhist truth. Finding wholeness—the place of spiritual, physical, and emotional belonging—can be challenging in the midst of individual and societal turmoil. The work of antiracism carries with it the weight of history and individual experience. Nonetheless, Reverend Liên’s practices and inquiries, which she has been honing and cultivating for many years, offer possibilities of resilience and renewal. This book is her gift to us, born of a long practice life, honed in the grit of hurt and healing, and deeply immersed in dharma. It is a book for everyone.”

—Rev. Dana Takagi, professor emerita of sociology at Rachel Carson College, UCS

“Having known Reverend Shutt for more than twenty years, it gives me an inspired joy that she has offered a path… a journey… a practice, in the broadest sense of the word, through the suffering of oppression and supremacy that is endemic in our world. In that way, she has shown that the suffering, the way through the suffering, and the teachings are universal—and how to use our specific social locations for the benefit of the greater whole, without being used by them.”

—Larry Yang, author of Awakening Together

“Home is Here is not only a book to be read but a set of principles to be enacted. In this wonderful Buddhist manifesto for change, Rev. Liên Shutt calls us all into integrity and insists we examine thoroughly the oppressive systems that harm all of humanity. Sharing her lived experience as an Asian American lesbian and ordained Zen teacher, she calls us into a deep investigation of our actions as Buddhist and non-Buddhist, not simply for awareness or awakening but for actual transformation and healing among us. She calls us into being stewards of all life as an act of wholeness in the midst of collective suffering. Finally, she reminds us that oppressive acts are not one-time events but rather results of a prolonged and ingrained consciousness of believing one kind of person is more superior than another. A must for all those who seek true liberation and are willing to do the work.”

—Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, author of The Way of Tenderness, The Deepest Peace, and The Shamanic Bones of Zen

“Home Is Here is like a good Zen retreat, in which the bottom drops out of the trap of habitual perceptions and reactions, freeing us from suffering. Accessible, grounded and vital, Liên Shutt's work interweaves ‘how-to’s of the Buddha Way with her own rich experience as one who sets forth in the forbidding landscape of racism to reach—her and our—true home.” 

—Shosan Victoria Austin, contributor to The Hidden Lamp

“This book will benefit everyone! Presenting a powerful and fresh look at core Buddhist teachings, it offers innovative and effective ways to free ourselves from the bondage and illusions of white supremacy culture and a compassionate, accessible path to experiencing that we are already whole.”

—Kaira Jewel Lingo, author of We Were Made for These Times

“We practice to ‘come home’ to the home that's already here [and to wholeness], the author of Home Is Here, T. Liên Shutt, says. In this warm and clearly written, Soto Zen–based sharing of community-based practices that can help us heal from racism and other forms of structural violence, readers will benefit from this contemporary and unique Vietnamese American expression of socially engaged Buddhism that incorporates memoir, social justice analysis, and interactive practices.”

—Mushim Patricia Ikeda, Buddhist teacher and author 

“Home Is Here is an invaluable and engaging application of Buddhist teachings to racism, a topic important for all of us.”

—Gil Fronsdal, author of Buddha Before Buddhism

“With tenderness, an open heart, and characteristic grace, Rev. Liên Shutt shares her knowledge and practice of Buddhadharma alongside her own searing experiences of being Asian American in our racialized culture. Far more than glib adaptations of the Buddha’s Four Truths and Eightfold Path to contemporary life, Rev. Liên’s thoughtful application of these central teachings of Buddhism to the process of undoing the harm of racism yields a body of innovative, meaningful, and heartfelt practices that invite the practitioner to encounter their lived experience with care and attention. Rev. Liên summarizes the place of each teaching in classical Buddhism, then explains carefully how her reframing applies in the context of healing and transforming the untold adverse impacts of white supremacist culture. Aware of the profundity of the inner work involved, Rev. Liên intersperses the substantive content with engaging practice instructions. The resulting pace marks a gentle but sure cadence to support the reader in their own discoveries. Anyone wishing to bring the wise compassion of the Buddha’s teachings to bear on their journey with systemic oppression of any ilk will find in Rev. Liên a skillful and kind guide whose footsteps are well worth following.”

—Karma Yeshe Chödrön, author of Heal Transform Transcend

“In Home Is Here, Rev. Liên Shutt extends the hand of spiritual friendship and invites us to walk the Eightfold Path in engaged companionship. By reciting her experiences as a queer Vietnamese American adoptee and Buddhist, she shows us that we can transform the pain of systemic othering by knowing suffering completely. More than a lofty Buddhist ideal, she provides the tools—from Engaged Eightfold factor framing and application to practice pauses—to skillfully delve into our suffering and emerge in wholeness, one breath at a time. In doing so, she offers Home Is Here as an invaluable resource to return to again and again: reminding us that home is where the engaged heart is.”

—Funie Hsu, associate professor of American studies, San Jose State University

“Reverend Liên Shutt’s beautiful book is a treasure trove of Buddhist teachings shared from the heart and deep practice. You will not want to put it down once you open Home Is Here—filled with the voice of a kind Dharma companion guiding us on the path to healing and reconnecting with our whole self. Shutt’s generosity, integrity and courage shines through on these pages.”

—Rebecca Li, author of Allow Joy into Our Hearts and Illumination

“This book is an appropriate response—a clear, powerful, and kind Dharma that has emerged from the cauldron of a racialized and othered American society. In it, I hear Rev. Shutt’s warmhearted care. This book is about tending to wounds with strong medicine, and it is about moving beyond healing, to build the strength to move forward in a new direction. That new direction is one which fulfills the promise of traditional Buddhism as a Path of liberation for all who make the effort to live it fully. The wisdom that she offers will surely open your eyes.”

—Ayyā Dhammadīpā, founder of Dassanāya Buddhist Community and author of Gifts Greater than the Oceans

“The Buddha was born to show us one important thing: that we are inherently perfectly whole in our Buddha nature. After enlightenment, the Buddha’s very first teaching was the Four Noble Truths. After 2,500 years, this teaching remains a miracle remedy for the sufferings of sentient beings.

Through Rev. Liên’s fresh view of the Engaged Four Noble Truths, everyone can find applicable ways to incorporate them into their own practice and eventually discover the true self where suffering doesn’t exist.”

—Ven. Thích Nữ Thuần Tuệ, author of Tâm Bình Thường and Từ Một Tâm Trong Lặng

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