As a queer, female-identifying, African-American practitioner of the Soto Zen sect, I imagine attaining enlightenment with celebratory fanfare: marching jazz bands and shaking to my dance. I glide effortlessly down my spine. I even hear tambourines and trombones heralding my arrival. But in the Zen Buddhist tradition, liberation is generally seen as something more ordinary. I often think of a quote from Buddhist monk Wu Li: “Before enlightenment, you chop firewood and carry water. After enlightenment, you chop firewood and carry water.” There’s something beautifully mundane about this quote.
This Juneteenth season is an opportunity for African Americans and allies across the nation to pause and reflect on our liberation from slavery. We are invited to reflect on the parallels between our ultimate liberation from suffering and the process of achieving liberation from institutional oppression as a dance between the everyday and the sacred. How can we reconcile the two?
One way to compare these understandings of freedom is to look at the outside forces that shaped them. As Buddhism spread around the world, it adopted concepts and teachings from local cultures. This is true of the African American experience. Throughout our African immigrant history, we have taken on different teachings and made them our own, drawing on our spiritual ties as the descendants of slaves. One example is the Negro spirituals.
Negro spirituals are a type of religious folk song that blends African cultural influences with the experience of slavery in the American South. “Down by the Riverside” is a classic of the genre, with its themes of liberation, enlightenment, and community. Rooted in the African American experience of slavery and oppression, the song served as both a form of solace and resistance. Spirituals may also utilize what Buddhism calls “skillful means” as a coded means of communication, as this form of music often contained hidden messages regarding maps, navigational strategies, and timing for enslaved people to escape to freedom in the Northern states or Canada.
The lyrics of “Down by the Riverside” speak of a desire for freedom from oppression. The refrain “I will study war no more” reflects the Buddhist principle of nonviolence and expresses a longing for peace and an end to conflict (Sanskrit: NonviolenceThis sentiment is also reflected in the first of the four bodhisattva vows, “There are countless sentient beings, I vow to save them.” This sentiment is also reflected in the lyrics, “I go to the riverside to lay down my sword and shield,” which express a movement toward peace and vulnerability at the same time, abandoning both the object of violence and the means of defense in order to surrender completely to spiritual liberation. These lyrics also parallel the Buddhist concept of letting go of attachment to material possessions, desires, and an ego-driven sense of self. By letting go of attachments (including attachment to the state of becoming), one can experience deep freedom and inner peace, free from the limitations of desire and the ego.
Through song and communal expression we find solace and strength in the present moment, we work through suffering through music, and transform pain into wisdom.
Letting go of attachment also helps us to be fully present in the present moment, aware of our thoughts, feelings, and surroundings. In Buddhist philosophy, this is often called mindfulness – remembering to recognize what is beneficial and discard what is not. This is often achieved by paying attention to an object or paying attention to your breath (Pali: Anapanasati) serves as a central axis around which thoughts can circle back and forth. This heightened state of consciousness allows individuals to observe their experiences with clarity and develop discernment to work through pain and confusion. Similarly, singing spirituals such as “Down by the Riverside” served as a form of mindfulness for African Americans during times of hardship, similar to chanting as a form of meditation or using mantras to ease pain in the body and mind. Through song and communal expression, we find solace and strength in the present moment, transcending suffering through music and transforming pain into wisdom.
One of the core teachings of Buddhism is that all things come into being through the interplay of various causes and conditions. This concept of interdependence, also known as dependent origination, teaches that nothing exists in isolation. This is the truth of the interconnectedness of all things. “Down by the Riverside” also captures this insight, with lyrics about “putting down one’s burdens” and going to see “my dear father,” “my dear mother,” and “my dear Jesus,” all of which are interconnected. All these concerns — your problems, your family, your piety — are not constant, they change, they are swept away by the rapids of the river. TatatataIn Mahayana Buddhism, often translated as “thus” or “such a nature,” tatata refers to the true nature of reality, beyond conceptual thought and the subject-object distinction. It is a state of being, an association with the truth of things. There is no beginning. There is no end. No one can give you freedom. Freedom is such a nature of life. Everything is swept away except the deathless nature of tatata. This is enlightenment. This is true liberation. As the Buddha taught his disciples, Arakenanusasani Sutta:
Just as a river flows down from the mountains, flowing far and wide, fast, carrying everything with it, never ceasing for even a moment, flowing and flowing, so, Brahmins, human life is like a river flowing down from the mountains, finite, insignificant, with much stress and much despair. [truth] Like wise men, do things skillfully…
Watching this flowing river, knowing that we cannot cling to anything, and accepting the true nature of this reality creates a true sense of reverence and acceptance, and cultivates qualities of heart such as compassion and compassion for others. In Down by the Riverside, these qualities of heart are found in the image of gathering by the river, evoking a sense of community and solidarity among African Americans in the face of adversity. Recognizing and accepting our shared connection to something greater or beyond our control allows individuals to transcend divisions and work toward collective liberation and harmony in what we can change. This is the refuge of community. What cannot be achieved in our individual ego states is made possible by our shared collective wisdom and ancestral knowledge. But to find this collective awakening, we must “let go” of the ego. Thus, guided by ethical action, we resist oppression and seek the liberation of all sentient beings, wherever they may be.
African American spirituality and Buddhist teachings share common themes of seeking liberation, unity, and inner peace. These bridges of understanding provide valuable insights into the human experience and the pursuit of spiritual fulfillment across traditions. By establishing mindfulness, letting go, and embracing community, individuals can find solace, strength, and freedom amid the turbulent waves of life. This all begins with bringing mindful inquiry and awareness to every moment of daily life, becoming the river, and living with acceptance of suffering without attachment. The profound is found in a simple truth: “Before enlightenment, you chop wood and carry water. After enlightenment, you chop wood and carry water.”
