Teacher

Jan Willis



Jan Willis, PhD, is an American professor of religion and author on Tibetan Buddhism, Buddhist saints’ lives, women and Buddhism, and Buddhism and race. She considers herself both Baptist and Buddhist and has been called a “spiritual innovator.”

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The Path We Walk as Women

In the commentary from the Fall 2019 special women’s issue of Buddhadharma, Jan Willis reminds us of the powerful role of women in Buddhism, historically and today.

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01:28:00

02 Three Principal Aspects of the Path with Dr. Jan Willis: The Life of Tsongkhapa 05-20-17

Dr. Jan Willis shares the life story of the author of 'The Three Principal Aspects of the Path', the 14th century Tibetan scholar-yogi Lama Tsongkhapa.

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Turning The Wheel: American Women Creating the New Buddhism

Examines the influence of American Buddhist women on Buddhist spiritual practice and discusses current issues involving politics and family life.

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Scenes from a Spiritual Journey

To heal the deep wounds of racism, Jan Willis turned to Buddhism and is now cited by Time magazine as one of America’s spiritual leaders. David Pesci talked with her about her journey from the crushing injustices of life in the Jim Crow South to the thin air of the shrine called Swayambhu.

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11:22

05-19-17 Buddhism and Activism with Dr. Jan Willis - BBCorner

Sravasti Abbey is delighted to host Dr. Jan Willis, professor emerita of religion at Wesleyan University, and student of Lama Yeshe for a weekend of teachings. She shares her thoughts on the Buddha's example of activism and its impact on her life.

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All Out of Faith: Southern Women on Spirituality

All Out of Faith gives voice to southern women writers who represent a broad spectrum of faiths, Catholic to Baptist, Jewish to Buddhist, and points in between. These essays and stories reveal that southern culture has always reserved a special place for strong women of passion.

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Let’s Foster Today’s Thai Forest Tradition

In the foothills nestled among the many sugarcane fields that blanket the plains of Uthai Thani, Thailand, stands the red roof of Wat Pa Sak Thong’s main temple. There are five resident monks at this monastery, ranging in age from thirty to seventy.

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Black Women’s Yoga History: Memoirs of Inner Peace

How have Black women elders managed stress? In Black Women’s Yoga History, Stephanie Y.

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Dreaming Me: Black, Baptist, and Buddhist—One Woman's Spiritual Journey

Jan Willis is not Baptist or Buddhist. She is simply both. Dreaming Me is the story of her life, as a child growing up in the Jim Crow South, dealing with racism in an Ivy League college, and becoming involved with the Black Panther Party.

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02:03

MLK 2014 Selective Readings Jan Willis

Jan Willis reading about what it means to live for something at the WNYC Community Engagement annual Martin Luther King celebration at the Apollo Theater.

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Larry Yang