In this program, we will approach writers James Baldwin and Audre Lorde as ancestors who offer an embodied dharma of resilience, fortitude, presence, and joy in a racist, patriarchal context. As we read Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time and Lorde’s Sister Outsider, along with Buddhist discourses, we will explore how they help us understand classical Buddhist teachings in new and powerful ways. We will focus especially on the truths of suffering and the freedom from suffering; the path to liberation; the importance of recognizing causes and conditions, particularly with regard to ourselves and the societies in which we live; and the importance of cultivating loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. And we will pay attention to the ways in which the teachings of Baldwin and Lorde that affirm the body and sensuality, can also be understood as a liberatory practice deeply resonant with some Buddhist traditions. We welcome participants from all social identities to explore Lorde and Baldwin as teachers, in a Buddhist framework, who can help us develop stamina on the path to liberation, including liberation from white supremacy and internalized hatred. We will supplement our reading of primary texts with documentary films and poetry performances.