Roots and Refuge

Roots and Refuge

An Asian American Buddhist Writing Retreat

Chenxing Han, Ryan Lee Wong, Rev. Kaishin Victory Matsui
July 24-29, 2025
Applications Open for Roots and Refuge Alumni

An Invitation to Deepen Your
Spiritual And Creative Practice

How do our roots shape us as Asian Americans in connection to Buddhism? Where can we find refuge in the practice of putting pen to paper? As writers shaped by lineages of Buddhist poetry, exegesis, fiction, journalism, and other genres, how can we share what we have to offer to the present and future of Buddhism in the United States?

This experimental, participatory gathering brings together Asian American Buddhists writers—broadly defined—for a program to support and deepen our spiritual and creative practice. Over the course of our five nights and six days together, we will participate in peer-led ritual and meditation, write on our own and in peer-organized groups, and dialogue as a community.

Anyone of Asian heritage (including Central, East, South, Southeast, and West Asian heritage) who is currently working on a writing project related to Buddhism is warmly invited to apply. You do not need to be a published author to apply, and writers of all genres are welcome.

Applications for Roots and Refuge ALUMNI are currently open and due no later than February 1, 2025. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and spaces are limited… Please apply as soon as possible.

Applications for NON-ALUMNI of Roots and Refuge will open on February 1, 2025.

Anyone of Asian heritage (including Central, East, South, Southeast, and West Asian heritage) who is currently working on a writing project related to Buddhism is warmly invited to apply. You do not need to be a published author to apply, and writers of all genres are welcome.

This program is suitable for beginning and experienced practitioners.

This retreat, as in the past, consists of a mix of different activities, co-led by participants, including: silent writing, chanting, meditation, altar building, large group discussions, small peer-led group discussions, reading of work, and relational practices.

Noble silence will be observed following each evening session through breakfast the next morning.

Participant Reflections

I was reminded that creativity, justice, and care are intertwined with one another, and that caring for others cannot come at the expense of caring for ourselves.

I’d believed this gathering was impossible—not because I’d tried and failed to do it, but because my imagination hadn’t allowed me to conceive of it.

Program Fee and Scholarships

To make this program accessible to well-suited applicants regardless of their financial circumstances, a scholarship fund has been established specifically for Roots and Refuge. Thank you to The Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism for their generous support of the inaugural 2023 Roots and Refuge program, the Hemera Foundation for their generous contribution to the Roots and Refuge scholarship fund, and to the many individuals who have contributed to our scholarship fund to help make this program more widely accessible.

An application for need-based financial assistance is included at the bottom of the program application.

Residential Pricing:

Includes lodging and meals at BCBS during the in-person programs. Click the Pricing Notes tab to learn about Tier Pricing and Financial Assistance.

Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3	Benefactor
$1,045	$845	$645	$1,445

Commuter Pricing:

Includes meals without lodging during the in-person programs.

Standard

$400

Accessibility: BCBS keeps prices as affordable as possible and offers Tier Pricing and Financial Assistance options to keep programs accessible:

Tier Pricing: You may choose a tier and pay according to your means. Tier 1 covers the actual cost of the program. Tiers 2 and 3 are subsidized rates made possible through the generosity of donors. The Benefactor rate enables you to offer additional, tax-deductible support to BCBS and fellow program participants. Please select the highest tier that fits your budget to help keep BCBS programs accessible.

Financial Assistance: If needed, you may request additional financial assistance on the registration page.

Teacher Dāna/Generosity: Program fees do not include payments to teachers. Please consider supporting the teachers with dāna (generosity) during your program.

Cancellation Policy: We understand that personal circumstances may require you to cancel your registration. In these cases, please contact us right away. If you cancel more than eight weeks before the program starts, you are eligible for a full refund minus a $50 administrative fee. If you cancel between three and eight weeks before the program starts, you are eligible for a 50% refund of the deposit. Registration fees are nonrefundable less than three weeks before the program starts.

We are committed to providing a spiritual home and resource for all on the path to awakening. We do our best to ensure that everyone who comes here feels truly welcome, respected, and safe, whatever their age, race, ethnicity, sex (including gender identity and expression), sexual orientation, body type, disability, religion, or political viewpoint.

We recognize this is ongoing work and invite you to reach out to us at contact@buddhistinquiry.org with suggestions and feedback as to how we can more fully embody our aspiration to be a spiritual home and resource for all.

Guiding Teachers

Chenxing Han

Chenxing Han is the author of Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists (2021) and one long listening: a memoir of grief, friendship, and spiritual care (2023). She holds a BA from Stanford University, an MA in Buddhist Studies from the Graduate Theological Union, and a certificate in Buddhist chaplaincy from the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley, California. She is a co-teacher of Listening to the Buddhists in our Backyard at Phillips Academy Andover and a co-organizer of May We Gather: A National Buddhist Memorial for Asian American Ancestors.

Ryan Lee Wong

Ryan Lee Wong is author of the novel Which Side Are You On, a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, the son of a fifth-generation Chinese American father and a Korean immigrant mother. He lived for two years at Ancestral Heart Temple and is the Administrative Director of Brooklyn Zen Center. He organized the exhibitions Serve the People at Interference Archive and Roots at Chinese American Museum, both focused on the Asian American movements of the 1970s.

Rev. Kaishin Victory Matsui

Rev. Kaishin Victory Matsui (she/they) is a queer, mixed-race, fifth-generation Japanese American Soto Zen priest with the Brooklyn Zen Center. She received priest ordination from Rev. Kosen Gregory Snyder in 2022. She currently serves as the Director of Ancestral Heart Temple in Millerton, NY – Brooklyn Zen Center’s residential training temple – where she has lived since its founding in 2019. She is the Co-Chair of BZC’s BIPOC Leadership Council, and a member of the Ancestral Heritage Council. She writes a newsletter, “Letters from Kaishin.”

Deepening Practice,
Building Community.

Deepening Practice,
Building Community.

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