2008
bioGRAPHy
Rev. angel Kyodo williams
is regarded as a gifted communicator of the essence of Dharma, the universal truth that leads to freedom. Named “the most intriguing African-American Buddhist in America” by Library Journal, Kyodoshi, as she is affectionately called, is known for her ability to make profound wisdom teaching relevant to everyday life.
angel Kyodo is the “Mahamitra” or great spiritual friend of the New Dharma Community, which has its physical home in Berkeley,CA with members in NY, MA and as far away as Lebanon. she is a maverick within her root tradition of zen buddhism, holding an interest in articulating relevant expressions of the essence of zen. Her dharma name, Kyodo, means “way of teaching.” At her priest ordination ceremony, the suffix “-ji” meaning compassion, was added by her preceptor, Paco Genkoji Lugoviña, so that her full dharma name is something akin to: Way of Teaching Compassion. while she is humbled and sometimes chagrined by the enormity of practicing this name, she is fully committed to doing just that by any means necessary: in an unflinching, authentic way, not bound by social convention, political correctness, the desire to appeal to student’s favor or for financial gain.
Kyodoshi-mitra lives as a full-time dharma teacher, spiritual friend and leader of what is likely one of the most unique, vibrant and diverse transformative practice communities in the nation.
STATistics
essential [nature]
name: angel Kyodo williams
aka: Kyodoshi, mahamitra, mitra, the dragon, dragon warrior
birthday: december 2nd
western sign: sagittarius
lunar sign: phoenix/rooster
enneagram: 8 - “leader/challenger/boss”
protector: dragon/dragonfly
heritage: african-american, cherokee & irish
languages: bad spanish & rudimentary japanese
[dis] credits
role: maverick dharma teacher, social mystic
influences: zen, warriorship, indigenous wisdom
buddhadharma, yogadharma, one dharma
style: Crazy Wisdom
founder: urbanPEACE
leader: New Dharma Community, USA
spiritual director: Center for Urban Peace, Berkeley, CA
author: Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living With
Fearlessness and Grace, Viking/Penguin
music: being black: music inspired by the book
teacher: New Dharma, fearlessYoga; Kripalu RYT
creator: fearless practices of meditation, yoga & learning
past lives: Kokobar co-creator, 3rd Wave founding chairperson
other: spiritual activism fellow, liberation spirituality
theorist, cultural critic & technician of the sacred
favorite [fixations]
book: one taste
movie: Ikiru “to live”
opera: Satyagraha by Philip Glass
tv: The Closer; House; SVU; 24; Boston Legal
food: tempeh reuben
snack: lara bar - cherry pie flavor
drink: GT’s Kombucha (thanks, Simha)
yoga teacher: Katchie Ananda, Yoga Sangha
singers: gina breedlove, cate coslor, carvell wallace
visual artists: shiko munakata, johnan sanjin
poetry: Alice Walker, Khalil Gibran, Neruda
quote: “learn to love the questions themselves” — Rumi
current [pre]occupations
theory of change: Third Way: transformative
social change
body: fearless Yoga
language: sanskrit & devanagari script
music: harmonium - chant hop is coming...
art: ancient asian calligraphy
text: Yoga Sutras of Patañjali
technology: iPhone
[web of] relationships
not boring boards: ForestEthics, Seasons Fund for Social Transformation, Seeds of Justice,
Social Justice Leadership, YES!
people: aqeela sherrills, claudia horwitz, albino garcia, jesse vega-frey
organizations: stone circles
