When Duncan Ryuken Williams, Funie Hsu, and I first met on Zoom in 2021 to discuss news reports about the vandalization of Buddhist temples and rising anti-Asian violence across the nation, we wondered how best to respond. As we learned of more fatal attacks on Asian American Buddhists—including Vicha Ratanapakdee in San Francisco and Yong Ae Yue in the Atlanta spa shootings—we felt the need to organize a national ritual of mourning, mending and renewal.
The first May We Gather memorial in honor of Asian American ancestors was held on May 4, 2021. Our host temple, Higashi Honganji in Los Angeles, had been vandalized just a few months prior. The 117-year-old temple was repaired by a groundswell of community support, in time for dozens of Buddhist leaders to take part in a ceremony marking 49 days after the Atlanta spa shootings. With in-person attendance limited due to COVID-19, thousands participated via livestream. Videos and photos of the 2021 ceremony are available on the May We Gather website.
On March 16, 2024, exactly three years after the Atlanta shootings, May We Gather convened a national Buddhist pilgrimage in Antioch, California, the first city in the nation to issue a formal apology for its mistreatment of early Chinese immigrants. Hundreds joined the daylong event to take part in Buddhist and Daoist ceremonies, a peace walk around the site of Antioch’s historic Chinatown, and the lively community reception afterwards. Videos and photos of the 2024 pilgrimage are available on the May We Gather website.
Educators and religious leaders who would like to share about May We Gather in their classrooms and communities may find the following resources helpful:
- (book chapter) “Forty-Nine Days,” Pluralism in Practice: Case Studies of Leadership in a Religiously Diverse America [link]
- (podcast episode) “May We Gather,” Religion, Race & Democracy Lab, University of Virginia [link]
- (online speaker series) “Resilience, Recovery, and Repair,” Tricycle and May We Gather [link]
- “Resilience: A Story of 19th-Century Chinese Immigrants in Antioch and Beyond” [video]
- “Recovery: The History of America’s Early Buddho-Daoist Temples” [video]
- “Repair: A Path to Healing Land and Ancestors” [video]
(2021 memorial press coverage)
- “Buddhists Confront Anti-Asian Violence with Peace Perseverance,” Los Angeles Times [link]
- “Repairing Generations of Trauma, One Lotus Flower at a Time,” New York Times [link]
- “Rare Gathering of World’s Vast Schools of Buddhism Offers Healing Against Racial Hate,” Los Angeles Times [link]
- “‘May We Gather’ Buddhist Memorial Ceremony Offers Asian American Community Space To Heal,” Lion’s Roar [link]
- “A National Day of Mourning,” Rafu Shimpo [link]
- “For the Ancestors and for Peace: A Conversation with the Organizers of “May We Gather,” Buddhistdoor Global [link]
(2024 memorial press coverage)
- “Buddhists Use Karmic Healing Against One US City’s Anti-Asian Legacy and Nationwide Prejudice Today,” Associated Press [link], with 4-minute video [link]
- “A California City Wrestles With Its History Of Discrimination Against Early Chinese Immigrants” [link], with 2-minute video [link]
- “‘May We Gather’ Buddhist Memorial And Pilgrimage Honors Asian American Ancestors,” Lion’s Roar [link]
- “Buddhists Bring Karmic Healing to Antioch, California,” Buddhistdoor Global [link]
- “May We Gather” radio episode (tune in at the 31’22” mark for a live interview), Full Circle KPFA [link]
- “Reflections with the 2024 May We Gather Co-Organizers” podcast episode, Open Dharma Access [link]
- “A Dharma Message for ‘May We Gather,’” Buddhistdoor Global [link]
- “On Asian American Buddhist Friendship,” Second Spring [link]
