Via GBF \\\ "Embodying Our Truth: The Perfection of Queer Wisdom" with Liên Shutt

A new dharma talk has been added to the GBF website, podcast and YouTube Channel:

Embodying Our Truth: The Perfection of Queer Wisdom

Rev. Liên Shutt explores how the Buddhist path of wisdom can help us fully celebrate and embody our identities as queer people.

The concept of prajna (wisdom) is not an abstract theory, but as an interactive way of being that honors our lived experiences. Liên breaks down the traditional three levels of wisdom and maps them onto the queer journey, showing how we move from simply seeking information about our identities to reflecting on our shared stories and, finally, to an embodied presence. The “perfection of wisdom” is found in how we carry ourselves—without defensiveness or shame—fully alive in the moment and comfortable in our own skin.

Drawing on her own history—from navigating the “cluelessness” of her youth to finding belonging in the queer Vietnamese community of the Bay Area—she describes the transition from being an “object” defined by society to reclaiming oneself as a “subject”.

Liên emphasizes that the heart of meditation practice is discernment, which allows us to recognize the stories we tell ourselves and choose a path of kindness instead. She invites listeners to view their queerness as a gateway to understanding the interdependence of all things, highlighting several key frameworks for this development:

Three Levels of Wisdom:

• Learning/Knowledge: Absorbing information and searching for representation.
• Reflection: Processing experience through shared coming-out stories, community symbols, and discussion.
• Meditation (Bhavana): Developing an “embodied wisdom” that allows one to live fully and authentically without apologies.

Subjectivity and Value: Moving beyond the internalized idea that being “different” is bad, and instead realizing that all phenomena—including ourselves—are worthy and valuable subjects.

Non-Egocentric Awareness: Practicing a “looseness” of self where our queerness is seen as both deeply personal and part of a larger, collective whole.

Discernment as a Tool: Using mindfulness to notice when we are becoming reactive and instead consciously “turning toward” kindness and friendliness

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