Book Talk at Candler School of Theology

October 30, 2026 | Events

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This event is co-sponsored by Candler School of Theology and Emory’s Office of Spiritual and Religious Life

🗓️ November 18, 2026 @ 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET

đź“ŤIn-person

đź“ŤPitts Lecture Hall (CST 360), 1531 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322

 

All are invited to attend a discussion and reading by author and Buddhist scholar Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad, founding director of the Initiative for Black Buddhist Studies and a research fellow at the Institute of Buddhist Studies, from her new book The Fire Inside: The Dharma of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde (North Atlantic Books, 2026). Vesely-Flad will be in conversation with Charles Howard Candler Professor of Pastoral Theology and Spiritual Care Emmanuel Lartey. A reception and book signing will follow in the Candler third floor atrium.

More from Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad

James Baldwin argued that racism is not a “Black problem” but a white fear-driven delusion that scapegoats Black people and evades interior work. Drawing on Baldwin’s essays and testimony, we discuss his critique of white moral pretentiousness, evasion, and the projection of shame and fear—especially the fear of death—onto Black bodies. We also see how Baldwin’s analysis relates to Buddhist teaching on dependent origination from the Rice Seedling Sutra.

 

In this dharma talk, we investigate the role of Sati—which is translated as knowing, awareness, presence, or mindfulness—in the writings of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde, in conversation with early Buddhist writings.
In this dharma talk, we understand the weight of suffering through the eyes of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde. We learn how Baldwin gleaned the difference between suffering due to the violence of racism, and suffering that is central to the human experience. We learn about Lorde’s embrace of the idea that pain can teach us something important, but that we need not suffer uselessly.

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