Contemplative Praxis and Queer Politics

This chapter reviews existing scholarship on the intersection of contemplative practices and queer politics, noting that most research focuses on how such practices help LGBTQIA+ individuals heal from trauma, while only a few studies examine their role in queer activism. The author argues that contemplative practices benefit healing, resilience, allyship, community building, and persistence in social change efforts. Drawing on the Buddhist framework of the Three Learnings (ethical self-discipline, mental training, and wisdom development), the chapter cautions that contemplative practices alone do not necessarily lead to personal or societal transformation; ethical self-discipline and wisdom development are equally crucial.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Most existing scholarship on contemplative practices and queer politics deals with the ways in which contemplative practices may help LGBTQIA+ people heal from traumas. Only a few studies discuss the roles that contemplative or wellness practices may play in queer activism. This chapter reviews these studies and discusses the benefits of contemplative practices in relation to healing and resilience, allyship and community building, and persistence and flexibility when working for social change. The chapter then follows the framework of the Three Learnings or Trainings in the Ennobling Eightfold Path in Buddhist teachings to provide a caveat that contemplative practices, in and of themselves, do not necessarily lead to change in oneself, much less change in society. In the Three Learnings, ethical self-discipline is the foundation for mental training, and mental training is the necessary, albeit not sufficient, condition for wisdom development; that is, for individual and social transformation to occur, ethical self-discipline and wisdom development are both as crucial as contemplative practices.