For an afternoon, on Antioch’s main street and across the tranquil river, the smell of burning incense combined with the sound of Buddhist and Taoist chants. Its cumulative soothing power was intended to be a kind of balm to soothe the racial and devout hatred that cast a shadow over Antioch’s legacy.
The dark beyond Antioch, specifically the horrific mistreatment of early Chinese immigrants, motivated some 200 Buddhists to adopt a recent pilgrimage to this city of about 115,000 people, nestled deep in the delta that flows into San Francisco Bay. Its purpose is to supplant the negative with the positive by reconciling a horrific afterlife with an anxiety-filled present (two periods in which Asian Americans faced hatred and discrimination) in hopes of a more equivalent and harmonious future.
In the 19th century, thousands of Chinese immigrants came to Gold Rush territory to work in the mines and build railroads and levees. Those living in Antioch were subject to the sun protection law and used secret tunnels to get to and from work, according to local newspapers. Eventually, the city’s Chinatown, which stretched for a few blocks and was also home to a Buddhist/Tao temple where new immigrants were piling up, was set on fire.
On Saturday, the organization of Buddhists gathered for the pilgrimage, an occasion called “May We Gather. “This was deliberately timed to commemorate the third anniversary of the Atlanta mass shooting, when a white gunman attacked workers at an Asian-American massage parlor because he thought they were “sources of temptation. “Six of the eight victims were women of Asian descent.
Duncan Williams, a Japanese-born Soto Zen priest and one of the event’s organizers, said the Atlanta killings bore uncanny similarities to those in Antioch in 1876, when angry locals burned down the homes of Chinese women classified as sex workers. , Antioch has become the first U. S. city to offer a public apology for the mistreatment of early Chinese immigrants during the Gold Rush.
Williams, who is also a professor of faith at the University of Southern California, said organizers of the occasion were looking not only for a political reaction, but also “a Buddhist reaction that is grounded in our teachings and practices,” which aim to honor ancestors and heal. Past and present racial trauma.
Thus, at the El Campanil Theater in Antioch, a group of Buddhist priests and leaders from across the diaspora undertook a “karmic healing” procedure. They performed songs and prayers before the altar of Guan Yin of the Thousand Arms, the goddess of mercy and compassion. Four tablets rested on the altar with the names of those who suffered hatred and violence.
The Buddhist offer came from countries and traditions: Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Thai, Tibetan, Indian and Sri Lankan. The sacred chants resounded in several languages, adding Pali, the closest obsolete language to that spoken by the Buddha himself. .
Grace Song, an ordained minister and branch director at the Won Institute for Graduate Studies in Warminster, Pennsylvania, said she had never participated in a peacebuilding event celebrating Buddhist traditions until now.
“I hope we will grow closer and build solidarity with each other as we deepen our roots in this country,” he said.
Khenpo Paljor, a Tibetan lama from Des Moines, Iowa, delivered prayers at the birthplace of Antioch, erected in 1850 by early European settlers. Here, participants placed multicolored Tibetan kata, which are classic prayer scarves. Williams said the colorful scarves reflect a Buddhist Scripture image that speaks of natural souls as colorful lighting artifacts that glow in unison, with none overriding the others.
For Cristina Moon, a Zen priest founded in Honolulu, karmic healing is the procedure of turning “our dates back to what happened and how we can act in the future. “
“It’s vital that we acknowledge what happened and that we recognize that it’s uncomfortable,” he said. “It’s about not getting stuck in a painful afterlife and at the same time moving forward in a positive way. “
Russell Jeung, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, sees those Buddhist ceremonies as Asian-Americans reclaiming their traditions “in the face of ethical harm. “
“When Trump mocked Asians and stigmatized this organization by calling (COVID) ‘the Chinese virus,’ this is a case of ethical harm, in which we Americans are betrayed through our elected officials,” Jeung said.
Hatred of the Chinese and the gold rush was also fueled by political rhetoric. The only article dealing with racial or ethnic organization in the California Constitution, ratified in 1879, stated that “no Chinese shall be engaged in any state, county, township, or any other public work, except to punish a felony. “The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers.
Kaishin Victory Matsui, a priest at the Brooklyn Zen Center, said religion can be used to heal the harms of racism.
“We get to those ancient sites where trauma has positioned itself to bring peace and healing,” she said. “The concept goes further so that it is not forgotten. This occasion connects Asians across time and ethnicity, and reminds us how vast and tough we are.
Bhikkhunis (Buddhist nuns) Hyokeun and Hyung Jeon of the Borisa Korea Zen Center in Las Vegas presented Guan Yin with a white ceramic lotus during the ceremony.
“The lotus flower is sacred in Buddhism because it maintains its purity and good appearance despite developing in mud,” Hyokeun said. “Hatred cannot solve hate, only compassion can. “
Master Tao Eman, a priest at the First Taoist Foundation in Arcadia, California, performed a ritual across the river as participants walked silently around the block where Chinatown and its temple stood just 150 years ago. Eman said he appealed to the traumatized spirits and comforted them so they could move on to a better place.
For some, like Myokei Caine-Barrett, who runs a multi-ethnic Nichiren Shu Buddhist temple in Houston, who comes here to heal her own trauma. She is part Japanese and part African-American and said her religion has given her “the foundation to make herself. “your own. “
“Buddhism tells all of us that we can’t know how others get us, but we can react,” he said. “Not all Asians are the same, but we are all Asians. Our goal is to recognize and respect each other. “
One of the participants, Sasanna Yee, has opposed anti-Asian hate since her 88-year-old grandmother, Yik Oi Huang, was beaten to death in January 2019 in a San Francisco park. Authorities charged a 17-year-old boy with the attack. Huang died the following year.
Yee, who presented prayers and a memorial pill at the altar commemorating her grandmother, saw the occasion as a healing.
“It’s a great solution to move forward into a long-term where we come together around shared hopes and dreams,” he said.
The citizens of Antioch have long seen the occasion as obligatory for the city to move away from its traumatic afterlife and become more inclusive. Antioch recently made headlines after several civil rights lawsuits involving 20 plaintiffs, alleging that they had been victims of police misconduct, above the superior force. and racial profiling.
Karen J. Oliver said she was horrified, but not surprised, to learn how her city had mistreated Chinese immigrants.
“We all want peace and reconciliation and whatever path we take, we will have to follow that path,” he said.
Frank Sterling, who has indigenous roots, saw Buddhist rituals as a major step in healing the entire community.
“You can’t do that until you recognize the afterlife and we have a lot of things we can get away from,” he said. “It’s a smart start. “
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