A review by bittersweet_symphony
Taming the Ox: Buddhist Stories and Reflections on Politics, Race, Culture, and Spiritual Practice by Charles R. Johnson

4.0

I haven't encountered enough writers who spend so much time at the intersection of Buddhism and race, so it was a delight to spend some time in Charles Johnson's headspace. He's been a Buddhist practitioner for several decades now, beginning as a teenager growing up in Evanston, Illinois. (Speaking of, he recalls a compelling story in this collection from his first time meditating.)

I appreciate the wide-ranging territory of these topics he covers.

And as a fellow Seattleite who lived in the Wedgwood neighborhood when I first lived in the Emerald City, I had a unique pleasure reading his short story, "Welcome to Wedgewood." Who doesn't love hearing about the QFC and alehouses they used to live next to?

Anyways, Taming the Ox is a nice smattering of his writings that have previously been published elsewhere, primarily in Buddhist outlets. It's worth picking up.