June 2, 2026

A few years ago, during the spring of my graduating year from Union Theological Seminary, I witnessed Dr. Santosh Raut speak at Burning Refuge amid the rising outcry from students about the genocide in Palestine that was pouring through university spaces. The following summer I attended a retreat at Barre Center for Buddhist Studies centered on Ambedkar’s Navayana Buddhism – a liberatory spiritual framework brought alive through the context of B.R. Ambedkar’s life and vision. There I was introduced to Dr. Santosh Raut as Maitriveer Nagarjuna, his Dhamma name. Through conversations and rainy walks together, what I had regarded as my private spiritual path began to open. Questions on the futility and vitality of nonviolence, the scope of responding dynamically to the world’s suffering, and the weighty task of clearly naming the caste system — and what sharply distinguishes it from other forms of oppression such as race, class, gender, etc. — became alive with wonder. I felt the threads of each person at this retreat, attendees and teachers alike, bring their tensions with the present world’s conditions. I felt their longing for a practice that skillfully responded to the acute pain visible in our own paths alongside the world’s. What struck me was the absence of resignation. Instead we were alive, searching, unwilling to settle for a practice that turned away from the political or a politics that had no room for an interior life. Something in me recognized that the work I had been trying to hold neatly, separately, the contemplative and the engaged, the personal and the structural, was not meant to be divided at all. The retreat gathered my interior, making clear the importance of spiritual friendship and skillful compassion that clearly outlined what each vulnerable community was up against, and how intertwined they really were.
Now, a year later, I am able to joyfully announce that Brooklyn Zen Center will be hosting a 1-day sit on June 27th with Maitriveer Nagarjuna along with a class offering on Ambedkar’s approach to engaged Buddhist practice come September. My heart is overflowing with gratitude and excitement for all of the learning and growing our community is going through. My hope is that we continue with consistency, resilience, and openness as we learn from each other’s paths and our own. May all beings be joy-filled, peace-full, and liberated.
Anna Sardar has been a member of Brooklyn Zen Center since August 2022 and has been Brooklyn Zen Center’s Program Director since September 2025. She holds a Masters of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in Buddhism and Interreligious Studies and is a returned Peace Corps volunteer. She is deeply passionate about interreligious engagement, liberatory spiritual frameworks, and movement work informed by contemplative practices.
We hope you’ll join us:
One Day Sit: Dhamma of Love and Justice
Practicing with B.R. Ambedkar as Engaged Buddhists Today
June 27, 2026 | 9:30 AM–4:00 PM
Sliding scale $50–$120
Financial Assistance Available
Registration closes June 22