Oral Histories

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41. Interview of Kusala Bhikshu

Topic:
Buddhism
Asian American History
Length:
8 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The Many Branches, One Root series traces the histories and practices of a range of Buddhist traditions and communities in the greater Los Angeles area. Beginning in the early twentieth century, a succession of Buddhist traditions have put down roots in Los Angeles, each one providing spiritual s...
Biographical Note:
Buddhist monk in the Vietnamese Zen lineage. Teacher at the International Buddhist Meditation Center in Los Angeles and Southern California locations.

42. Interview of Bhante Walpola Piyananda

Topic:
Buddhism
Asian American History
Length:
5.25 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The Many Branches, One Root series traces the histories and practices of a range of Buddhist traditions and communities in the greater Los Angeles area. Beginning in the early twentieth century, a succession of Buddhist traditions have put down roots in Los Angeles, each one providing spiritual s...
Biographical Note:
Immigrant from Sri Lanka. Buddhist monk in the Sri Lankan Theravada tradition, abbot of the Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara, and author of a number of books on the experience of being a Buddhist monk living in the West.

43. Interview of Miao-Hsi Shih

Topic:
Buddhism
Asian American History
Length:
4.5 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The Many Branches, One Root series traces the histories and practices of a range of Buddhist traditions and communities in the greater Los Angeles area. Beginning in the early twentieth century, a succession of Buddhist traditions have put down roots in Los Angeles, each one providing spiritual s...
Biographical Note:
Immigrant from Hong Kong and Buddhist nun of Chinese Chan lineage. Senior nun at the Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple in Hacienda Heights, California.

44. Interview of Noriaki Ito

Topic:
Buddhism
Asian American History
Length:
5.25 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The Many Branches, One Root series traces the histories and practices of a range of Buddhist traditions and communities in the greater Los Angeles area. Beginning in the early twentieth century, a succession of Buddhist traditions have put down roots in Los Angeles, each one providing spiritual s...
Biographical Note:
Immigrant from Japan and minister of Jodo Shinshu lineage. Head minister at Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple in the Little Tokyo area of Los Angeles.

45. Interview of Tenzin Kiyosaki

Topic:
Asian American History
Buddhism
Length:
6.5 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The Many Branches, One Root series traces the histories and practices of a range of Buddhist traditions and communities in the greater Los Angeles area. Beginning in the early twentieth century, a succession of Buddhist traditions have put down roots in Los Angeles, each one providing spiritual s...
Biographical Note:
Ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1985. Visiting teacher at Thubten Dhargye Ling in Long Beach, California.

46. Interview of Noah Levine

Topic:
Buddhism
Asian American History
Length:
5.75 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The Many Branches, One Root series traces the histories and practices of a range of Buddhist traditions and communities in the greater Los Angeles area. Beginning in the early twentieth century, a succession of Buddhist traditions have put down roots in Los Angeles, each one providing spiritual s...
Biographical Note:
Buddhist teacher and founder of Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society and Refuge Recovery. Author of memoir Dharma Punx.

47. Interview of Shumyo Kojima

Topic:
Buddhism
Asian American History
Length:
4.5 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The Many Branches, One Root series traces the histories and practices of a range of Buddhist traditions and communities in the greater Los Angeles area. Beginning in the early twentieth century, a succession of Buddhist traditions have put down roots in Los Angeles, each one providing spiritual s...
Biographical Note:
Immigrant from Japan and a Soto Zen Buddhist monk. Head priest at Zenshuji Soto Zen Mission in the Little Tokyo area of Los Angeles.

48. Interview of Frances Nakamura

Topic:
Buddhism
Asian American History
Length:
4 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The Many Branches, One Root series traces the histories and practices of a range of Buddhist traditions and communities in the greater Los Angeles area. Beginning in the early twentieth century, a succession of Buddhist traditions have put down roots in Los Angeles, each one providing spiritual s...
Biographical Note:
President of Koyasan Betsuin Shingon Buddhist Temple in the Little Tokyo area of Los Angeles.

49. Interview of Karen Hilsberg

Topic:
Asian American History
Buddhism
Length:
5.5 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The Many Branches, One Root series traces the histories and practices of a range of Buddhist traditions and communities in the greater Los Angeles area. Beginning in the early twentieth century, a succession of Buddhist traditions have put down roots in Los Angeles, each one providing spiritual s...
Biographical Note:
Ordained in the Order of the Interbeing. Trained to teach the dharma under the Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism. Translator of works by Ven. Thich Phuoc Tinh, including "The Forty-two Chapters Sutra."

50. Interview of Johanna Demetrakas (2017)

Topic:
Buddhism
Asian American History
Length:
3.25 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The Many Branches, One Root series traces the histories and practices of a range of Buddhist traditions and communities in the greater Los Angeles area. Beginning in the early twentieth century, a succession of Buddhist traditions have put down roots in Los Angeles, each one providing spiritual s...
Biographical Note:
Filmmaker. Early student of Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and one of the first Los Angeles area dharma teachers in the Shambhala lineage.

51. Interview of Wendy Egyoku Nakao

Topic:
Buddhism
Asian American History
Length:
11 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The Many Branches, One Root series traces the histories and practices of a range of Buddhist traditions and communities in the greater Los Angeles area. Beginning in the early twentieth century, a succession of Buddhist traditions have put down roots in Los Angeles, each one providing spiritual s...
Biographical Note:
Zen Buddhist priest. Abbot and head teacher at the Zen Center of Los Angeles.

52. Interview of Han Huang

Topic:
Buddhism
Asian American History
Length:
4.5 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The Many Branches, One Root series traces the histories and practices of a range of Buddhist traditions and communities in the greater Los Angeles area. Beginning in the early twentieth century, a succession of Buddhist traditions have put down roots in Los Angeles, each one providing spiritual s...
Biographical Note:
Immigrant from Taiwan. CEO of the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation USA.

53. Interview of Debra Boudreaux

Topic:
Buddhism
Asian American History
Length:
4.5 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
The Many Branches, One Root series traces the histories and practices of a range of Buddhist traditions and communities in the greater Los Angeles area. Beginning in the early twentieth century, a succession of Buddhist traditions have put down roots in Los Angeles, each one providing spiritual s...
Biographical Note:
Immigrant from Taiwan. CEO of Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation and executive vice president of Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation USA.

54. Interview of Don Nakanishi

Topic:
UCLA and University of California History
Asian American History
UCLA Faculty
Length:
12.5 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Biographical Note:
UCLA professor of Asian American studies and education. Director of the Asian American Studies Center.

55. Interview of Roselyn Ibanez

Topic:
Asian American History
Length:
6 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
These interviews document the lives and contributions of Filipino-American activists in Los Angeles in the Filipino-American identity movement of the 1960s and ‘70s. This project was generously supported by Arcadia funds.
Biographical Note:
Filipino American activist. First co-chair of Kababayan at University of California, Irvine and member of the Union of Democratic Filipinos (KDP), a political party.

56. Interview of Alfred Mendoza

Topic:
Asian American History
Length:
6 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
These interviews document the lives and contributions of Filipino-American activists in Los Angeles in the Filipino-American identity movement of the 1960s and ‘70s. This project was generously supported by Arcadia funds.
Biographical Note:
Filipino American activist. Co-founder and director of Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA).

57. Interview of Florante Ibanez

Topic:
Asian American History
Length:
5 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
These interviews document the lives and contributions of Filipino-American activists in Los Angeles in the Filipino-American identity movement of the 1960s and ‘70s. This project was generously supported by Arcadia funds.
Biographical Note:
Filipino American activist, archivist, and professor of Asian American studies at Loyola Marymount University. Co-founder of UCLA’s Samahang Pilipino Education and Retention (SPEAR).

58. Interview of Casimiro Tolentino

Topic:
Asian American History
Length:
5.5 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
These interviews document the lives and contributions of Filipino-American activists in Los Angeles in the Filipino-American identity movement of the 1960s and ‘70s. This project was generously supported by Arcadia funds.
Biographical Note:
Filipino American activist. Member of Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles. Attorney for the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board and Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

59. Interview of Jaime Geaga

Topic:
Asian American History
Length:
6.75 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
These interviews document the lives and contributions of Filipino-American activists in Los Angeles in the Filipino-American identity movement of the 1960s and ‘70s. This project was generously supported by Arcadia funds.
Biographical Note:
Filipino American activist. Member of the National Coalition for the Restoration of Civil Liberties in the Philippines (NCRCLP) and Union of Democratic Filipinos (KDP), a political party. Member of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum and Filippino Task Force on AIDS.

60. Interview of Angela Oh

Topic:
Asian American History
Length:
4.3 hrs.
Language:
English
Audio:
Series Statement:
This series includes full-life histories of a number of prominent Korean Americans who represent their community’s tremendous expansion during the period after federal anti-Asian immigration laws were repealed in 1965. The series focuses on the remarkable growth of the Korean American community i...
Biographical Note:
Lawyer, teacher, and lecturer. Member of President William J. Clinton's President's Initiative on Race.