In this talk, Rev. angel invites us to reconsider what it truly means to transform the mind—not as a purely intellectual or ideological shift, but as a whole-being reorientation. She emphasizes that transformation is not about replacing one set of ideas with another, or becoming a different kind of person (a Buddhist, an “enlightened” self, etc.), but rather about unbecoming: a process of clearing away what obscures the natural clarity and alignment of our being.
Drawing on the Japanese understanding of “mind” (心 – kokoro), she highlights that, unlike the Western dualism that separates mind and body, in many Asian traditions, “mind” is inherently somatic—inclusive of the body, emotions, and relational experience. To train or transform the mind, then, is to train the entire somatic field—head, heart, and gut. This is not abstract philosophy, but lived embodiment.
Transformation becomes possible when we’re willing to turn toward suffering, not to fix ourselves because we’re broken, but to meet life as it is, in its fullness and complexity. We cultivate the capacity to remain present with difficulty, to feel fully, and to relate honestly to our experience. Through this, transformation arises—not as escape or transcendence in the conventional sense, but as a deeper immersion into life, more direct and more whole.
Rev. angel underscores that this path is not about achievement or reward. Referencing the Lojong slogan “Don’t expect applause,” she reminds us that genuine practice doesn’t promise validation, praise, or outcomes we can show off. Instead, it’s an invocation and an invitation to live with such integrity and clarity that we would not want to live any other way.
In the end, to transform the mind is to stop bypassing life and instead embrace it with presence, humility, and love. We don’t rid ourselves of our suffering; we own it, and in doing so, we come into the full, unfragmented truth of who we are.
Scroll down to listen to Rev. angel’s talk. Happy Learning!
From the Teachers Transforming the Mind & “Don’t Expect Applause”
Dharma Video:
Transforming the Mind & “Don’t Expect Applause” – by Rev. angel Kyodo williams*
* Rev. angel Kyodo Williams, is an author, maverick spiritual teacher, master trainer and founder of Center for Transformative Change. She has been bridging the worlds of personal transformation and justice since 2000, following the publication of her critically-acclaimed book, Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living With Fearlessness and Grace.
She was ordained as a priest by Francisco “Paco” Lugoviña, from whom she also received denkai and hoshi empowerments, authorizing her to transmit the precepts to others and making her a dharma holder in the Zen tradition, respectively. She is a social visionary that applies wisdom teachings and embodied practice to intractable social issues at the intersections where race, climate, and economic justice meet. She coined the name for the field of Transformative Social Change and see it as America’s next great movement. In recognition of her work, Rev. angel received the first Creating Enlightened Society Award from the international Shambhala Community.
