Ten Thousand Things
Multicultural Webfinds

"Ten Thousand Things" is a Buddhist expression representing the dynamic interconnection and simultaneous unity and diversity of everything in the universe.

Jean Miyake Downey, a KJ contributing editor, covers multicultural and transnational issues. Drawing on her background as a sociologist and lawyer, she takes an interdisciplinary look at the nexuses between historical and contemporary hybridity and fusion; global cultural trauma and historical healing; the revival and survival of traditional and indigenous cultures; and global human rights movements.

An arts education advocate, Jean focuses on the historical role of the humanities in bringing worlds together, with a special interest in Silk Road exchanges. She promotes authentic dialogue, based on mutual affirmations of shared humanity, as a powerful means of nonviolent social change. A descendant of progressive Japanese Buddhists, Anglo-Celtic Quaker abolitionists and Cherokee-Americans, she spent her early childhood in Japan and grew up in many regions of the United States, spending time in Canada and France. She has studied and worked in Europe, Tokyo, and the United States. She currently lives in the American South and also considers Kyoto and Tokyo her homes.

Jean's "Dragonfly Island Pilgrimage, a Journey through Multicultural Japan" appeared in KJ #56. She is now working on a book exploring her topic in even greater depth. She also contributes to Japan Focus.

Nina Melendez Ibarra is a creative writer with heritage from two islands across the globe: Sri Lanka and Puerto Rico. She spent her childhood between the U.S., France, and Puerto Rico, and considers all three countries her homes. She finds inspiration in the subtle but powerful movements made by ordinary people to spread peace and cross-cultural communication; and her own involvement with disadvantaged youth in the U.S., Ghana, and Japan has solidified her concern for children's issues. Her love and curiosity for cultures has carried her around the world; currently to Kyushu, Japan where she now resides.

Kimberly Hughes grew up in the Southwestern United States (Nevada and Arizona) and felt drawn to explore the world from an early age. She studied abroad twice as a university student, in Limoges, France, and Hiroshima, Japan. After spending several years working in the international education field and obtaining her M.A. in sociocultural anthropology, Kimberly landed in Tokyo, Japan in 2001. Since this time, she has been a freelance translator, writer, editor and community organizer in fields relating to peace, social justice and human rights. Her latest interests are in Buddhist philosophy, as well as the conversion of the political and the spiritual to create powerful social change. Kimberly's article "Hope Amidst the Pain" in KJ #68 introduced a grassroots Japanese network giving voice and support to citizens of Iraq.

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