About the book

Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger explores how anger, grief,and heartbreak can become sources of wisdom, courage and collective liberation. Drawing on his lived experience as a Black, queer Buddhist teacher and social activist, Lama Rod Owens challenges the suppression and demonisation of anger - particularly Black rage - and invites us to meet it with awareness, compassion and embodied care.

Rather than bypassing anger in pursuit of happiness or spiritual calm, Lama Rod asks us to recognise its protective and mobilising power. Through Buddhist philosophy, mindfulness, meditation, tantra, prāṇāyāma, ancestor practices, energy work and classical yoga, he offers ways to develop a relationship with anger that is non-destructive, deeply healing and rooted in love.

Love and Rage is both a balm and a blueprint for those navigating the heartbreak of systemic violence while remaining committed to justice, spiritual transformation and liberation. It calls us to honour what anger reveals, tend to the wounds beneath it and transform its energy into courageous action and collective care.



In the book Lama Rod Owens explores

  • The historical suppression of Black rage under white supremacy as a matter of survival

  • Anger as a vehicle for radical social change and enduring spiritual transformation

  • Buddhist philosophy, tantra, prāṇāyāma, ancestor practices, and classical yoga as tools for embodiment

  • The role of anger as a protector of personal pain and suffering

  • Mindful, embodied, non-destructive approaches to working with rage

  • Self love and compassion as essential to using anger constructively in activism and spiritual life

Meet the Author

Lama Rod Owens (he/him/they) is a Black Buddhist Southern Queen, minister, author, activist, and authorised lama. Rooted in the deep inquiry of Buddhist practice and shaped by the lived wisdom of his identities, Lama Rod invites us into liberation that is embodied, unapologetic, and real. Author of Love and Rage, The New Saints, and co-author of Radical Dharma. He speaks directly to the heart, translating complex truths into something we can feel, live and practice. His words meet us exactly where we are, then gently (and sometimes fiercely) guide us toward liberation. We honour him as a teacher, a disruptor, and a radiant channel of liberation reminding us that even our rage can be sacred and that healing is something we practice together.

About Radical Darshan Yogi Book Club

At Radical Darshan, our Yogi Book Club is an invitation into collective learning, reflection and liberation centered dialogue.

Each quarter, we choose a book written by an author whose work aligns with our values of decolonisation, intersectional equity and social transformation. This is not just about reading - it’s about engaging deeply with ideas that challenge, expand and root our practice in a broader context of justice and community.

Over the course of 2 months, participants are invited to move through the book at a steady pace. Every two weeks we share reflection prompts, questions and ‘food for thought’ to support deeper integration. You’re encouraged to engage in whatever way feels meaningful - whether that’s journaling, discussing with others on socials or simply sitting with what arises.

In the final month of the quarter we gather for a live session with the author. This is a space to hear directly from them, listen to excerpts from the book and participate in a thoughtful Q&A that brings the text to life through shared inquiry.

The Yogi Book Club is a space for collective study, critical reflection and community connection - where reading becomes a practice of awareness, dialogue and liberation.