Dr Larry Ward

" I am a class of color created by a colonial mind missing its own self-worth. But the dance of my ancestors in my bones has kept me awake and kept me alive."

Dr. Larry Ward was the co-founder of The Lotus Institute and a beloved senior Dharma teacher in Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village tradition of socially engaged Buddhism.

A renowned voice on healing and transformation, Dr. Ward’s teachings live on through his books, including Love’s Garden, co-authored with his wife, Dr. Peggy Rowe Ward; the critically-acclaimed America’s Racial Karma: An Invitation to Heal, and his most recent work, Morning Night, a powerful book of poetry exploring themes of race, spirit, and nature.

Dr. Ward held a PhD in Religious Studies with an emphasis on Buddhism and the neuroscience of meditation. As a teacher, he interwove profound insights with personal stories and resounding clarity that perfectly expressed his Dharma name, “True Great Sound.” Dr. Ward passed away on August 19, 2025.

This biography was originally published by Parallax Press