My professional background includes my work at American Greetings, where I made history as the company’s first greeting card writer of African descent. I earned two Creative Excellence Awards there — one for my writing and one for creating and editing the In Rhythm card line. I wrote Taneesha Never Disparaging, the world’s first children’s novel about a Black American Buddhist child, set in a community modeled after East Cleveland and published by the Dalai Lama’s publisher. I’ve consulted for Highlights for Children magazine, appeared in lots of commercials (American Express, Bud Light, Navy Federal Credit Union, etc.), and been in several other on-camera productions in New York and other cities. I’ve channeled that same energy into my community From 2013 to 2020, I designed, developed, and managed the municipal website of the City of East Cleveland. I served as a researcher for Case Western Reserve University’s Social Justice Institute, was a citizen journalist and columnist for the Greater University Circle Neighborhood Voice newspaper, and founded and published The East Cleveland Narrator in print and digital.
In 2025, I launched my latest passion project on Substack — publishing a podcast, videos, and posts about the foundation of my life: Lotus Sutra Buddhism.
Oneness of cause/effect, body/mind, thought/word/deed, past/present/future, self/other, life/environment, pure/impure, good/evil, buddha/me/you/them/it. And then there’s the eternity of life. The Lotus Sutra is where it all comes together for me.
M. LaVora Perry
Since 1987, I’ve practiced Nichiren Buddhism — the Buddhism of the Lotus Sutra. To learn about this vibrant and transformative philosophy for our current age, subscribe to my newsletter, podcasts, videos, and posts at lotussutrabuddhism.substack.com. Nichiren Buddhists pray by chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. It means “I devote my life to the Wonderful Law of the Lotus Flower Teaching of the Buddha.” Read the Lotus Sutra, Nichiren’s writings, and a dictionary of Buddhism at nichirenlibrary.org and get my Lotus Sutra Study Guide at bit.ly/lotus-sutra-resources.
The Gohonzon
This is a copy of my personal Gohonzon. It has Namu Myoho Renge Kyo written down the center. Nichiren Buddhists focus on it while chanting. It’s a spiritual mirror that helps you see that you are a Buddha.
Get a printable PDF of my Gohonzon along with other resources to start your Nichiren Buddhist practice at bit.ly/lotus-sutra-resources. Enshrine the Gohonzon in a busudan to protect it — because of oneness, it’s your life itself.
Why I chant Namu Myoho Renge Kyo Now (Not Nam)
Contact me at [email protected].
