Lama Rod Owens lies in the yard of his childhood home while he poses for a portrait in Rome, Georgia,on Saturday, March 30, 2024. Owens, a self-proclaimed Black Buddhist Southern Queen, grew up Christian and was raised by his Methodist minister mother. Today, he is an influential voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers, respected for his work focused on social change, identity and spiritual wellness. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Lama Rod Owens poses for a portrait with his beard covered in flowers in the yard of his childhood home in Rome, Georgia on Saturday, March 30, 2024. Owens is an influential voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers, respected for his work focused on social change, identity and spiritual wellness. His latest book is entitled "The New Saints," which highlights Christian saints and spiritual warriors, Buddhist bodhisattvas and Jewish tzaddikim among those who have sought to free people from suffering. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
The sun sits behind the Metropolitan United Methodist Church in Rome, Georgia on Sunday, March 31, 2024. This was the local parish Lama Rod Owens attended as a child. Today, he is an influential voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Lama Rod Owens holds his Buddhist mala beads made of lava rock used for prayer and meditation while at his childhood home in Rome, Georgia on Saturday, March 30, 2024. Owens, a self-proclaimed Black Buddhist Southern Queen, grew up Christian and was raised by his Methodist minister mother. Today, he is an influential voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers, respected for his work focused on social change, identity and spiritual wellness. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Lama Rod Owens stands for a portrait outside of his childhood church, The Metropolitan United Methodist Church in Rome, Georgia, on Saturday, March 30, 2024. Today Owens is an influential voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Wendy Owens, a United Methodist Minister, listens to her son, Lama Rod Owens, at her home in Rome, Georgia on Saturday, March 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Lama Rod Owens holds his latest book, "The New Saints," which highlights Christian saints and spiritual warriors, Buddhist bodhisattvas and Jewish tzaddikim among those who have sought to free people from suffering on Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Rome, Georgia. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Wendy Owens, a United Methodist Minister and mother of Lama Rod Owens, shows her robes hanging in her home on Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Rome Georgia. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Lama Rod Owens sits in the yard of his childhood home in Rome, Georgia, on Saturday, March 30, 2024. Owens is an influential voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers, respected for his work focused on social change, identity and spiritual wellness. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Lama Rod Owens holds his latest book, "The New Saints," which highlights Christian saints and spiritual warriors, Buddhist bodhisattvas and Jewish tzaddikim among those who have sought to free people from suffering on Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Rome, Georgia. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)