Buddhism, Belief and Interpretation

Offerings, Great Buddha of Kamakura, Kotokuin Temple, Kamakura, Japan, 1980, by Terry Feuerborn (c) 2013 https://www.flickr.com/photos/travfotos/10985369725/

Jumping off from our conversation about utopia and Star Trek from our last episode, this time around we’re diving deep into questions of belief and interpretation and how to approach the mythological aspects of Shin Buddhism. What do we do with this tradition whose cosmology appears, at face value, to be so far removed from… Continue reading Buddhism, Belief and Interpretation

Meta episode: podcast about the podcast

by bebouchard on flickr

We’re doing a post-modern meta show about the show where we talk about the show. It’s been six years, this is episode number eighty, and we want to take stock and talk about what we’ve done and where we’re headed. Actually, we have a really hard time remembering what we talk about once we post… Continue reading Meta episode: podcast about the podcast

Heresy

One of the issues that came up for us in our post-modern conversations was the idea that here in the post-modern world, we're all free to choose whatever religion we want, to choose whatever we want to believe or practice — which raises the specter of heresy! In this episode, we talk about Buddhist heresy… Continue reading Heresy

Post-modern Shinshu: part two

It's been a year since Harry and I started our podcast! But, this episode isn't really about that — I just thought I'd acknowledge the milestone and take this opportunity to say thank you to all our listeners and fans. In this episode, we continue our discussion of postmodern Shinshu and Buddhism more or less… Continue reading Post-modern Shinshu: part two

Post-modern Shinshu: part one

Somewhat related to our last episode on the one thing that unites all Buddhist schools, this week Harry and Scott talk about a post-modern Shin Buddhism. To really talk about post-modernity, of course, we needed to dwell a bit on modernity and how its use of meta-narratives helped explain the world. But the meta-narratives also… Continue reading Post-modern Shinshu: part one

Listener questions: no-self and universal Buddhism

Prompted by another listener question, we start off clearing up some issues about the "no self" or "anatman" doctrine in Buddhism. Does it mean "no soul"? Short answer, yes with an if; long answer, no with a but. In short, there is a world of difference between the question of a soul in a Christian… Continue reading Listener questions: no-self and universal Buddhism