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 where we left off in historical Japan. Specifically, we talk about how during the Tokugawa period, the government forbade different Buddhist schools from having debate or dialogue. That isn’t the case today in the United States where the diversity of different Buddhist schools, traditions, and viewpoints almost forces us to come to face-to-face with Buddhists who think or act or practice in different ways from our own. This diversity can be a positive challenge, or it can lead to a type of fundamentalism that effects Buddhists as much as any other religious tradition. We explore these ideas, as well as relativism, ethics, and the many mata-narratives within Buddhism and Jodo Shinshu.