Bright On Buddhism

Bright on Buddhism - Kōan Series Episode 15 - Unmon's Kanshiketsu Hello and welcome to a new episode of the Kōan Series. In this series, we will read and discuss real Buddhist kōans to try and better understand them. We hope you enjoy. Resources: Episode 10 - https://anchor.fm/brightonbuddhism/episodes/What-is-Zen-Buddhism-e1a2sm2 Episode 18 - https://anchor.fm/brightonbuddhism/episodes/What-i...

Bright on Buddhism - Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra - Part 3 - Chapters 11-15 Join us as we read and discuss Chapters 11-15 of the Diana Paul translation of the Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra Barber, Anthony W. (2009), Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra, NY: State Univ of New York Brown, Brian Edward (1994), The Buddha Nature. A Study of the Tathagatagarbha and Alayavijnana, Delhi: Motilal B...

Bright on Buddhism - Episode 142 - What was the haibutsu kishaku movement in Meiji Japan? Why did it happen? What was the result? Resources: Breen, John and Mark Teeuwen. (2000). Shinto in History: Ways of the Kami. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-2362-7; ISBN 978-0-8248-2363-4; OCLC 43487317 James Ketelaar: Of Heretics and Martyrs in Meiji Japan: Buddhism and its Persecution...

Bright on Buddhism - Feed Drop - Nihonshi, A Japanese History Podcast - 3/11 Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Join me as I drop an episode of my forthcoming 2nd podcast, Nihonshi, a Japanese History Podcast. On this show, we will be discussing topics in Japanese history and diving deep into their circumstances, their context, and their significance. We will talk about who the major players were, what th...

Bright on Buddhism - Episode 141 - What are mandalas? What is their significance in Buddhism? How ought we understand them? Resources: Brauen, M. (1997). The Mandala, Sacred circle in Tibetan Buddhism Serindia Press, London. Bucknell, Roderick & Stuart-Fox, Martin (1986). The Twilight Language: Explorations in Buddhist Meditation and Symbolism. Curzon Press: London. ISBN 0-312-82540-4 Cammann,...

Bright on Buddhism - Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra - Part 2 - Chapters 6-10 Join us as we read and discuss Chapters 1-5 of the Diana Paul translation of the Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra Barber, Anthony W. (2009), Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra, NY: State Univ of New York Brown, Brian Edward (1994), The Buddha Nature. A Study of the Tathagatagarbha and Alayavijnana, Delhi: Motilal Bana...

Bright on Buddhism - Episode 140 - Who is Bodhidharma? What is his significance to East Asian Buddhism? What are some legends about him? Resources: charya, Raghu (2017), Shanon, Sidharth (ed.), Bodhidharma Retold – A Journey from Sailum to Shaolin, New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-4152-9 Broughton, Jeffrey L. (1999), The Bodhidharma Anthology: The Earliest Records of Zen, Berkeley:...

Bright on Buddhism - Feed Drop - Nihonshi, A Japanese History Podcast - History of Haiku Join me as I drop an episode of my forthcoming 2nd podcast, Nihonshi, a Japanese History Podcast. On this show, we will be discussing topics in Japanese history and diving deep into their circumstances, their context, and their significance. We will talk about who the major players were, what their agendas wer...

Bright on Buddhism - Episode 139 - What is the fourth moral precept of Buddhism? What is its significance? How have interpretations of it changed over time? Resources: Keown, Damien (2013b), "Buddhist Ethics", in LaFollette, Hugh (ed.), The International Encyclopedia of Ethics, Blackwell Publishing, pp. 636–47, doi:10.1002/9781444367072.wbiee163, ISBN 978-1-4051-8641-4 Keown, Damien (201...

Bright on Buddhism - Episode 138 - What are the 3 mysteries in Shingon Buddhism? What are their significance? How ought we understand it? Resources: Arai, Yusei (1997). Koyasan Shingon Buddhism: A Handbook for Followers, Japan: Koyasan Shingon Mission, ISBN 4-9900581-1-9. Bowring, Richard (2008). The Religious Traditions of Japan: 500–1600. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. BDK (2015), Es...

Bright on Buddhism - Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra - Part 1 - Chapters 1-5 Join us as we read and discuss Chapters 1-5 of the Diana Paul translation of the Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra Barber, Anthony W. (2009), Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra, NY: State Univ of New York Brown, Brian Edward (1994), The Buddha Nature. A Study of the Tathagatagarbha and Alayavijnana, Delhi: Motilal Banar...

Bright on Buddhism - Sokushin Jōbutsu-gi - Attainment of Buddhahood in This Very Existence Join me as I read and discuss the Hakeda Yoshito translation of Kūkai's Sokushin Jōbutsu-gi. Resources: Clipston, Janice (2000). Sokushin-jōbutsu-gi: Attaining Enlightenment in This Very Existence, Buddhist Studies Reviews 17 (2), 207-220 Giebel, Rolf W.; Todaro, Dale A.; trans. (2004). Shingon texts, Be...

Bright on Buddhism - Episode 137 - Who is Bhaisajyaguru? What are some stories about him? What is his significance? Resources: The Sūtra on the Original Vows and Merits of the Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Light Tathagata (藥師琉璃光如來本願功德經): English Translation by the Chung Tai Translation Committee https://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/yakushi.shtml Watkins, M. (2002). Rediscovering Color...

Bright on Buddhism - Episode 136 - What is Gelug Buddhism? What are some of its similarities and differences to other schools of Buddhism? What is its historical significance? Resources: Schaik, Sam van. Tibet: A History. Yale University Press 2011 Powers, John (2007) Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, p. 467. Snow Lion Publications. Jinpa, Thupten (2019). Tsongkhapa: A Buddha in the Land of Snows....

Bright on Buddhism - Episode 135 - What is Hawaiian Buddhism? What is its history? How does it interact with the tensions surrounding Hawaii's statehood? Resources: https://tricycle.org/magazine/buddhism-hawaii-big-island/ https://savingplaces.org/stories/japanese-buddhist-temples-in-hawaii-preserve-their-history-by-embracing-change https://byodo-in.com/ https://hongwanjihawaii.com/jodo-shinsh...

Bright on Buddhism - Kōans with Dox Join us as we discuss 3 major kōans in Zen Buddhism - “Ordinary Mind is the Way,” “Not the wind, not the flag,” and “a non-Buddhist questions the Buddha.” _________________________________ If you like our show and would like to support us, we encourage you to give your money or resources to a worthy cause. We can get through this. Our strongest weapon is solidar...

Bright on Buddhism - Episode 134 - Revisit - What are the fundamental beliefs of Buddhism? Does Buddhism have an afterlife? Does Buddhism have a bible like Christianity? Resources: Kevin Trainor: Buddhism: An Illustrated Guide Donald Lopez: Norton Anthology of World Religions: Buddhism Chan Master Sheng Yen: Orthodox Chinese Buddhism Nagarjuna: Verses of The Middle Way (The Madhyamakarika) Conze,...

Bright on Buddhism - Research Project Series - Yōkai Resources: Foster, Michael Dylan (2009). Pandemonium and Parade: Japanese Monsters and the Culture of Yōkai. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-25361-2. Hirota, Ryūhei (2021). "Traversing the Natural, Supernatural, and Paranormal: Yōkai in Postwar Japan". Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 48 (2, Religion and Identity i...

Bright on Buddhism - Episode 133 - Who was Daosheng? What did he do? What is his significance to East Asian Buddhism? Resources: Blum, Mark (2003). "Daosheng". In Buswell, Robert E. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Buddhism. New York: Macmillan Reference Lib. pp. 201–202. ISBN 0028657187. Buswell, Robert Jr; Lopez, Donald S. Jr., eds. (2013). Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton, NJ: Prince...

Bright on Buddhism - Avatamsaka Sutra - Book 30 - The Incalculable Join us as we read and discuss Book 30 of Thomas Cleary's translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra! Resources: Prince, Tony (2014). Universal Enlightenment, An introduction to the teachings and practices of Huayen Buddhism. Kongting Publishing Company Ltd. Taiwan.; Beer, Robert (2003), The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols, Serin...

Bright on Buddhism - Episode 132 - How do you balance romantic desire and the desire for companionship with non-attachment? Is romantic desire bad in Buddhism? What are the potential dangers of desire for partnership and companionship? Resources: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.055.than.html ____________ At the time of recording, the list of people murdered by ICE includes -...

Bright on Buddhism - Episode 131 - What is the third moral precept of Buddhism? What is its significance? How have interpretations of it changed over time? Resources: Keown, Damien (2013b), "Buddhist Ethics", in LaFollette, Hugh (ed.), The International Encyclopedia of Ethics, Blackwell Publishing, pp. 636–47, doi:10.1002/9781444367072.wbiee163, ISBN 978-1-4051-8641-4 Keown, Damien (2016...

Bright on Buddhism - Research Project Series - Nishida Kitarō Join me as I discuss the life and times of Nishida Kitarō, and his principle work, 善の研究 ( Zen no Kenkyū ) An Inquiry Into The Good. _____________ At the time of recording, the list of people murdered by ICE includes - Victor Manuel Díaz - no fundraiser link currently available Geraldo Lunas - https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-bring...

Bright on Buddhism - Buddhish Episode 26 - Walk for Peace Join us as we discuss the Walk for Peace going on in the Southeastern US. If you like our show and want to support us financially, we ask that you instead send that support to a worthy cause. In our previous charity throw we directed listeners to the GoFundMe for Kieth Porter, a man murdered by ICE earlier this year. Between posting that an...

Bright on Buddhism - Episode 130 - Who is Budai? What are some stories about him? How is he depicted in iconography and why? Resources: Leighton, Taigen Dan (1998). Bodhisattva Archetypes: Classic Buddhist Guides to Awakening and Their Modern Expression. New York: Penguin Arkana. pp. 260–261. Levine, Gregory (2007). Awakenings: Zen Figure Painting in Medieval Japan. Japan Society. Faure, Bernard (...