As a long time listener, I was very happy to be invited as a guest onto 'The Imperfect Buddha Podcast,' featured on the rather high brow 'New Books Network,' to discuss my 'Building the Future Buddha' Book.
Please have a listen.
'Imperfect Buddha' is an unusual podcast (closely associated with the hyper-intellectual "speculative non-Buddhism" movement: https://speculativenonbuddhism.com/2...-american-zen/ ) which casts a critical eye on overly romantic, traditional Buddhist teachings, and the host is not known for the soft approach.
Why the Imperfect Buddha? Imperfection is our human condition and there is no going beyond it. The work here understands this and avoids the pitfalls and fantasies associated with notions of perfect enlightenment, pure tradition, unstained realization, and fully realized teachers. If nothing is complete, then how could any of these have ever existed. If the Buddha was human, then he must have been imperfect too ... Changing, evolving life and matter in transmutation; decaying, dying forms, and a history of birth and death, creation and dissolution. This includes traditions, practices, theories and beliefs that are forever in flux. The podcast and writings seek to keep all this in mind, so that we may remember our humanity and its fragility in the middle of it all, so that we might never lose sight of it, whatever our goals might be, whatever our dreams might be seeding in this world for the short time that we spend in it.
In fact, I feel myself a 'Soto-Opto-Uto-Dysto-Mysto-mist'
based on my belief that new technologies are coming whether we like it or not, can (and will) be misused, so we should do our darndest as Buddhists and other concerned individuals to have these new powers used for good as best we can, including the realization of our essential nature. If we do so, we might actually leave this world better in many ways.
Let me know any reactions.
Gassho, J
stlah
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