Podcasts about japanese buddhist

Send us a textIn Episode 47 I speak with Reverend Dr. TK Nakagaki. Rev. Dr. Nakagaki is the author of the book 'The Buddhist Swastika and Hitler's Cross: Rescuing a Symbol of Peace from the Forces of Hate'. Published in 2017, the book presents a cross-cultural history of the “swastika”, a symbol of peace used by multiple Eastern religions, including Japanese Buddhism, and indigenous peoples but typically regarded as a hate symbol in the West. Known as 'manji' in Japan, the swastika is commonly found on Buddhist temples along with many Shinto shrines. In keeping with its meaning in Buddhist and Hindu traditions, the swastika is a symbol of peace, light and represents the mind and teaching of the Buddha. It is found at temples and shrines throughout the country yet most international visitors depart without ever gaining an understanding of its meaning is the Japanese Buddhist context. I hope this episode goes some way to addressing that. Rev. Dr. Nakagaki is an ordained priest in the Jodoshinshu tradition of Japanese Buddhism and Founder of the Heiwa Peace and Reconciliation Foundation of New York. He is a President Emeritus of the Buddhist Council of New York, an Honorary Board Member of the Interfaith Center of New York and a New York City Police Department Clergy Liaison along with a Hiroshima Peace Ambassador, Nagasaki Peace Correspondent and Honorary President of Sanghakaya Foundation of India. He graduated Ryukoku University in Kyoto in 1983 having majored in Buddhist history before undertaking advanced study in Jodoshinshu doctrine to Gyoshin Buddhist Seminary in Osaka from 1983 to 1985. He has an MA in Linguistics from California State University at Fresno in 1994 and a earned a Doctorate of Ministry in Multifaith Studies from the New York Theological Seminary in 2012. Outland Japan is a bi-weekly podcast hosted by Peter Carnell - a freelance tour guide based in northern Nagano – that transports you to rural, regional and the wilds of Japan in pursuit of stories that lie outside the neon hum of Tokyo and golden trimmings of Kyoto. Stories of travel, life and culture beyond the big cities. Follow the show on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Please note, prior to October 2024, Outland Japan was named Snow Country Stories Japan.

To the untrained eye there's nothing as unexciting as tofu, normally regarded as a tasteless, beige, congealed mass of crushed, boiled soybeans. However, tofu more than stands up on its own. Reviled for decades as a vegetarian oddity, the brave, wobbly block has made a comeback. Tofu: a Culinary History (Reaktion, 2024) by Russell Thomas is a global history of bean curd stretches from ancient creation myths and tomb paintings, via Chinese poetry and Japanese Buddhist cuisine, to deportations in Soviet Russia and struggles for power on the African continent. It describes the potentially non-Chinese roots of tofu, its myriad types, why ‘eating tofu' is an insult in Cantonese, and its environmental impact today. Warning: this book actually makes tofu exciting. It's anything but bland. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

To the untrained eye there's nothing as unexciting as tofu, normally regarded as a tasteless, beige, congealed mass of crushed, boiled soybeans. However, tofu more than stands up on its own. Reviled for decades as a vegetarian oddity, the brave, wobbly block has made a comeback. Tofu: a Culinary History (Reaktion, 2024) by Russell Thomas is a global history of bean curd stretches from ancient creation myths and tomb paintings, via Chinese poetry and Japanese Buddhist cuisine, to deportations in Soviet Russia and struggles for power on the African continent. It describes the potentially non-Chinese roots of tofu, its myriad types, why ‘eating tofu' is an insult in Cantonese, and its environmental impact today. Warning: this book actually makes tofu exciting. It's anything but bland. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

To the untrained eye there's nothing as unexciting as tofu, normally regarded as a tasteless, beige, congealed mass of crushed, boiled soybeans. However, tofu more than stands up on its own. Reviled for decades as a vegetarian oddity, the brave, wobbly block has made a comeback. Tofu: a Culinary History (Reaktion, 2024) by Russell Thomas is a global history of bean curd stretches from ancient creation myths and tomb paintings, via Chinese poetry and Japanese Buddhist cuisine, to deportations in Soviet Russia and struggles for power on the African continent. It describes the potentially non-Chinese roots of tofu, its myriad types, why ‘eating tofu' is an insult in Cantonese, and its environmental impact today. Warning: this book actually makes tofu exciting. It's anything but bland. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

To the untrained eye there's nothing as unexciting as tofu, normally regarded as a tasteless, beige, congealed mass of crushed, boiled soybeans. However, tofu more than stands up on its own. Reviled for decades as a vegetarian oddity, the brave, wobbly block has made a comeback. Tofu: a Culinary History (Reaktion, 2024) by Russell Thomas is a global history of bean curd stretches from ancient creation myths and tomb paintings, via Chinese poetry and Japanese Buddhist cuisine, to deportations in Soviet Russia and struggles for power on the African continent. It describes the potentially non-Chinese roots of tofu, its myriad types, why ‘eating tofu' is an insult in Cantonese, and its environmental impact today. Warning: this book actually makes tofu exciting. It's anything but bland. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/food

To the untrained eye there's nothing as unexciting as tofu, normally regarded as a tasteless, beige, congealed mass of crushed, boiled soybeans. However, tofu more than stands up on its own. Reviled for decades as a vegetarian oddity, the brave, wobbly block has made a comeback. Tofu: a Culinary History (Reaktion, 2024) by Russell Thomas is a global history of bean curd stretches from ancient creation myths and tomb paintings, via Chinese poetry and Japanese Buddhist cuisine, to deportations in Soviet Russia and struggles for power on the African continent. It describes the potentially non-Chinese roots of tofu, its myriad types, why ‘eating tofu' is an insult in Cantonese, and its environmental impact today. Warning: this book actually makes tofu exciting. It's anything but bland. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies

To the untrained eye there's nothing as unexciting as tofu, normally regarded as a tasteless, beige, congealed mass of crushed, boiled soybeans. However, tofu more than stands up on its own. Reviled for decades as a vegetarian oddity, the brave, wobbly block has made a comeback. Tofu: a Culinary History (Reaktion, 2024) by Russell Thomas is a global history of bean curd stretches from ancient creation myths and tomb paintings, via Chinese poetry and Japanese Buddhist cuisine, to deportations in Soviet Russia and struggles for power on the African continent. It describes the potentially non-Chinese roots of tofu, its myriad types, why ‘eating tofu' is an insult in Cantonese, and its environmental impact today. Warning: this book actually makes tofu exciting. It's anything but bland. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/korean-studies

To the untrained eye there's nothing as unexciting as tofu, normally regarded as a tasteless, beige, congealed mass of crushed, boiled soybeans. However, tofu more than stands up on its own. Reviled for decades as a vegetarian oddity, the brave, wobbly block has made a comeback. Tofu: a Culinary History (Reaktion, 2024) by Russell Thomas is a global history of bean curd stretches from ancient creation myths and tomb paintings, via Chinese poetry and Japanese Buddhist cuisine, to deportations in Soviet Russia and struggles for power on the African continent. It describes the potentially non-Chinese roots of tofu, its myriad types, why ‘eating tofu' is an insult in Cantonese, and its environmental impact today. Warning: this book actually makes tofu exciting. It's anything but bland. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/japanese-studies

To celebrate my birthday we're going to hell! Again...

Why are there no bear ghosts? Nearly all the ghosts in the world seem to come from a specific period of time, long before any of us were born. There is a universal obsession with death, so we're going to explore death from the perspective of those left behind. (Traditions about what lays beyond will be the subject of another episode.)We talk about the Shiva tradition in Judaism, and the ghastly tradition of shades that dates back to at least as far as the monarch's encounter with the witch of Endor.We explore some traditions common among Christian denominations, and also WAKES! Another strong ghostly tradition exists among Christians, but not universally shared.We look at funerary and ghostly traditions among Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Hindus, and Zoroastrians; and we take some time to ponder the Ghanaian Fantasy Coffins, and the New Orleans Jazz Funeral. What really deserves attention is the phenomenon of near-death experiences, not that they teach us about the world beyond, but they teach us an awful lot about ourselves. Raymond Moody put a lot of work into that field of NDEs, too bad it's all completely subjective neural chaos. DMT has been reported to offer a similar experience.All this and more....   Support us on Patreon or you can get our merch at Spreadshop.Join the Community on Discord.Learn more great religion factoids on Facebook and Instagram. [00:00:11] Katie Dooley: Hello, Preston.[00:00:12] Preston Meyer: Hi, Katie.[00:00:14] Katie Dooley: Get off your phone.[00:00:15] Preston Meyer: Okay.[00:00:18] Katie Dooley: It'll rot your brain on today's episode of--[00:00:21] Both Speakers: The Holy Watermelon Podcast![00:00:24] Katie Dooley: I don't know how to make a segue into this one.[00:00:27] Preston Meyer: This is a bit of a bummer.[00:00:28] Katie Dooley: It's... I feel like it's a more awkward conversation than even our sex talk.[00:00:33] Preston Meyer: I don't feel like it's more awkward.[00:00:34] Katie Dooley: People don't like talking about death. We're going to talk about some gross things today. [00:00:38] Preston Meyer: A little bit. But yeah, death is around us all the time. Can't really avoid it. That's the deal.[00:00:44] Katie Dooley: No, it's, uh, inevitable. Like Thanos.[00:00:48] Preston Meyer: That's what they say. Yeah, so I was talking to. A person that I work with the other day about his concern with ghosts. He was actually really worried about, um, the Titanic 2 expedition and all that nonsense, but the conversation led very quickly to ghosts, and it boggles my mind that we haven't just agreed that everywhere on the planet is super haunted or nowhere is.[00:01:21] Katie Dooley: I have had that thought as well. Um, I don't disagree with him because. My house alone has been around since the 50s. You can't tell me something hasn't died nearby,[00:01:33] Preston Meyer: Right?[00:01:34] Katie Dooley: Actually, I have heard that there is an unfortunate story with the next-door house, so, um,[00:01:40] Preston Meyer: Tell me more.[00:01:41] Katie Dooley: Uh, apparently someone killed themselves next door before the current people...[00:01:44] Preston Meyer: Bummer. Lived there. Are there haunting stories?[00:01:46] Katie Dooley: Not that I've heard of.[00:01:48] Preston Meyer: Okay. Just the unfortunate circumstances of death.[00:01:51] Katie Dooley: Yes, but that's typically.[00:01:54] Preston Meyer: What leads to a...[00:01:55] Katie Dooley: Haunting story. And I always think about how I'm like, you know, get haunted by your cat or your dog. How come ghosts are only humans? There's no bear ghosts.[00:02:03] Preston Meyer: It's a great question. Cocaine bear has unfinished business.[00:02:09] Katie Dooley: We should name this episode, "How come there are no ghosts?" Though I do really like your title, which we will probably stay with. Um. But I have often thought.[00:02:21] Preston Meyer: Yeah, for sure.[00:02:23] Katie Dooley: Or, like... I don't know...[00:02:25] Preston Meyer: Dinosaur ghosts? Why are we not haunted by the soul of absolutely ravaged Triceratops?[00:02:33] Katie Dooley: And also there's like, I don't know, ghosts feel like they're from a very specific time-period. Like, if you hear, like, how come we all have a ghost kicking around from the 1200s?[00:02:42] Preston Meyer: Right? All ghosts are Dickensian.[00:02:44] Katie Dooley: Yeah, or more modern but, uh, anyway.[00:02:54] Preston Meyer: Death is great, and we have really weird ways of dealing with it.[00:02:58] Katie Dooley: We really do. And I will sort of preface this before we break it down by religion is like we kind of think our way is the right way or the normal way. And reading some of these, some was like, that actually makes a lot of sense on how they handle death. And then some of them, I'm like, that's fucking weird, I won't...[00:03:18] Preston Meyer: Well, if you see one thing often enough, even if you aren't behind it theologically, the habits are still your habits. Normal gets normal.[00:03:27] Katie Dooley: Yeah. So that was, you know, eye opening to say the least.houldUm, anyway, so we kick it off with our good old Abrahamic buddies.[00:03:39] Preston Meyer: Let's do it. Stick with what's most familiar, and then we'll dig into. Yeah, the good stuff. So in Judaism, respect for the dead is one of the most important mitzvot. I feel like we've used this word before. It's commandments. So really take care of the dead. Traditionally, Jewish people bury their dead intact. Some people mostly, you know, you're more reform, more liberal Jewish groups will do the cremation thing. I think that's generally the the theme we'll see moving forward is the more conservatives will not like cremation. We're going to run out of space real soon. An interesting thing that I have read about Judaism is that cremation is counted as destruction of property.[00:04:31] Katie Dooley: Who's property?[00:04:35] Preston Meyer: That's an interesting question.[00:04:37] Katie Dooley: God's property. [00:04:38] Preston Meyer: That makes sense. But there's also the strong family thing in Judaism where there's like you, you belong to your family in this way that you are. If you're not moving that body around yourself anymore, you're property.[00:04:56] Katie Dooley: Oh. We'll, move you around. Oh, wait, that's a different tradition to talk about.[00:05:05] Preston Meyer: Yeah. Uh, Jewish people tend to observe a strict week of mourning after a funeral. They call this the shiva. Uh, it's just the number seven. So seven days of mourning. And during this process, mirrors in the home are often covered. And it's good to keep candles burning. And mourners will sit on nice low stools, like low as your squatty potty.[00:05:33] Katie Dooley: I'm too old for that. I'm not even that old.[00:05:36] Preston Meyer: It's a little tough, but these are all indications of mourning. Black veil is good for that. Things like that. Yeah.[00:05:43] Katie Dooley: Abrahamic and Western favour black for mourning.[00:05:48] Preston Meyer: Yeah and traditionally. Uh, you don't want to hasten up a death. You don't want to speed things along, even if you know death is imminent. Our country has a pretty interesting relationship with assisted death.[00:06:05] Katie Dooley: I think it's going to have to change anyway. That's not to digress too much. We could go on and chat about that, but I have my opinion.[00:06:16] Preston Meyer: Yeah, having it available makes perfect sense. The reality of the government actually pressuring people into it. I'm not a big fan of.[00:06:26] Katie Dooley: But I yeah, I mean it shouldn't be a government decision, but just like your pets, to let someone live in pain just so they can live as long as possible. And health care costs are only going to get more expensive, for whomever.[00:06:42] Preston Meyer: If the only activity on your schedule of day-to-day for months on end is eating up resources, at some point you got to figure out maybe there's a better plan.[00:06:54] Katie Dooley: Well, and I care less about resources as opposed to quality of life. Like we have family members that live every day in pain and then they're also paying. For fentanyl patches, which are very expensive to manage that pain that they're still in.[00:07:10] Preston Meyer: Fentanyl is a wild thing.[00:07:13] Katie Dooley: Anyway, wild.[00:07:16] Preston Meyer: Yeah. But as you may have deduced, we're going to talk about some ghosts today.[00:07:23] Katie Dooley: Really wants to talk about ghosts today. So.[00:07:25] Preston Meyer: So the Tanakh does mention ghosts. Um, there's a lot of different kinds of ghosts I've been in unrelated studies, been trying to suss out how different people categorize ghosts.[00:07:39] Katie Dooley: Like angels. [00:07:40] Preston Meyer: with A little bit. Yeah. Okay, so you've got poltergeists who can legit interact with the physical world, and then you've got shades which are not so much.[00:07:51] Katie Dooley: They're there, but they're they can't do anything.[00:07:53] Preston Meyer: Right. Like maybe you can communicate them. Maybe not, but they just they may be barely visible. They might be more visible, but they're not going to interact physically with the world. So they're like a shadow. So that's a shade sort of thing. So what we have in the Tanakh usually talks about shades more than poltergeists that we have in ancient Israel, the belief that ghosts, the spirits of the departed, could be summoned and you could have conversations with them and learn things from them. The story of Saul and the Witch of Endor is an example.[00:08:35] Katie Dooley: That's from Star Wars, right?[00:08:38] Preston Meyer: George Lucas is not half as original as he likes to get credit for. And Endor was just an old place. No Ewoks, which is just Wookiee backwards. Almost not perfect.[00:08:55] Katie Dooley: I see your theory. Yeah, yeah, yeah.[00:08:57] Preston Meyer: No, the plan was that they were going to go to the Wookiee homeworld in Return of the Jedi. And then they couldn't figure out how to do it in a reasonable way. So they decided, okay, we'll make smaller costumes and just cast little people.[00:09:15] Katie Dooley: Okay. Wow. Also, some Star Wars backstory from Preston today. Sorry, I interrupted, and I regret interrupting now.[00:09:26] Preston Meyer: So the shades are a thing that is a matter of concern in Jewish folklore. And in their theology a little bit as well. There are explicit commandments. Do not mess with people who summon ghosts. Which makes sense. And they also talk about shades that can linger in the land and just stay near the place where they lived or where they died. Isaiah talks a little bit about those too. So I think it's kind of interesting. Ghosts, very solid, part of the religious tradition and there are in more recent than biblical texts, traditions of these shades actually possessing a body usually for a short time just to accomplish a specific task. We talked about this a little bit in our voodoo episode. Actually, it's the same sort of idea. [00:10:22] Katie Dooley: Which makes, I was gonna say, makes a bit of sense knowing the origins of Voodoo, right?[00:10:27] Preston Meyer: Well, especially the way it interacted with other religions on its way here. Yeah. So kind of interesting that this possession business is really interesting. And as we get into Christianity, there's stories of ghosts in the New Testament, in Jewish populations where the story feels a lot different, knowing that there's this belief locally that these would be things that dead people are coming back to accomplish, rather than demons like the Greek interpretation jumps onto it. Mhm. It's kind of weird. Kind of fun.[00:11:06] Katie Dooley: Um, you know who loves death? Christian?[00:11:09] Preston Meyer: Uh, I don't even remember where the quote came from originally, but I feel like I've quoted it a few times. Christians are just way too excited to die. '[00:11:19] Katie Dooley: Yeah. Oh, man, they love it. Why is that Preston?[00:11:23] Preston Meyer: That we talk so much about the promise that the next life is going to be better. And yeah, there's there's so much wrong with this world that it makes sense to hope for something better. But when it gets anywhere close to somebody else realizing that you're too excited to die, you have really screwed up where your focuses are.[00:11:44] Katie Dooley: Yeah. And even like trying to try to make it all happen faster, trying to bring up the Second Coming. It's like.[00:11:52] Preston Meyer: Well, there's there's a lot of different ideas of what is supposed to trigger the Second Coming.[00:11:58] Katie Dooley: Humans aren't going to do it.[00:12:00] Preston Meyer: It's outside our control. We can't control God.[00:12:03] Katie Dooley: Doesn't mean people aren't trying because they can't wait. Yeah. Anyway, um, as I mentioned in Christians historically also don't like cremation because there would be no corpse when Jesus comes back and raises everyone from the dead, or he Christians believe in a physical resurrection.[00:12:23] Preston Meyer: Yeah, your body's got to rise from the grave. And as you pivot at the waist, you got to be facing east.[00:12:28] Katie Dooley: That sounds horrifying. It's all these and they all have to claw up six feet. Wow. Yeah.[00:12:37] Preston Meyer: Imagine the horror that this event would be.[00:12:39] Katie Dooley: Yeah. Anyway. But again, a lot of them are more relaxed now. I mean, I think it's just even people in my world, both of my grandparents were cremated and they were Christians. So. Anyway, I feel like they're the most relaxed now of any of the groups. [00:12:59] Preston Meyer: Probably,yeah.[00:13:02] Katie Dooley: I mean, Christian is a really big umbrella.[00:13:06] Preston Meyer: It sure is[00:13:07] But I'm sure there's groups within Christianity that still love a good burial, probably Catholic.[00:13:13] Preston Meyer: So I went to my granddad's funeral last...[00:13:17] Katie Dooley: We both did a bunch of funerals recently.[00:13:18] Preston Meyer: Yeah. What a time.[00:13:20] Katie Dooley: Yeah.[00:13:21] Preston Meyer: And I mean it was interesting that I had never talked about religion at all with my granddad. I'd never thought that he identified as Christian. Found out at his funeral. This was an important detail to somebody. Yeah. So there was a little ash cross dropped on his coffin and was laid down on the ground, making sure that he was facing in a way that if you were to bend at the waist, he'd be facing east. [00:13:52] Katie Dooley: In six feet of dirt.[00:13:53] Preston Meyer: Yeah it was it was an interesting learning experience.[00:13:59] Katie Dooley: Well, good.[00:13:59] Preston Meyer: And now we're talking about death.[00:14:01] Katie Dooley: Now we're talking about death in the terms of Christian wakes are a Christian thing.[00:14:08] Preston Meyer: Yeah. I haven't heard the word wake used a lot outside of a Catholic context. Um, though I'm certainly can't say that that's not happening, but it's certainly an old tradition.[00:14:20] Katie Dooley: Yeahand as someone who's involved with the Irish community, the Irish still love a good wake. I don't know too many other groups that do it. And I don't know if that's because it's Irish or because it's Catholic, like what that Venn diagram looks like. And how much is just the circles I run in. But the Irish love a good wake. The name comes from staying up long hours watching over the dead while reciting psalms.[00:14:43] Preston Meyer: So we're not talking about the risk of the dead waking up. It's just that you got to stay awake to watch the body.[00:14:50] Katie Dooley: To watch.[00:14:51] Preston Meyer: In case it wakes up.[00:14:53] Katie Dooley: in case it wakes up to make sure.[00:14:55] Preston Meyer: I mean, there it does make sense because historically we we have had situations aplenty enough that we've taken precautions.[00:15:05] Katie Dooley: Bells and...[00:15:05] Preston Meyer: Where the bodies do occasionally get back up again after we thought they were dead. But we're just dumb.[00:15:13] Katie Dooley: If you want to hear a great vaudeville song about exactly that, it's called Tim Finnegan's Wake and basically he's dead and everyone's sad. And then someone spills whiskey on him and he comes back to life because whiskey.[00:15:27] Preston Meyer: It's like the plants in my office.[00:15:31] Katie Dooley: Water. Oh. That's terrible. Preston.[00:15:38] Preston Meyer: Uh, no one's perfect.[00:15:41] Katie Dooley: You know, you don't need to keep plants if that's... If you're just gonna kill him.[00:15:45] Preston Meyer: I'm gonna be honest. I don't keep plants in my office, and the person who generally takes care of them generally takes very good care of them. But there are occasionally exceptions.[00:15:59] Katie Dooley: We're not going to do a full episode on Heaven or Hell. But Christians and even Muslims and Jews, depending on whether you're good or bad, good or bad, you get sent to heaven or hell. Dun dun dun. Yes, that definitely deserves its own episode.[00:16:16] Preston Meyer: Yeah, for most of history, the majority of Christians and an awful lot of segments of the Jewish population as well, have believed in a tiered series of heavens. In our angels episode, we talked about the ninth heaven, where like, the greatest of the angels live forever with God. And, um, the seventh heaven is a thing that happens occasionally in the way. What's the word I'm looking for? It's a common enough English idiom. Um, there's a TV show.[00:16:48] Katie Dooley: I know. [00:16:49] Preston Meyer: Who is in that TV show. I watched it for a year.[00:16:53] Katie Dooley: The most famous person out of Seventh Heaven was Jessica Biel. She was the second oldest daughter. Um, the guy who played the Christian pastor ended up being a pedophile in real life.[00:17:03] Preston Meyer: Oh, no.[00:17:04] Katie Dooley: Yeah, she was the most famous. I can't think of any of the other actors names now. Um, the older there was another.[00:17:10] Preston Meyer: Singer who was, like, really popular for a really short time. That was from that show, wasn't there? I don't know. I've got nothing.[00:17:17] Katie Dooley: Maybe as a side character, but of the family, only Jessica Biel made it anywhere significant.  I mean, JT and all and actually having some decent movie roles afterwards,[00:17:27] Preston Meyer: Right? Good for her.[00:17:30] Katie Dooley: Yeah. I mean, considering no one else.[00:17:33] Preston Meyer: Yeah. The phrase I'm on cloud nine. Yeah, I don't think you hear that a whole lot anymore either. But that was a thing.[00:17:38] Katie Dooley: That Cloud Nine superstore.[00:17:39] Preston Meyer: Your grandpappy, probably said... Man, Superstore was a good show.[00:17:43] Katie Dooley: It was a good show. Better than better than Seventh Heaven.[00:17:45] Preston Meyer: Yes. Um, yeah. So for a long time, we talked about these tiered heavens that. Yeah, salvation is universal, but because people suck to different degrees, some of us are going to achieve a better situation.[00:18:04] Or hell yeah.[00:18:05] Preston Meyer: Protestants, especially, like the evangelical movement, mostly believe in the simple dichotomy of black and white, no shades of gray. Everything that's wrong with you is going to be fixed or burn forever in hell. It's hard to say that I see the appeal to that. I don't really like it.[00:18:23] Katie Dooley: I mean.[00:18:24] Preston Meyer: It takes away your identity.[00:18:25] Katie Dooley: Well, and if it's that black and white, then everyone's going to hell because nobody's.[00:18:28] Preston Meyer: And that's absolutely contrary to the mission of Jesus. Oh, well.[00:18:34] Katie Dooley: I guess we'll find out one day.[00:18:36] Preston Meyer: Yeah. I think it's a lot more reasonable to accept this more classical idea of shades of gray. It just makes sense. Um, different types of people organized and divided based on the way they choose to live their lives would merit different levels of heaven, I think is really a really clean way of explaining it. There was a lady I used to visit for a while when I lived in New Jersey who hated the idea that God would separate people based on any judgment at all. It makes a lot more sense that we would separate ourselves, right? If you like stealing but hate violence, there's a community for you where you're safe from the violent. But the people who don't like being robbed are safe from you.[00:19:32] Katie Dooley: That's good. So you just all rob each other for all time.[00:19:35] Preston Meyer: Yeah,[00:19:37] Katie Dooley: That's a pretty good punishment.[00:19:38] Preston Meyer: Right?[00:19:39] Katie Dooley: You steal something, then you turn around and your shit's got. Ah.[00:19:41] Preston Meyer: Yeah.[00:19:42] Katie Dooley: So you got to steal more.[00:19:44] Preston Meyer: It feels a lot like the punishment fitting the crime. Yeah.[00:19:49] Katie Dooley: Um, we didn't put in our notes, but I know, I mean, I went to a Catholic funeral recently. We were... I don't know if you want to touch on that.[00:19:57] Preston Meyer: Sure, yeah. What is it that you experienced that you want to share?[00:20:00] Katie Dooley: I mean i've been told 2 or 3 Catholic funerals, now? Obviously, this one, most recently Catholic funerals are long because they do a full mass. I will say the thing about Catholic funeral, there's a lot of talk about God and not nearly as much about the person.[00:20:18] Preston Meyer: Sure. Now, is this a mass in addition to the daily mass, or is it just a not just a funeral attached to the daily mass?[00:20:27] Katie Dooley: No, they do... My understanding is they do a separate funeral mass.[00:20:31] Preston Meyer: I mean, nobody's accusing the Catholics of being efficient.[00:20:35] Katie Dooley: No, because it also took a long time. And then of course, I was like looking for the reliquary, because now we know from our lovely guest, Frank McMahon, confirmed that there is a holy relic in every Catholic church. So I'm looking for bits of saints.[00:20:49] Preston Meyer: Well, at the bare minimum, they'll have one locked away in the tabernacle, right? And you wouldn't get to see that. But yeah, if there's more about on on display.[00:20:59] Katie Dooley: There was something pretty fancy in a corner. And I was like, I don't know what that is. Okay, I didn't get close enough because I left the front for the family, but, uh.[00:21:07] Preston Meyer: No, no, you got to push your way through during a funeral.[00:21:10] Katie Dooley: During it. I need a front row seat, please, because I just need a front row seat. Um, but that's the biggest thing. Like. I mean, the last funeral I went to was as secular as a funeral gets. And they talk a lot about the person that passed. Um, so it's just. Different. But yeah, you know, everyone, priests especially very hopeful that she's in a better place. And we're the ones who are the losers an I don't know, I mean, you know, I don't believe any of that. I was like, is she. I mean, it's nice to think, but. Why are there no bear ghosts?[00:21:54] Preston Meyer: Because they don't have unfinished business. They got their honey. They're happy.[00:22:01] Katie Dooley: But. Right. If there's no bear heaven and bear hell, why is there human heaven? Human hell? Why are there no bear ghosts? That's my thesis.[00:22:14] Preston Meyer: I have a hypothesis. That bear heaven is fish hell. It's a very efficient system, and it's good enough that they don't need to linger here on Earth.[00:22:29] Katie Dooley: I've heard that, uh, squirrel hell is dog heaven.[00:22:32] Preston Meyer: Yeah. Perfect. So Christianity does inherit a lot from Jewish thought. It makes sense. Dispensationalism has got some tricky bits to it, but the inheritance system is inarguable. And that includes the matter of ghosts and the idea of possessing spirits I already mentioned shows up with the New Testament, but Greco-Roman thought shows a lot of its influence in the way that we see demons described in the Christian tradition that almost every ghost that you see described in the New Testament, apart from when they think that maybe Jesus is a ghost until he says, touch me and find out. [00:23:17] Katie Dooley: Pull my finger. Preston just wiggled his finger at me, so... "Pull my finger." - Jesus, Matthew 22:34.[00:23:26] Preston Meyer: Yeah, all the the ghosts are, well, terrible demons possessing people or making everybody have a bad time. Jehovah's Witnesses and Christadelphians outright deny the possibility of ghosts, which is really frustrating for them when you point out the holes in that logic. But. Oh, well they just stopped visiting.[00:23:52] Katie Dooley: As much as I, uh, you know, try to be fair to... They're the least Christian of the Christians.[00:23:59] Preston Meyer: I mean, it's so hard to delineate what what is Christian and what isn't.[00:24:03] Katie Dooley: I know, but that's was my point. I was trying to poorly word, but yeah, but they're at least Christian. [00:24:12] Preston Meyer: I can't argue with that in this moment.[00:24:15] Katie Dooley: My next thesis.[00:24:18] Preston Meyer: Um, Seventh-day Adventist got a lot of those in my family. They teach that any ghost you might encounter is absolutely, certainly a demon in disguise.[00:24:28] Katie Dooley: Cool.[00:24:29] Preston Meyer: Sure. Not that I'm encountering a whole lot of ghosts.[00:24:34] Katie Dooley: No, but I just, like. I'm imagining a ghost pulling off its ghost mask, like in Scooby Doo and be like there's a demon under here.[00:24:43] Preston Meyer: I like that imagery.[00:24:44] Katie Dooley: Thank you.[00:24:45] Preston Meyer: But generally everybody agrees they can basically shapeshift.[00:24:48] Katie Dooley: Oh, oh that makes a lot more sense, but it's way less cool.[00:24:54] Preston Meyer: Right? Most other Christians admit the possibility of the disguise problem, but acknowledge that a ghost could genuinely be the dead person you're after. The ghost that we see in the Witch of Endor story. It's not really answered in a really concrete way. Whether or not this should be expected to be a demon in disguise or the dead prophet returned. Because that wasn't the important part of the story. The important part of the story was stop getting witches to summon demons. Many Christians believe that the dead can take on the role of angel.[00:25:34] Katie Dooley: Which is where, as we're writing these notes, I was like, we need to separate heaven and hell. And even we talked about angels. And I was like, but dead people become angels.[00:25:43] Preston Meyer: Right.[00:25:43] Katie Dooley: One so yeah, there's like a whole other piece to this.[00:25:47] Preston Meyer: Yeah. Um, the Revelation talks about how there's like a third of the host of Heaven fell with Lucifer, as most people prefer to call him.[00:25:57] Katie Dooley: Satan is accurate.[00:25:59] Preston Meyer:  [00:25:59]Satan is a far more helpful thing here. And so those generally [00:26:03] get to be the ones that we call demons within Christian theology models. But there are also talks of, well, if you're just a bad person, you can become a demon that way too. It's exciting. It gives you something to aspire to if you don't want to change your ways. Lots of goodies.[00:26:23] Katie Dooley: Cool. The last of the Abrahamic religions, of course, is Islam. And I mean last chronologically[00:26:23] Preston Meyer: Of course and the last one we're talking about. [00:26:33] Katie Dooley: And the last one we're talking about today.[00:26:34] Preston Meyer: Because we usually stick. [00:26:36] Katie Dooley: Last but not least. Very similar, obviously, it's been influenced by Judaism and Christianity. When death is imminent, a family member or close friend is present to say the shahada, which is the, uh,[00:26:49] Preston Meyer: There is no God but God, and Muhammad is his prophet.[00:26:53] Katie Dooley: Yes. Uh, there's a word for it. Something of faith.[00:26:57] Preston Meyer: Uh, statement of faith. Statement.[00:26:58] Katie Dooley: Declaration. Declaration. Thank you. Declaration of faith. We talked about this in our Islam so years ago. But the shahada is also recited when you're born. So it's this. If you're born a Muslim, it's kind of a nice full-circle moment.[00:27:12] Preston Meyer: It's a very convenient conversion tool. All you got to do is shout that in somebody's ear and bam.[00:27:18] Katie Dooley: You actually shout it?[00:27:20] Preston Meyer: I mean, some people like like the video of the guy who doing like a really awful baptism of a baby with dunk, dunk dunk dunk dunk.[00:27:28] Katie Dooley: Baby gets shaken baby.[00:27:29] Preston Meyer: Yeah. And the parents are just horrified. There are people who shout at the children. But that's not likely the typical format.[00:27:39] Katie Dooley: All right. Again with like with the other Abrahamic faiths and more strictly Muslims do not cremate their dead. Some Jews do. I'd say half of Christians do, and no Muslims do. They do not cremate their dead because they believe in the physical resurrection that will happen. And autopsies are also forbidden. Unnecessary autopsies, obviously. I presume in the case of murder they would do an autopsy. But if someone dies in their home, they don't do autopsies[00:28:11] Preston Meyer: Right. There's I mean, there are places where autopsies just aren't happening. But here in North America, yeah, if something bad happens, it's going to happen. And you can put on your frowny face all you want. It's still going to happen. You just muscle through it.[00:28:30] Katie Dooley: Uh, but organ donation is okay because it helps people.[00:28:33] Preston Meyer: So I'm really glad that exception exists. It feels weird.[00:28:39] Katie Dooley: It feels contradictory.[00:28:40] Preston Meyer: Yeah. But I appreciate that exception exists because it helps people.[00:28:45] Katie Dooley: Yeah. I mean, you know, someone's dead and you don't care why they died. What is the point of an autopsy? Right. If they're 80 something years old.[00:28:56] Preston Meyer: Yeah.[00:28:57] Katie Dooley: And they died at home in their bed or in a hospital in the bed.[00:29:00] Preston Meyer: There's gonna come a time 100 years from now, and our podcast will still be available on podcast libraries. And somebody's going to hear that it was normal for us to die at 80 and go. What the hell was wrong with these people?[00:29:16] Katie Dooley: You think our life expectancy is going to get that?[00:29:18] Preston Meyer: I think our life expectancy can reasonably be expected to be extended by decades. I got high hopes. We'll see.[00:29:28] Katie Dooley: Uh, bodies are originally washed and wrapped in a white sheet before burial. And they are washed three times by a family member of the same gender as the deceased. Sharia law dictates that funeral planning start immediately after the death, and bodies are buried quickly. There are no viewings, so no wakes. You did not stay up all night drinking with your dead grandma. Have you seen Derry Girls?[00:29:55] Preston Meyer: I've seen a little bit of Derry Girls, but I definitely have not seen whatever has come to your mind.[00:30:00] Katie Dooley: There's an episode and they're at someone's wake. And my favorite character, Sister Michael, she's a curmudgeonly nun. Who I don't even know if she has that much faith. And there's one part. She's at this wake and she's talking to a family member. The family member is very annoying. She's like, oh my God, is this my wake? Am I dead? Am I in hell?[00:30:23] Preston Meyer: I love it.[00:30:26] Katie Dooley: Sister Michael, I'll show it to you after I love her. I watched through the whole series, and it's filled with charming teens. I was like, no, that grumpy old lady. That's my favorite.[00:30:38] Preston Meyer: That sounds right. So, if you were wondering. Yes, Muslims believe in ghosts. Uh, the spirits of the dead are supposed to go on to an underworld called Barzakh.[00:30:51] Katie Dooley: Oh, that's a good name.[00:30:52] Preston Meyer: Yeah, I like the name. Be honest, I did not look up what the name means. I'm sure it's got meaning, but I'll look it up later. Improper burial can impede the journey to this underworld.[00:31:03] Katie Dooley: Oh, that's why they're so regimented in it, okay.[00:31:06] Preston Meyer: Because you don't want to risk screwing this up, and then you've got a ghost wandering around because, I mean, if you ever notice ghosts, it's not because they're doing nice things for you. Nobody's emptying your dishwasher. It's not happening.[00:31:19] Katie Dooley: Oh, you seen that webcomic of this little ghost? And he's like, I love home decorating. And he's, like, moving around frames and vases, and the family's like, ah, but he's just this cute little ghost. It's like, I love this work. It makes me way too happy, but also sad.[00:31:34] Preston Meyer: I love it. Yeah, that's great. Um, so the shades of righteous spirits are expected to linger at their own graves, which feels a little bit weird. I had to dig at this. There's like, the soul goes on to the underworld and awaits resurrection. But a shade, a shadow of that soul lingers at the grave so that people can come and talk to it and get whatever great mystic knowledge is reserved for, not the living. But apparently the shades are willing to share it sometime.[00:32:16] Katie Dooley: It feels like a pretty common practice of like.[00:32:18] Preston Meyer: Yeah.[00:32:19] Katie Dooley: Visiting grave to talk to a loved one.[00:32:21] Preston Meyer: I would say it's pretty close to universal that you would go to wherever you buried your loved ones to talk to them, hoping to get some sort of answer.[00:32:32] Katie Dooley: But they believe that they actually stay there. That's cool.[00:32:36] Preston Meyer: Yeah, it's kind of nifty.[00:32:38] Katie Dooley: Yeah. All right. Heading to the East air quotes.[00:32:44] Preston Meyer: Vaguely eastward from where we were.[00:32:46] Katie Dooley: Or where we're heading to the Dharmic religions is actually a better title. Hinduism.[00:32:52] Preston Meyer: Yeah.[00:32:54] Katie Dooley: So when death is near, it is common to obtain water for purification from the Ganges River, which is considered sacred.[00:33:02] Preston Meyer: Remember we talked about how the Hindu people are the river folks.[00:33:05] Katie Dooley: The river folk is the part to be surrounded by loved ones at the time of your death. If the body is left alone, uh, light, ideally, a candle should be left near the body as close to the head as can be done safely so.[00:33:19] Preston Meyer: Yeah. You don't want them catching on fire.[00:33:20] Katie Dooley: No. Uh, to comfort the lingering spirit. Generally for Hindus, families are encouraged to remain conservative in their mourning, allowing the soul to move on quickly to its next stage. The soul is said to linger as long as people hold it with their thoughts. So mourners are encouraged to focus on happy thoughts and memories. I like that.[00:33:41] Preston Meyer: Right? So it's okay to mourn, but not too long and not too negatively. Which is good. Remember the good times.[00:33:51] Katie Dooley: Families typically prefer to bury the body within a day. Any work the coroner might need to do is a major inconvenience.[00:33:58] Preston Meyer: I mean, that's true, generally.[00:34:02] Katie Dooley: All organs need to be returned to their place before burial. So no organ donation here.[00:34:07] Preston Meyer: Yeah, I'm there's definitely going to be exceptions to that. Some people are a lot more liberal than but the the general religious expectation is leave it be.[00:34:20] Katie Dooley: The soul is believed to carry on to its next incarnation, whether as an angel, a human or an animal. Or better yet, escape the cycle of samsara and recombine with Brahma, the source of all creation, potentially to be recycled into creation. But that would be as a nearly totally new soul.[00:34:40] Preston Meyer: Yeah, the this cycle of samsara is. A really interesting thing to study so much potential or just go back and recombine with God. And maybe he'll use you again.[00:34:54] Katie Dooley: Maybe he'll use you for something else. You've done it. But now you're a rock. Because he needed a rock right here. Yeah, ad if you'll recall, the you come back based on how good you are. Good you were your karma in your past lives. So if you're doing good, you'll come back as something better. You're not doing so good. You're heading back to that rock.[00:35:18] Preston Meyer: Yeah. And that's historically that was like the way to move between casts was just.[00:35:26] Katie Dooley: Being reborn.[00:35:27] Preston Meyer: Yeah. And now we've seen in some places some movement between castees is more possible than in other places.[00:35:37] Katie Dooley: I mean, this generaetion, I think, is caring less about caste than ever before. And I'm sure in the next 20, 30, 40 years, it'll...[00:35:47] Preston Meyer: Get a little bit better every generation. Yeah, one can hope anyway.[00:35:52] Katie Dooley: Tell me about the Ghost, though.[00:35:53] Preston Meyer: Oh, man. So there's some there's some baggage here with Hindu ghosts. You're supposed to move on to the next life.[00:36:01] Katie Dooley: So if you don't, you're downgrading.[00:36:05] Preston Meyer: Right? You're supposed to get a new body.[00:36:07] Katie Dooley: So a ghost is like a variant of Loki. You've come out of the timeline.[00:36:14] Preston Meyer: A little bit.[00:36:15] Katie Dooley: Interesting.[00:36:16] Preston Meyer: I mean, to the point where you've got folks like the TVA saying, no, you need to get back in line. Yeah, that's a little that is a fair enough analogy of what we're looking at. Okay. It's not perfect.[00:36:29] Katie Dooley: But you're right because you're either supposed to come back better or come back worse. So if you're not coming back at all and you're not escaping samsara, there's a problem. Okay. I can't wait to hear this.[00:36:40] Preston Meyer: So go start a very serious matter. Reincarnation is the normal path. Something is keeping spirits from passing on to the next phase, which could theoretically be nirvana. But if you're in this situation where you're lingering here, maybe that next step isn't Nirvana. So there's a good list of things that might prevent a spirit from moving on, and thus lingering is a noticeable and likely malevolent spirit. We've got improper burial. So a lot of religions worry about burying people properly to prevent ghost problems. Uh, we've got violent death. Loads of fun there. Unfinished business. I mean, that's bad karma. Most of these are bad karma type things. Sometimes it's not your karma, but other people's karma on you. But if you've got unfinished business, that's your own karma. And the worst of all of these, the one that had some serious baggage that I thought was really interesting is if a woman dies in childbirth or at the abuse of her in-laws, then she is said to return as a churel or chudel or whatever. 400 different ways are pronouncing that based on the various languages of the region. A malevolent and destructive spirit is what a churel is, and they are focused on the destruction of the family that wronged her. Yeah, it's apparently very dramatic, caused a lot of problems, and they've got ghost hunters to deal with that.[00:38:15] Katie Dooley: Yeah, I was going to say that sounds like the plot of a good Bollywood movie.[00:38:20] Preston Meyer: There's got to be one, right? The odds are good.[00:38:23] Katie Dooley: The odds are... I might have to do some digging. Yeah. Cool. Buddhism.[00:38:30] Preston Meyer: So I remember showing you a video a little while ago that looked super suspicious.[00:38:35] Katie Dooley: I remember when I saw this, I was like, oh, okay. Yeah. Um, so Buddhism sort of overarching, very similar to Hinduism, trying to escape the cycle of life and death. But there's some nuances and some practices within Buddhism that are neat slash kinda gross.[00:38:52] Preston Meyer: Yeah, they're care for the dead is completely incompatible with what we see in the Hindu tradition.[00:38:58] Katie Dooley: I'm tempted to put a trigger warning on this part of the episode. I found it a bit gross. Sure, mostly the sokushinbutsu.[00:39:06] Preston Meyer: You've been warned. Skip ahead five minutes if you don't want to handle this.[00:39:09] Katie Dooley: Yeah, it's just like body horror is a bit strong, but it is a little gross. So we're gonna talk about Tibetan sky burials. Tell me about this video that you showed me.[00:39:18] Preston Meyer: So there was this person in a little corral full of vultures because they don't always just fly around waiting for stuff. Sometimes they know where the good stuff is, and sometimes they're part of a farm. And this person was just chopping up a human skeleton up. It was a pretty clean skeleton. Somebody had already taken care of business.[00:39:39] Katie Dooley: And it was very clear from the rib cage that it was a human skeleton.[00:39:43] Preston Meyer: It was very obviously human.[00:39:45] Katie Dooley: So this was a Tibetan sky burial. Sky burial. I don't know if it was in Tibet, but that's where it comes from. The term sky burial is a Western term. The actual practice, the translation translates to giving alms to the birds, which I kind of love.[00:40:00] Preston Meyer: It's for the birds.[00:40:02] Katie Dooley: This is a practice where the corpse is placed on a mountain to decompose through exposure to the elements and animal scavenging. Obviously, in the case Preston's talking about, for whatever reason, they need to speed it up. Or.[00:40:14] Preston Meyer: I mean, this could have been taking care of the skeleton after the scavenging. Yeah.[00:40:20] Katie Dooley: So Vajrayana Buddhists believe that the body is an empty vessel once the spirit has left. So none of this physical resurrection and therefore there's no reason to keep it. The person's got a new body somewhere else. They died. They've resurrected. They're not sorry, reincarnated somewhere else.[00:40:40] Preston Meyer: Yeah, Buddhists just generally aren't terribly worried about the corpse. And that's nice. I can appreciate that. Just don't worry about it.[00:40:49] Katie Dooley: Another Buddhist practice that mildly traumatized me. And it has a I feel like a deeper theological discussion we could talk about is Sokushinbutsu is the practice of self-mummification.[00:41:06] Preston Meyer: So gross.[00:41:06] Katie Dooley: Japanese. It started by Japanese Buddhist monks. Um, it's an ascetic practice. Acetic, ascetic? I always say it wrong.[00:41:14] Preston Meyer: Acetic is a kind of acid.[00:41:17] Katie Dooley: It's an ascetic practice that takes about 3000 days. That's what, eight years, roughly.[00:41:22] Preston Meyer: Sure.[00:41:23] Katie Dooley: To complete. And it involves essentially eating a tree. Monks would eat pine needles, resin and seeds found in these trees, and the process eventually eliminates all body fat.[00:41:38] Preston Meyer: So you've you've had Buckley's tastes awful, but it works.[00:41:42] Katie Dooley: Yeah, that's part of the tree.[00:41:43] Preston Meyer: Yeah. So the reason that it tastes awful and works is because pine needle oil is mildly toxic. That's why grass doesn't grow right up to the base of the tree. Why would you want to eat pine needles? Unless, of course, this is your plan.[00:41:59] Katie Dooley: Well. And yes. And this is I'll finish explaining it. But this like this idea and I guess it's like self-flagellation of, like, what is so important that you're willing to do this. And as an atheist I'm like, mm, nothing. Anyway, we'll we'll come back to that. Continue explaining this horrific process. So eating the tree eliminates all body fat. It does result in the starvation that it leaves the body well preserved, and they found corpses with skin, hair, teeth, nails in the forest, which is wild, and obviously probably because you're right of the biotoxins animals don't touch them right, and the skin doesn't rot away. So I don't know who figured this out. I don't know why anyone wanted to figure this out, but.[00:42:44] Preston Meyer: Right. There's there's so much that we do that like knowing it. Sure. We can keep going. How did we first find out? Like cheese. The milk went so bad and then all of a sudden was fine again.[00:43:03] Katie Dooley: There's a lot of things in life. I'm like, how did we figure this out? This is one I don't think we needed to figure out but... So the practice has been banned since the late 1800s in Japan. But and there's pictures of this if you do like this kind of stuff. The Buddhist monk Luang Pho Daeng died in 1973. He was a Thai monk from Thailand after practicing sokushinbutsu, and his body is actually on display and they just die while meditating. So he's sitting there cross-legged and they put sunglasses on them because apparently his eye sockets are pretty horrific. But, uh, I mean, it's an interesting example of... They didn't do anything to him. He's just he's behind glass now.[00:43:47] Preston Meyer: But I would hope so because people, you know, people are going to be touching. Right.[00:43:53] Katie Dooley: Yeah. But he's they didn't do any other sort of embalming to him besides...[00:43:58] Preston Meyer: What he did himself, what he...[00:43:59] Katie Dooley: Did to himself. So anyway, um, yeah, it's an interesting like but I guess we even have cases like 9/11. What do you believe in so much that you're willing to die for it? Something that takes 3000 days of some commitment[00:43:59] Preston Meyer: Right? I mean, there's a lot of things I like to eat that would slow this process down.[00:44:20] Katie Dooley: I don't I don't think you're supposed to eat other things.[00:44:23] Preston Meyer: I know it's a major commitment.[00:44:25] Katie Dooley: You'd be like, you'd eat like pine needles and then be like, oh, but a burger sounds great.[00:44:29] Preston Meyer: Right?[00:44:32] Katie Dooley: Um, yeah. And the the Luang Pho Daeng, he had six kids and a wife, and he left to become a Buddhist monk. And then he decided.[00:44:41] Preston Meyer: He would end it all the slowest way possible.[00:44:43] Katie Dooley: The slowest way possible. And I just, I, I don't know, I just I can't wrap my head around it, but I guess it's.[00:44:50] Preston Meyer: Not for me.[00:44:51] Katie Dooley: I guess. But John Paul II flogged himself and people flew into the Twin Towers and Luang Pho Dang starved himself to death. I don't, I guess. Maybe I'm just too apathetic, Preston.[00:45:05] Preston Meyer: Maybe, I don't know.[00:45:08] Katie Dooley: Maybe I just like life too much.[00:45:10] Preston Meyer: There's a lot to like about life.[00:45:12] Katie Dooley: I think so, but.[00:45:14] Preston Meyer: All right. Well, believe it or not, Buddhists believe in ghosts, too.[00:45:19] Katie Dooley: What? I'm seeing a theme. This might be the only universal belief in the entire world. I don't believe in ghosts, though, so.[00:45:26] Preston Meyer: Well, we've already pointed out a couple of groups that deny the universality of the belief. Jehovah's Witnesses and Christadelphians.[00:45:34] Katie Dooley: But I do know atheists that believe in ghosts, which is funny to me.[00:45:37] Preston Meyer: Right? You can believe in ghosts without believing in God.[00:45:39] Katie Dooley: No, but I just.[00:45:41] Preston Meyer: No. I think if you do believe in ghosts, it's easy to talk somebody into believing that there's more. And then bam, you get into the mysterious agnostic belief in some sort of god.[00:45:56] Katie Dooley: Or some sort of something.[00:45:58] Preston Meyer: Well, even even if the universe is God, you still got all God.[00:46:01] Katie Dooley: Yeah. Anyway, I was so excited to find a universal belief, its not even universal that puppies are adorable.[00:46:09] Preston Meyer: Right? Puppies are haram.[00:46:12] Katie Dooley: Are haram. Anyway.[00:46:14] Preston Meyer: All right, so many Buddhists celebrate a ghost festival. Where they offer food to ghosts who might linger. This is an expression of compassion mostly, which is one of the greatest virtues of Buddhism. And in return, the ghosts do not bother the community, which seems to usually work, or, depending on your measure of things, maybe always works.[00:46:39] Katie Dooley: Because they don't exist.[00:46:41] Preston Meyer: Right? Um, ghosts might also move onto a realm specifically for hungry ghosts, where there are no offerings and everybody is just hungry all the time.[00:46:57] Katie Dooley: That sounds scary.[00:46:58] Preston Meyer: That sounds like hell. I feel like this is a really nice way of saying they're in hell.[00:47:04] Katie Dooley: Yeah, I don't want to be hungry.[00:47:06] Preston Meyer: Yeah. That sucks. In the Tibetan tradition. A bothersome ghost can be captured with a special trap and extra killed with a ritual dagger, sending it to be reborn again.[00:47:20] Katie Dooley: My, do you know what that reminds me of? When people say he was killed to death, I'm like, uh huh, uh huh. Yep.[00:47:27] Preston Meyer: Redundant. [00:47:28] Preston Meyer: Murder-Death-Killed.[00:47:29] Katie Dooley: Murdered. Death killed. He was murdered to death.[00:47:33] Preston Meyer: But if a ghost is sticking around, that's. Yeah, there is a procedure in place to kill the ghost so that it is not an operating ghost any further.[00:47:44] Katie Dooley: I was going to say that's the only context in which I will accept killed to death is when you're killing a ghost.[00:47:51] Preston Meyer: Yeah, it's. It doesn't fit in the frame that we have for ghosts here. It's different than exorcism, which is kind of what we would talk about, about getting rid of a ghost. But there there are some, some commonalities. There is one particular ghost that I think is rather interesting. And the Dalai Lama agrees. Maybe not for the same reason. Dorjee Shugden is a powerful 17th century monk, I say is because that's what some people believe. In Tibet, he's revered by some who claim that his lingering ghost is a god. Most Buddhists don't really mess with arguments about theology. Don't worry about God's worry about your own path through samsara.[00:48:40] Katie Dooley: This one is hot topic.[00:48:42] Preston Meyer: Yeah, because a lot of people believe that Shugden is a God that is, like worthy of worship and like focus on him a fair bit. And other people, not so much. Of course, the Dalai Lama is not a fan at all. He says that Shugden is an evil spirit. And yeah, this division is causing a lot of contention in Tibet.[00:49:06] Katie Dooley: Sikhs, Sikhism, like Buddhists and Hindus, believe in reincarnation, which is interesting because it's also a monotheistic religion. Remember, it's the baby of Hinduism and Islam.[00:49:18] Preston Meyer: Hindu's a little bit monotheistic. That's true. Depending on your interpretation of all of the things and expressions of God.[00:49:26] Katie Dooley: Um, so Sikhs believe in reincarnation that comes from the Hinduism side and to eventually escape the cycle and become one with God, but only one God. I guess, as you pointed out, Brahma.[00:49:39] Preston Meyer: Right, one, three, 700 million, whatever.[00:49:43] Katie Dooley: It's fine. Cremation is the preferred and traditionally accepted method to deal with the deceased in Sikhism. This is the first time we've seen that. [00:49:54] Preston Meyer: It's like a system built around being wise in a very densely populated part of the world. Thought of a solution to one of a few problems.[00:50:06] Katie Dooley: Family members are expected to witness the cremation process, which I thought was interesting. I don't think that's very typical here.[00:50:12] Preston Meyer: I don't know if we make it very convenient to witness a cremation here.[00:50:16] Katie Dooley: I think you can if you ask, but I don't think it's typicalbecause when we put down Paige, if you've heard our little jingles on the podcast, there's no more jingles anymore. It was an option to watch her be cremated. And I was like, no, I'm good. But I haven't had a human in my life cremated recently, so I don't know.[00:50:35] Preston Meyer: Fingers crossed that it doesn't happen.[00:50:37] Katie Dooley: I'm gonna do that.[00:50:38] Preston Meyer: And if you're curious why people cross their fingers or knock on wood, we did an episode on that a little while ago.[00:50:45] Katie Dooley: Ashes are scattered into a river. They believe that the body should be returned to the earth, and that the family left behind doesn't carry this attachment to the body. In instances where Sikhs may choose burial, headstones are not allowed because the body is just that shell that we've seen in the other Dharmic religions. There should be no attachment to the body. A Sikh funeral is antam sanskar. Antam Sanskar which translates to final ceremony. TThe deceased Sikh is dressed in their five Sikh articles of faith before the funeral and cremation. So that's the Kesh, Kanga, Katcha, Khara and kirpan. If you want to know what those are.[00:51:31] Preston Meyer: Check out.[00:51:32] Katie Dooley: Our episode. One of those is a little knife. Yeah, that's the kirpan. After a funeral service, family and friends gather to read the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Which is the final guru and the holy book.[00:51:46] Preston Meyer: So as an heir to both Hindu and Muslim philosophies, the ideas of ghosts live in both realms. To some extent, we do have the worry of the ghosts of the abused, that maybe they'll come back and cause some problems, and it's kind of hard to work that out of the faith when it's still living in at least the more secular portion of the Hindu reality. Yeah. Nothing terribly new and exciting there.[00:52:13] Katie Dooley: Now we have some outliers, some that attach directly to religion. Some are just cultural practices around death. Now that we all know what Zoroastrianism is. They are actually doing something very similar to the sky funerals, they have a tower of silence.[00:52:27] Preston Meyer: That sounds really cool.[00:52:29] Katie Dooley: It does. They put their dead on this tower raised platform for scavengers and the elements to aid in decomposition. It is a circular ray structure used just for this purpose. This keeps corpses which are considered to be unclean, away from the sacred elements of fire, earth and water.[00:52:53] Preston Meyer: Up in the air.[00:52:55] Katie Dooley: Well, there's not much you can do about that. I figured it this way. Right. You either has to be Earth. Well, I guess any of them. One of them has to be tainted, though, to get rid of the body. So they've opted for air and give it to the animals. I didn't read the full article because it was behind a paywall, which I hate, but, uh, there's no Towers of Silence in in the West. So that has led Zoroastrians to have to compromise on their last funeral rites and traditions, which is kind of sad. I mean, right, and this is where.[00:53:28] Preston Meyer: Fire is such a big thing, there's always these these fire temples for Zoroastrianism. And part of me wants to say, well, just build a separate fire for cremation, but that is still putting an unclean thing in sacred fire.[00:53:44] Katie Dooley: But and this is where, you know, I said at the top of the episode, some things make a lot of sense, like getting rid of a body in a very both economical and ecological way makes a ton of sense, and I don't think it gets more sanitary than a tower of silence. Whatever, you could argue a sky burial mound could get into the water system or whatever. But yeah, you're right. The West is so uptight about. [00:54:14] Preston Meyer: Dead bodies.[00:54:15] Katie Dooley: Dead bodies, so do I think. You know, eating a tree to die makes a lot of sense. No. Do I think, uh, sky burial does? Yeah.[00:54:24] Preston Meyer: Yeah. Fair.[00:54:25] Katie Dooley: And so it made me sad for them. Like, imagine not being able to have a funeral the way you won't have a funeral for a loved one.[00:54:32] Preston Meyer: There's. There's got to be a way that we can work around existing systems to make that work out.[00:54:39] Katie Dooley: I don't know, I feel like you. Well, no, because there'd still be laws. But the solution is buying private land, right? But you still have to circumvent laws with dead bodies. And I don't know what laws.[00:54:49] Preston Meyer: Cops aren't allowed on our property.[00:54:51] Katie Dooley: Yeah, um.[00:54:52] Preston Meyer: What's the tower for? None of your business. It's a religious structure.[00:54:55] Katie Dooley: You can't see what's on top of it. Of course we have, of course, drones and airplanes and all sorts of things. People know there's dead.[00:55:01] Preston Meyer: There's. Yeah. New project. I'm going to design a structure that isn't super friendly to drones, where you could have a tower of silence.[00:55:13] Katie Dooley: Okay.[00:55:16] Preston Meyer: This would be a thing that will happen a lot more easily if I knew people who were Zoroastrians.[00:55:24] Katie Dooley: Well, if you know a Zoroastrian... If you know Zoroastrian, put them in touch with us. I would just love to interview them and, uh, Preston can talk about his scheme with them.[00:55:37] Preston Meyer: Yep. All right. New Orleans jazz funeral is a fun little extra thing to talk about. Yeah. So, Louisiana. I've never been. Have you been to Louisiana?[00:55:50] Katie Dooley: No. It's actually quite high on my list of places in the States to go. Um, I would really like to go to New Orleans.[00:55:56] Preston Meyer: Yeah, it's from from what I've seen on TV and movies. A great collection of people. That's about what I got for my own knowledge. But luckily we do reading.[00:56:09] Katie Dooley: Yeah. And I mean, I this is nice because we have talked about Voodoo and a little bit of Hoodoo in the past.[00:56:15] Preston Meyer: Yeah. So there's strong colonial past there. Connects to Europe, Africa and the Caribbean. There is a great tradition of military style brass bands at these funeral processions. You can you can find videos on YouTube. They're great. Mix that with African spiritual practices, Catholic influences. And you know, this being the birthplace of jazz, New Orleans has a pretty unique funerary tradition. Lots of dancing. I've seen more than one casket drop.[00:56:48] Katie Dooley: I mean, that person doesn't care anymore.[00:56:52] Preston Meyer: And everybody's having a good time. You're like, for sure there are going to be a couple living people who are a little uncomfortable with dropping a casket, but that's not a thing that has to be remembered. Yeah. They really incorporate celebration into the mourning. Yeah. You lost somebody you love, but you get to celebrate the time you did enjoy with them and celebrate the fact that you've been brought together with your community and family.[00:57:17] Katie Dooley: You know, I'm just going to touch on this right now because I'm thinking of it. Our good friend Sarah Snyder, our very first ever guest on the podcast, she shared a I guess it's a meme that's not a funny one the other day. And she said, things that are said at funerals should be set at birthdays. And I thought, I'm going to start doing that. I'm going to write long loving cards to my friends now. So I like it. It doesn't all get left to the last minute.[00:57:41] Preston Meyer: Yeah.[00:57:42] Katie Dooley: Ghanaian fantasy coffins. So interesting. We'll post some pictures on the day this launches on our Discord. These are works of art used by the Ga people of Southern Ghana. They believe that our lives continue into the next world the same as they did on Earth. So the coffins represent the deceased by using different symbols. Fantasy coffins are shaped and painted. You can get them in ships, mermaids, chickens, shoes and so much more. And yeah, often they use it to represent what your job was in life. So pilots will be buried in planes and.[00:58:20] Preston Meyer: So I can get I wrap my head around a lot of careers that would get you buried in something that's shaped like a ship. What do I do I have to do to get buried inside a mermaid?[00:58:32] Katie Dooley: I would also say ship related work. Ocean navigating. You can also be a professional mermaid now.[00:58:41] Preston Meyer: Okay, fair.[00:58:43] Katie Dooley: I don't know how popular that is in Ghana I feel like it's a real white person thing.[00:58:46] Preston Meyer: Famadihana is the traditional Madagascar ceremony of the Malagasy people, of turning of the bones. It's basically just a way to continually remember the deceased. Bodies of ancestors are removed from their resting place, rewrapped and their names written on the shroud to be remembered. That's kind of nice. A little gross.[00:59:11] Katie Dooley: Yeah, I was gonna say I want to be the person. There's like a there's a point where is horrible. And then once they're just bones, it's fine. But there's like the first couple of years where they're still icky. I wouldn't want to be that person.[00:59:24] Preston Meyer: But yeah, when it's sticky, it's a bad time. Yeah.[00:59:27] Katie Dooley: But once they're just clean bones, yeah, that's not so bad.[00:59:32] Preston Meyer: And depending on the situation, I mean, it might not even be a long time, right?[00:59:36] Katie Dooley: I don't know how long the body takes to decompose.[00:59:39] Preston Meyer: It varies on region. Right. Well Madagascar is wet.[00:59:42] Katie Dooley: Yeah. And then I mean over here they don't decompose because we put so many fucking toxic shit into them, which.[00:59:47] Preston Meyer: There is that[00:59:49] Katie Dooley: Please don't do that to me. I want to be a mushroom.[00:59:52] Preston Meyer: Okay?[00:59:53] Katie Dooley: Hollow me out and then turn me into mushrooms.[00:59:55] Preston Meyer: Yeah. Okay, so there is more to this process. They don't just wrap them up and then stick them back where they found them. They dance with their skeletons. They have a real party. I'm almost. I'm gonna say Mexican Day of the dead level.[01:00:12] Katie Dooley: Yeah.[01:00:13] Preston Meyer: But there's this practice creeps a lot of people out, and so they're doing it less and less. I don't know if it needs to be stamped out. It doesn't feel like that is necessary, but the Christian missionaries have really put a lot of pressure on them to stop, even though the Catholic Church is okay with it.[01:00:32] Katie Dooley: The Catholic Church has come out to say they're okay with it. So I'm guessing these are Protestant missionaries that are like, maybe we shouldn't dance with bones. Catholic Church has come out and said, no, it's fine. Have fun.[01:00:43] Preston Meyer: I mean, especially this newest pope. He's mostly like, yeah, keep doing your good things. Please don't leave the church.[01:00:52] Katie Dooley: I just heard by the time this episode comes out, this will be really old news, but that he's, like, not approved of gay marriage. But there's steps being taken to... You can't call them marriage, but you can get blessed.[01:01:07] Preston Meyer: Yeah. The Pope did a little while ago announced that he will bless gay unions, which is. It's a step. It is a step.[01:01:24] Katie Dooley: So, anyway, uh, Preston mentioned the day of the dead, and we've talked about it a little bit before. And it is, of course, the subject of video or popular animated films. The day of the Dead is November 2nd, religiously. Secularly. It has extended to more than a single day, and the festival is much more fun. The ghosts aren't likely offended, right?[01:01:47] Preston Meyer: It's just loads of rum. Loads and loads and loads of rum.[01:01:50] Katie Dooley: For that part of the world.[01:01:51] Preston Meyer: Bright colors and parades. All right, so I did a bunch of deep diving into near death experiences. Um, so research into this field of near-death experiences is relatively new. We haven't been talking about it for even 200 years quite yet, really. And so it started when people started regularly falling from heights great enough to have time to contemplate their lives. So fairly recent history. And so when we started reviving people from clinical deaths, then we started getting a lot more people giving reports on their near-death experiences, experiencing the sorts o

This webinar is the second in a series offered by the Buddhist Ministry Initiative at Harvard Divinity School. It featured a panel discussion of contributors to part II of Refuge in the Storm: Buddhist Voices in Crisis Care, edited by Nathan Jishin Michon. The panel included Kin Cheung (George) Lee and Lourdes Argüelles (Lopon Dorje Khandro), and was co-moderated by Rev. Dr. Nathan Jishin Michon and Rev. Dr. Monica Sanford. Bios: Kin Cheung (George) Lee Dr. Kin Cheung (George) Lee is a California licensed psychologist (PSY28022), a California Board of Psychology recognized clinical supervisor, and a registered clinical psychologist of the Hong Kong Associations of Doctor in Clinical Psychology. Clinically, he is a fellow member of the Asian Academy of Family Therapy, certified therapist in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and certified therapist in Managing and Adapting Practice. In the past 17 years, he has provided psychological services to individuals, couples, and families in various non-government agencies, community mental health centers, and schools in Hong Kong and the United States. Academically, Dr. Lee is a lecturer at The Centre of Buddhist Studies, The University of Hong Kong and a founding member of the Master of Buddhist Counselling program as well as the Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Practice of Buddhist Counselling. He is the former assistant chair of the Department of Psychology at University of the West and former Director of Clinical Training at Alliant International University, Hong Kong program. He is the author of the The Guide to Buddhist Counseling and 小空間(translated: "A Little Emptiness"). Lourdes Argüelles (Lopon Dorje Khandro) Born in Cuba and educated around the world, Lourdes Arguelles, PhD (Lopon Dorje Khandro) is a Ngkma ordained by HE Garchen Rinpoche and a Lopon installed by HH Chetsang Rinpoche, the head of the Drikung Kagyu tradition. She is also Professor Emerita of Education and Cultural Studies at Claremont Graduate University in California as well as a retired California licensed psychotherapist and community organizer who worked pro-bono with survivors of domestic and political violence in the US-Mexico Borderlands. Lopon-la currently lives in retreat except when she is attending dying beings or teaching at Drikung Kyobpa Choling, a Tiberan Buddhist monastery in Escondido,California and to its Sangha in Latin America. Monica Sanford Monica Sanford joined Harvard Divinity School as assistant dean for multireligious ministry in September 2021. Sanford comes to HDS from the Rochester Institute of Technology, where she became one of only two Buddhists in North America to lead a multireligious life department at a college or university. Sanford is one of the first full-trained Buddhist practical theologians in the United States, having earned her PhD in practical theology from Claremont School of Theology. Sanford also holds an undergraduate degree in design from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master of divinity degree from University of the West. Sanford is an ordained Buddhist lay minister in a Chan lineage and trained as a Buddhist chaplain. Her recent book, Kalyāṇamitra: A Buddhist Model for Spiritual Care (January 2021), is the first textbook for Buddhist chaplains. Nathan Jishin Michon Nathan Jishin Michon is a JSPS visiting scholar focused on Buddhist chaplaincy at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan. Jishin is editor of Refuge in the Storm: Buddhist Voices in Crisis Care and A Thousand Hands: Guidebook to Caring for Your Buddhist Community, among other works. Jishin especially focuses their research on Japanese Buddhist chaplaincy, chaplain training, and contemplative forms of care. They previously helped in disaster relief and hospice care. This event took place November 14, 2023. For more information: https://hds.harvard.edu/ A transcript is forthcoming.

Welcome to Dive Into Reiki With... an interview series that explores the journeys of high-profile Reiki teachers & practitioners. Hosted by Nathalie Jaspar. You can support the mission of spreading Reiki education through my Patreon for less than the cost of a cup of coffee or for free by rating this podcast on your app!IMPORTANT NOTICE: Dive Into Reiki's mission is to bring information that allows Reiki practitioners from all over the world to deepen their practice. Although this information is shared freely on my platforms, all content is tied to copyrights. Please do not repurpose or translate these interviews without previous authorization. EPISODE 41 - DANA YOUNG Dana Young grew up in an interfaith household in Queens, NY and was introduced by friends and neighbors to cultural and spiritual practices from all over the world. Dana was originally attracted to Reiki practice because of an abiding interest in Eastern spirituality, specifically Zen Buddhism.Dana has been practicing Reiki since 2006 and owns Dragonfly Reiki in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a fully qualified Shihan or teacher of Komyo Reiki Do, and a direct student of Hyakuten Inamoto, a Japanese Buddhist monk and the founder of this system. Dana is also certified as a Reiki Master Teacher in the Usui System for Natural Healing through her teacher, Brad Dixon. She is a certified life coach with additional seminary-level training in spiritual formation and direction.You can contact Dana on her website. Nathalie Jaspar, the founder of Dive Into Reiki,  is a Reiki master with over a decade of experience. She's a graduate teacher from the International House of Reiki, led by world-renowned Reiki master Frans Stiene. She also trained with the Center for True Health and the International Center for Reiki. To gain an even deeper understanding of Reiki practice, Nathalie went to Japan to practice Zen Buddhism at the Chokai-san International Zendo. She is the author of Reiki as a Spiritual Practice: an Illustrated Guide and the Reiki Healing Handbook (Rockridge Press). Support the show

Volume 11 of one of Japan's greatest inventions, City Pop, is a tribute to Obon, a fusion of the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors.   City Pop is a fusion of Western styled pop, rock, disco, funk, R&B, Adult Contemporary and yacht rock. This Japanese concoction had its heyday during the late 70s and early 80s, a time when Japan was riding high in its bubble economy. The music in this episode doesn't fully represent the Obon festivals, but in the spirit of City Pop, each of these songs can convey that wonderful August charm, which is when Obon is usually held in Japan.   We hope that you enjoy the visuals of today's show as well! I'll credit each one as soon as I can.   Today's tunes include;   (0:00) Fantasy - Mieko Nakahara (1982) (4:59) Summer Orange No Koi - Noriyo Ikeda (1980) (9:13) Summer Blue - Bread and Butter (1979) (13:54) Summer Emotions - Toshiki Kadomatsu (1984) (18:04) Just A Joke - Yurie Kokubu (1983)

This week I am joined by Author Dr. Emily Sigalow. Dr. Sigalow wrote American JewBu: Jews, Buddhists and Religious Change. We touch on the influences Buddhism had on the American Jewish community and what was birthed by these two communities blending. We highlight the life of Julius Goldwater who had a significant role in helping Japanese Buddhist who were sent to internment camps in the 1940's in the US. Dr. Sigalow leaves the audience with some words of encouragement for anyone who is interested in creating their own meaning-making system through the hybridity of different religions or ideas. To find out more about Dr. Sigalow head over to her website and pick up her book here.    Podcast Production: Written, directed, and edited by Krista Xiomara Produced by LightCasting Original Music by Mr. Pixie Follow this podcast on Instagram @ianwpodcast 

A selection of poems written by Dogen taken from various texts: ** The Zen Poetry of Dogen: Verses from the Mountain of Eternal Peace - translated by Steven Heine ** The Enlightened Heart, An Anthology of Sacred Poetry - translated by Stephen Mitchell Dōgen Zenji (1200 - 1253) was a Japanese Buddhist priest, writer, poet, philosopher, and founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. Originally ordained as a monk in the Tendai School in Kyoto, Dogen was ultimately dissatisfied with its teaching and traveled to China to seek out what he believed to be a more authentic Buddhism. Upon his return to Japan, he began promoting the practice of zazen (sitting meditation) through literary works. He eventually left Kyoto for the mountainous countryside where he founded the monastery Eihei-ji, which remains the head temple of the Sōtō school today.

Taiko is a rich and varied form of drumming that is part of Japan's cultural heritage. While it originally started in other parts of Asia, it emerged in Japan over 2000 years ago. It became a powerful motivator in military preparations and evolved into Japanese Buddhist and Shinto religions as a sacred instrument. Taiko literally means "drum" in Japanese, and the musical discipline of Taiko takes that instrument to its most impactful limits. Because of its origins in patriarcal warfare and religious traditions, Taiko has been done for centuries only by men. Forty years ago, women musicians around the world became enthralled with the art form and have individually created their own Taiko compositions and disciplines. None of their efforts were collaborative or integrated -- each artist created and performed on her own. Until now.  Jennifer Weir, our guest today, is the Executive Director of TaikoArts Midwest. She decided to create the very first concert that would bring together all the female, and nonbinary, Taiko superstars to perform together on one stage in one mind-blowing performance. While doing so, she collaborated with a film team to make the documentary Finding Her Beat to tell the story of how the concert came together, and more broadly, spotlighting the evolution of an art form that now can belong to women artists as well as men. With co-host Brody Levesque

Taiko is a rich and varied form of drumming that is part of Japan's cultural heritage. While it originally started in other parts of Asia, it emerged in Japan over 2000 years ago. It became a powerful motivator in military preparations and evolved into Japanese Buddhist and Shinto religions as a sacred instrument. Taiko literally means "drum" in Japanese, and the musical discipline of Taiko takes that instrument to its most impactful limits. Because of its origins in patriarcal warfare and religious traditions, Taiko has been done for centuries only by men. Forty years ago, women musicians around the world became enthralled with the art form and have individually created their own Taiko compositions and disciplines. None of their efforts were collaborative or integrated -- each artist created and performed on her own. Until now.  Jennifer Weir, our guest today, is the Executive Director of TaikoArts Midwest. She decided to create the very first concert that would bring together all the female, and nonbinary, Taiko superstars to perform together on one stage in one mind-blowing performance. While doing so, she collaborated with a film team to make the documentary Finding Her Beat to tell the story of how the concert came together, and more broadly, spotlighting the evolution of an art form that now can belong to women artists as well as men. With co-host Brody Levesque

An ancient Japanese Buddhist ritual which involves a red baby bib, a small statue and water, has been taken up by women wanting to have some way of marking a miscarriage and the life not lived. New Generation Thinker Sabina Dosani is a psychiatrist and writer doing research at the University of East Anglia. Her essay looks at the language we use for unborn children who die and at what we can learn about mourning rituals from the work of the nineteenth century French sociologist Emile Durkheim, to modern services performed by Rabbis, in cathedrals and in peoples' back gardens. Producer: Ruth Watts

An ancient Japanese Buddhist ritual which involves a red baby bib, a small statue and water, has been taken up by women wanting to have some way of marking a miscarriage and the life not lived. New Generation Thinker Sabina Dosani is a psychiatrist and writer doing research at the University of East Anglia. Her essay looks at the language we use for unborn children who die and at what we can learn about mourning rituals from the work of the nineteenth century French sociologist Emile Durkheim, to modern services performed by Rabbis, in cathedrals and in peoples' back gardens. Producer: Ruth Watts

An ancient Japanese Buddhist ritual which involves a red baby bib, a small statue and water, has been taken up by women wanting to have some way of marking a miscarriage and the life not lived. New Generation Thinker Sabina Dosani is a psychiatrist and writer doing research at the University of East Anglia. Her essay looks at the language we use for unborn children who die and at what we can learn about mourning rituals from the work of the 19th-century French sociologist Emile Durkheim, to modern services performed by Rabbis, in cathedrals and in peoples' back gardens. Producer: Ruth Watts Sabina Dosani is one of the ten New Generation Thinkers chosen in 2022 to work with BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to share their research. You can hear her in Free Thinking discussion episodes called Mental Health, Stepmothers and Depicting AIDS in Drama. All episodes of Free Thinking and this Essay series from New Generation Thinkers are available on BBC Sounds and to download as Arts & Ideas podcasts.

From the fourteenth through the nineteenth centuries Japanese monks created hundreds of maps to construct and locate their place in a Buddhist world. Expansively illustrated with multiple maps and illustrations, The Japanese Buddhist World Map: Religious Vision and the Cartographic Imagination (University of Hawai'i Press, 2021) by D. Max Moerman is the first monograph of its kind to explore the largely unknown archive of Japanese Buddhist world maps and analyze their production, reproduction, and reception. In examining these fascinating sources of visual and material culture, Moerman argues for an alternative history of Japanese Buddhism—one that compels us to recognize the role of the Buddhist geographic imaginary in a culture that encompassed multiple cartographic and cosmological world views. The contents and contexts of Japanese Buddhist world maps reveal the ambivalent and shifting position of Japan in the Buddhist world, its encounter and negotiation with foreign ideas and technologies, and the possibilities for a global history of Buddhism and science. Moerman's visual and intellectual history traces the multiple trajectories of Japanese Buddhist world maps, beginning with the earliest extant Japanese map of the world: a painting by a fourteenth-century Japanese monk charting the cosmology and geography of India and Central Asia based on an account written by a seventh-century Chinese pilgrim-monk. He goes on to discuss the cartographic inclusion and marginal position of Japan, the culture of the copy and the power of replication in Japanese Buddhism, and the transcultural processes of engagement and response to new visions of the world produced by Iberian Christians, Chinese Buddhists, and the Japanese maritime trade. Later chapters explore the transformations in the media and messages of Buddhist cartography in the age of print culture and in intellectual debates during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries over cosmology and epistemology and the polemics of Buddhist science. The Japanese Buddhist World Map offers a wholly innovative picture of Japanese Buddhism that acknowledges the possibility of multiple and heterogeneous modernities and alternative visions of Japan and the world. D. Max Moerman is a Professor in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures at Barnard College of Columbia University. His research interests lie in the visual and material culture of Japanese religions. Shatrunjay Mall is a PhD candidate in the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He works on transnational Asian history, and his dissertation explores intellectual, political, and cultural intersections and affinities that emerged between Indian anti-colonialism and imperial Japan in the twentieth century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

From the fourteenth through the nineteenth centuries Japanese monks created hundreds of maps to construct and locate their place in a Buddhist world. Expansively illustrated with multiple maps and illustrations, The Japanese Buddhist World Map: Religious Vision and the Cartographic Imagination (University of Hawai'i Press, 2021) by D. Max Moerman is the first monograph of its kind to explore the largely unknown archive of Japanese Buddhist world maps and analyze their production, reproduction, and reception. In examining these fascinating sources of visual and material culture, Moerman argues for an alternative history of Japanese Buddhism—one that compels us to recognize the role of the Buddhist geographic imaginary in a culture that encompassed multiple cartographic and cosmological world views. The contents and contexts of Japanese Buddhist world maps reveal the ambivalent and shifting position of Japan in the Buddhist world, its encounter and negotiation with foreign ideas and technologies, and the possibilities for a global history of Buddhism and science. Moerman's visual and intellectual history traces the multiple trajectories of Japanese Buddhist world maps, beginning with the earliest extant Japanese map of the world: a painting by a fourteenth-century Japanese monk charting the cosmology and geography of India and Central Asia based on an account written by a seventh-century Chinese pilgrim-monk. He goes on to discuss the cartographic inclusion and marginal position of Japan, the culture of the copy and the power of replication in Japanese Buddhism, and the transcultural processes of engagement and response to new visions of the world produced by Iberian Christians, Chinese Buddhists, and the Japanese maritime trade. Later chapters explore the transformations in the media and messages of Buddhist cartography in the age of print culture and in intellectual debates during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries over cosmology and epistemology and the polemics of Buddhist science. The Japanese Buddhist World Map offers a wholly innovative picture of Japanese Buddhism that acknowledges the possibility of multiple and heterogeneous modernities and alternative visions of Japan and the world. D. Max Moerman is a Professor in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures at Barnard College of Columbia University. His research interests lie in the visual and material culture of Japanese religions. Shatrunjay Mall is a PhD candidate in the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He works on transnational Asian history, and his dissertation explores intellectual, political, and cultural intersections and affinities that emerged between Indian anti-colonialism and imperial Japan in the twentieth century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

From the fourteenth through the nineteenth centuries Japanese monks created hundreds of maps to construct and locate their place in a Buddhist world. Expansively illustrated with multiple maps and illustrations, The Japanese Buddhist World Map: Religious Vision and the Cartographic Imagination (University of Hawai'i Press, 2021) by D. Max Moerman is the first monograph of its kind to explore the largely unknown archive of Japanese Buddhist world maps and analyze their production, reproduction, and reception. In examining these fascinating sources of visual and material culture, Moerman argues for an alternative history of Japanese Buddhism—one that compels us to recognize the role of the Buddhist geographic imaginary in a culture that encompassed multiple cartographic and cosmological world views. The contents and contexts of Japanese Buddhist world maps reveal the ambivalent and shifting position of Japan in the Buddhist world, its encounter and negotiation with foreign ideas and technologies, and the possibilities for a global history of Buddhism and science. Moerman's visual and intellectual history traces the multiple trajectories of Japanese Buddhist world maps, beginning with the earliest extant Japanese map of the world: a painting by a fourteenth-century Japanese monk charting the cosmology and geography of India and Central Asia based on an account written by a seventh-century Chinese pilgrim-monk. He goes on to discuss the cartographic inclusion and marginal position of Japan, the culture of the copy and the power of replication in Japanese Buddhism, and the transcultural processes of engagement and response to new visions of the world produced by Iberian Christians, Chinese Buddhists, and the Japanese maritime trade. Later chapters explore the transformations in the media and messages of Buddhist cartography in the age of print culture and in intellectual debates during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries over cosmology and epistemology and the polemics of Buddhist science. The Japanese Buddhist World Map offers a wholly innovative picture of Japanese Buddhism that acknowledges the possibility of multiple and heterogeneous modernities and alternative visions of Japan and the world. D. Max Moerman is a Professor in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures at Barnard College of Columbia University. His research interests lie in the visual and material culture of Japanese religions. Shatrunjay Mall is a PhD candidate in the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He works on transnational Asian history, and his dissertation explores intellectual, political, and cultural intersections and affinities that emerged between Indian anti-colonialism and imperial Japan in the twentieth century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

From the fourteenth through the nineteenth centuries Japanese monks created hundreds of maps to construct and locate their place in a Buddhist world. Expansively illustrated with multiple maps and illustrations, The Japanese Buddhist World Map: Religious Vision and the Cartographic Imagination (University of Hawai'i Press, 2021) by D. Max Moerman is the first monograph of its kind to explore the largely unknown archive of Japanese Buddhist world maps and analyze their production, reproduction, and reception. In examining these fascinating sources of visual and material culture, Moerman argues for an alternative history of Japanese Buddhism—one that compels us to recognize the role of the Buddhist geographic imaginary in a culture that encompassed multiple cartographic and cosmological world views. The contents and contexts of Japanese Buddhist world maps reveal the ambivalent and shifting position of Japan in the Buddhist world, its encounter and negotiation with foreign ideas and technologies, and the possibilities for a global history of Buddhism and science. Moerman's visual and intellectual history traces the multiple trajectories of Japanese Buddhist world maps, beginning with the earliest extant Japanese map of the world: a painting by a fourteenth-century Japanese monk charting the cosmology and geography of India and Central Asia based on an account written by a seventh-century Chinese pilgrim-monk. He goes on to discuss the cartographic inclusion and marginal position of Japan, the culture of the copy and the power of replication in Japanese Buddhism, and the transcultural processes of engagement and response to new visions of the world produced by Iberian Christians, Chinese Buddhists, and the Japanese maritime trade. Later chapters explore the transformations in the media and messages of Buddhist cartography in the age of print culture and in intellectual debates during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries over cosmology and epistemology and the polemics of Buddhist science. The Japanese Buddhist World Map offers a wholly innovative picture of Japanese Buddhism that acknowledges the possibility of multiple and heterogeneous modernities and alternative visions of Japan and the world. D. Max Moerman is a Professor in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures at Barnard College of Columbia University. His research interests lie in the visual and material culture of Japanese religions. Shatrunjay Mall is a PhD candidate in the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He works on transnational Asian history, and his dissertation explores intellectual, political, and cultural intersections and affinities that emerged between Indian anti-colonialism and imperial Japan in the twentieth century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

From the fourteenth through the nineteenth centuries Japanese monks created hundreds of maps to construct and locate their place in a Buddhist world. Expansively illustrated with multiple maps and illustrations, The Japanese Buddhist World Map: Religious Vision and the Cartographic Imagination (University of Hawai'i Press, 2021) by D. Max Moerman is the first monograph of its kind to explore the largely unknown archive of Japanese Buddhist world maps and analyze their production, reproduction, and reception. In examining these fascinating sources of visual and material culture, Moerman argues for an alternative history of Japanese Buddhism—one that compels us to recognize the role of the Buddhist geographic imaginary in a culture that encompassed multiple cartographic and cosmological world views. The contents and contexts of Japanese Buddhist world maps reveal the ambivalent and shifting position of Japan in the Buddhist world, its encounter and negotiation with foreign ideas and technologies, and the possibilities for a global history of Buddhism and science. Moerman's visual and intellectual history traces the multiple trajectories of Japanese Buddhist world maps, beginning with the earliest extant Japanese map of the world: a painting by a fourteenth-century Japanese monk charting the cosmology and geography of India and Central Asia based on an account written by a seventh-century Chinese pilgrim-monk. He goes on to discuss the cartographic inclusion and marginal position of Japan, the culture of the copy and the power of replication in Japanese Buddhism, and the transcultural processes of engagement and response to new visions of the world produced by Iberian Christians, Chinese Buddhists, and the Japanese maritime trade. Later chapters explore the transformations in the media and messages of Buddhist cartography in the age of print culture and in intellectual debates during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries over cosmology and epistemology and the polemics of Buddhist science. The Japanese Buddhist World Map offers a wholly innovative picture of Japanese Buddhism that acknowledges the possibility of multiple and heterogeneous modernities and alternative visions of Japan and the world. D. Max Moerman is a Professor in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures at Barnard College of Columbia University. His research interests lie in the visual and material culture of Japanese religions. Shatrunjay Mall is a PhD candidate in the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He works on transnational Asian history, and his dissertation explores intellectual, political, and cultural intersections and affinities that emerged between Indian anti-colonialism and imperial Japan in the twentieth century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the fourteenth through the nineteenth centuries Japanese monks created hundreds of maps to construct and locate their place in a Buddhist world. Expansively illustrated with multiple maps and illustrations, The Japanese Buddhist World Map: Religious Vision and the Cartographic Imagination (University of Hawai'i Press, 2021) by D. Max Moerman is the first monograph of its kind to explore the largely unknown archive of Japanese Buddhist world maps and analyze their production, reproduction, and reception. In examining these fascinating sources of visual and material culture, Moerman argues for an alternative history of Japanese Buddhism—one that compels us to recognize the role of the Buddhist geographic imaginary in a culture that encompassed multiple cartographic and cosmological world views. The contents and contexts of Japanese Buddhist world maps reveal the ambivalent and shifting position of Japan in the Buddhist world, its encounter and negotiation with foreign ideas and technologies, and the possibilities for a global history of Buddhism and science. Moerman's visual and intellectual history traces the multiple trajectories of Japanese Buddhist world maps, beginning with the earliest extant Japanese map of the world: a painting by a fourteenth-century Japanese monk charting the cosmology and geography of India and Central Asia based on an account written by a seventh-century Chinese pilgrim-monk. He goes on to discuss the cartographic inclusion and marginal position of Japan, the culture of the copy and the power of replication in Japanese Buddhism, and the transcultural processes of engagement and response to new visions of the world produced by Iberian Christians, Chinese Buddhists, and the Japanese maritime trade. Later chapters explore the transformations in the media and messages of Buddhist cartography in the age of print culture and in intellectual debates during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries over cosmology and epistemology and the polemics of Buddhist science. The Japanese Buddhist World Map offers a wholly innovative picture of Japanese Buddhism that acknowledges the possibility of multiple and heterogeneous modernities and alternative visions of Japan and the world. D. Max Moerman is a Professor in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures at Barnard College of Columbia University. His research interests lie in the visual and material culture of Japanese religions. Shatrunjay Mall is a PhD candidate in the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He works on transnational Asian history, and his dissertation explores intellectual, political, and cultural intersections and affinities that emerged between Indian anti-colonialism and imperial Japan in the twentieth century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/buddhist-studies

From the fourteenth through the nineteenth centuries Japanese monks created hundreds of maps to construct and locate their place in a Buddhist world. Expansively illustrated with multiple maps and illustrations, The Japanese Buddhist World Map: Religious Vision and the Cartographic Imagination (University of Hawai'i Press, 2021) by D. Max Moerman is the first monograph of its kind to explore the largely unknown archive of Japanese Buddhist world maps and analyze their production, reproduction, and reception. In examining these fascinating sources of visual and material culture, Moerman argues for an alternative history of Japanese Buddhism—one that compels us to recognize the role of the Buddhist geographic imaginary in a culture that encompassed multiple cartographic and cosmological world views. The contents and contexts of Japanese Buddhist world maps reveal the ambivalent and shifting position of Japan in the Buddhist world, its encounter and negotiation with foreign ideas and technologies, and the possibilities for a global history of Buddhism and science. Moerman's visual and intellectual history traces the multiple trajectories of Japanese Buddhist world maps, beginning with the earliest extant Japanese map of the world: a painting by a fourteenth-century Japanese monk charting the cosmology and geography of India and Central Asia based on an account written by a seventh-century Chinese pilgrim-monk. He goes on to discuss the cartographic inclusion and marginal position of Japan, the culture of the copy and the power of replication in Japanese Buddhism, and the transcultural processes of engagement and response to new visions of the world produced by Iberian Christians, Chinese Buddhists, and the Japanese maritime trade. Later chapters explore the transformations in the media and messages of Buddhist cartography in the age of print culture and in intellectual debates during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries over cosmology and epistemology and the polemics of Buddhist science. The Japanese Buddhist World Map offers a wholly innovative picture of Japanese Buddhism that acknowledges the possibility of multiple and heterogeneous modernities and alternative visions of Japan and the world. D. Max Moerman is a Professor in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures at Barnard College of Columbia University. His research interests lie in the visual and material culture of Japanese religions. Shatrunjay Mall is a PhD candidate in the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He works on transnational Asian history, and his dissertation explores intellectual, political, and cultural intersections and affinities that emerged between Indian anti-colonialism and imperial Japan in the twentieth century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/geography

From the fourteenth through the nineteenth centuries Japanese monks created hundreds of maps to construct and locate their place in a Buddhist world. Expansively illustrated with multiple maps and illustrations, The Japanese Buddhist World Map: Religious Vision and the Cartographic Imagination (University of Hawai'i Press, 2021) by D. Max Moerman is the first monograph of its kind to explore the largely unknown archive of Japanese Buddhist world maps and analyze their production, reproduction, and reception. In examining these fascinating sources of visual and material culture, Moerman argues for an alternative history of Japanese Buddhism—one that compels us to recognize the role of the Buddhist geographic imaginary in a culture that encompassed multiple cartographic and cosmological world views. The contents and contexts of Japanese Buddhist world maps reveal the ambivalent and shifting position of Japan in the Buddhist world, its encounter and negotiation with foreign ideas and technologies, and the possibilities for a global history of Buddhism and science. Moerman's visual and intellectual history traces the multiple trajectories of Japanese Buddhist world maps, beginning with the earliest extant Japanese map of the world: a painting by a fourteenth-century Japanese monk charting the cosmology and geography of India and Central Asia based on an account written by a seventh-century Chinese pilgrim-monk. He goes on to discuss the cartographic inclusion and marginal position of Japan, the culture of the copy and the power of replication in Japanese Buddhism, and the transcultural processes of engagement and response to new visions of the world produced by Iberian Christians, Chinese Buddhists, and the Japanese maritime trade. Later chapters explore the transformations in the media and messages of Buddhist cartography in the age of print culture and in intellectual debates during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries over cosmology and epistemology and the polemics of Buddhist science. The Japanese Buddhist World Map offers a wholly innovative picture of Japanese Buddhism that acknowledges the possibility of multiple and heterogeneous modernities and alternative visions of Japan and the world. D. Max Moerman is a Professor in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures at Barnard College of Columbia University. His research interests lie in the visual and material culture of Japanese religions. Shatrunjay Mall is a PhD candidate in the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He works on transnational Asian history, and his dissertation explores intellectual, political, and cultural intersections and affinities that emerged between Indian anti-colonialism and imperial Japan in the twentieth century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

From the fourteenth through the nineteenth centuries Japanese monks created hundreds of maps to construct and locate their place in a Buddhist world. Expansively illustrated with multiple maps and illustrations, The Japanese Buddhist World Map: Religious Vision and the Cartographic Imagination (University of Hawai'i Press, 2021) by D. Max Moerman is the first monograph of its kind to explore the largely unknown archive of Japanese Buddhist world maps and analyze their production, reproduction, and reception. In examining these fascinating sources of visual and material culture, Moerman argues for an alternative history of Japanese Buddhism—one that compels us to recognize the role of the Buddhist geographic imaginary in a culture that encompassed multiple cartographic and cosmological world views. The contents and contexts of Japanese Buddhist world maps reveal the ambivalent and shifting position of Japan in the Buddhist world, its encounter and negotiation with foreign ideas and technologies, and the possibilities for a global history of Buddhism and science. Moerman's visual and intellectual history traces the multiple trajectories of Japanese Buddhist world maps, beginning with the earliest extant Japanese map of the world: a painting by a fourteenth-century Japanese monk charting the cosmology and geography of India and Central Asia based on an account written by a seventh-century Chinese pilgrim-monk. He goes on to discuss the cartographic inclusion and marginal position of Japan, the culture of the copy and the power of replication in Japanese Buddhism, and the transcultural processes of engagement and response to new visions of the world produced by Iberian Christians, Chinese Buddhists, and the Japanese maritime trade. Later chapters explore the transformations in the media and messages of Buddhist cartography in the age of print culture and in intellectual debates during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries over cosmology and epistemology and the polemics of Buddhist science. The Japanese Buddhist World Map offers a wholly innovative picture of Japanese Buddhism that acknowledges the possibility of multiple and heterogeneous modernities and alternative visions of Japan and the world. D. Max Moerman is a Professor in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures at Barnard College of Columbia University. His research interests lie in the visual and material culture of Japanese religions. Shatrunjay Mall is a PhD candidate in the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He works on transnational Asian history, and his dissertation explores intellectual, political, and cultural intersections and affinities that emerged between Indian anti-colonialism and imperial Japan in the twentieth century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-technology-and-society

After spending her  first 5 years in Japanese Buddhist family, Dr. Rita Brock entered the US military world with her stepfather. After struggling to understand a world that was different from her Japanese Buddhist upbringing, she made many changes in life. Tune-in to find out.She will discuss these areas and so much more:-Starting over-How to deal with shock-How to deal with hatred-Why having someone to count on is important-What is spiritual health?-Why resonating with others help things make sense-Overcoming moral challenges-Some baseball banter, too!In addition to discussing what overwhelmed Americans can do to manage moral distress, including children as they being school again, Rita is also  working on a national project to help first responders suffering from moral injury distress and moral distress get the help they need.  She developed a program called ReST 4 First Responders which recently launched. Meet Rita Nakashima Brock, Rel. M., M.A., Ph.D.: Senior Vice President and Director of the Shay Moral Injury Center at Volunteers of America. She leads the organization's efforts to deepen understanding about moral injury in the many populations who experience it. The center builds on Volunteers of America's work, spanning more than a century, of helping veterans and others who live with this emotional trauma.She is a leading national expert on moral injury in combat veterans and has offered trainings for VA mental health providers, for professional chaplains, and for veterans and their families.In her first master's degree, Dr. Brock studied youth development, psychology of religion, and pastoral counseling and was employed as a youth minister. As we have someone on the show familiar with youth development, this week's spotlight story at the halfway point will an article titled, Adolescent mental health, from the World Health Organization.  Follow along here.Welcome to Episode #156 of A Mental Health Break - the podcast that normalizes the conversation around mental health. You are not alone. Check out all episodes weekly interviews since January 2020.This show is brought to you by: Tampa Counseling and Wellness- Dedicated to helping individuals looking to positively transform their lives through compassionate counseling and wellness coaching. If you struggle with depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues, call today for a free consultation. 1 813 520 2807For Potential Podcast Guests/ Digital Editing Inquiries, email PodcastsByLanci@Gmail.comMental Health Week BookMr. Lanci Talks Mental Health BookWebsiteYouTubeAdventure by MusicbyAden | https://soundcloud.com/musicbyadenHappy | https://soundcloud.com/morning-kulishow/happy-background-music-no-copyright-fun-royalty-free-music-free-downloadTune into That Entrepreneur Show here

Rachel Quist specializes in East Asian Buddhist imagery with focuses in pre-modern Japan and China. Her research centers on questions of interaction with imagery, materiality and object agency, and the accessibility of image-based practices. She has written on topics such as Buddhist reliquary design and expressivity, the didactic project underlying the hell tableau at Baodingshan, and the construction of a collective memory surrounding the Shingon monk Kōbō Daishi at the temple complex of Mount Kōya. Rachel is currently conducting research on early imperial patronage of Daigoji, a Shingon temple in Kyoto, for her dissertation.​ Michael Van Hartingsveldt received an undergraduate degree in English Language and Literature before teaching in South Korea in at an English immersion school. While there, he became enamored with the religious art of East Asia. He finished a Master's degree in East Asian art and its markets from Claremont Graduate University in 2017, after which he worked for two years as an Asian Art collections specialist at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Michael has collaborated with the Los Angeles office of The Japan Foundation in the curation of three exhibitions and two public lecture series. He now studies at the University of Kansas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Rachel Quist specializes in East Asian Buddhist imagery with focuses in pre-modern Japan and China. Her research centers on questions of interaction with imagery, materiality and object agency, and the accessibility of image-based practices. She has written on topics such as Buddhist reliquary design and expressivity, the didactic project underlying the hell tableau at Baodingshan, and the construction of a collective memory surrounding the Shingon monk Kōbō Daishi at the temple complex of Mount Kōya. Rachel is currently conducting research on early imperial patronage of Daigoji, a Shingon temple in Kyoto, for her dissertation.​ Michael Van Hartingsveldt received an undergraduate degree in English Language and Literature before teaching in South Korea in at an English immersion school. While there, he became enamored with the religious art of East Asia. He finished a Master's degree in East Asian art and its markets from Claremont Graduate University in 2017, after which he worked for two years as an Asian Art collections specialist at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Michael has collaborated with the Los Angeles office of The Japan Foundation in the curation of three exhibitions and two public lecture series. He now studies at the University of Kansas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/buddhist-studies

Rachel Quist specializes in East Asian Buddhist imagery with focuses in pre-modern Japan and China. Her research centers on questions of interaction with imagery, materiality and object agency, and the accessibility of image-based practices. She has written on topics such as Buddhist reliquary design and expressivity, the didactic project underlying the hell tableau at Baodingshan, and the construction of a collective memory surrounding the Shingon monk Kōbō Daishi at the temple complex of Mount Kōya. Rachel is currently conducting research on early imperial patronage of Daigoji, a Shingon temple in Kyoto, for her dissertation.​ Michael Van Hartingsveldt received an undergraduate degree in English Language and Literature before teaching in South Korea in at an English immersion school. While there, he became enamored with the religious art of East Asia. He finished a Master's degree in East Asian art and its markets from Claremont Graduate University in 2017, after which he worked for two years as an Asian Art collections specialist at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Michael has collaborated with the Los Angeles office of The Japan Foundation in the curation of three exhibitions and two public lecture series. He now studies at the University of Kansas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/art

Japan has a wonderful spiritual eating tradition that is more than 7 centuries old. It's called Shojin Ryori and Sensei introduces the basics in this episode. It is rooted in Buddhist teachings which were brought to Japan from China in 538. Learn about a wonderful tradition that even many Japanese people are unaware as well as pick up some ideas that will definitely enhance your own practice! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/plant-powered-buddhist/support

On this episode of Conversations in Process, Jay is joined by the Cobb Institute's operations assistant, Jared Morningstar. Jared is a writer and educator with academic interests in philosophy of religion, Islamic studies, comparative religion, metamodern spirituality, and interfaith dialogue whose work in these areas seeks to offer robust responses to issues of inter-religious conflict, contemporary nihilism, and the "meaning crisis" among other things. He has BAs in Religion and Scandinavian Studies from Gustavus Adolphus College, where he graduated in the spring of 2018. In this wide-ranging conversation, Jay and Jared discuss the issues of navigating religion in modernity and some intellectual and philosophical resources that could be helpful to this end. Jared begins by sharing his personal spiritual journey, growing up in a culturally Christian context which he rejected in his adolescence before discovering traditional religion for the first time through an encounter with Buddhism. This transitions into a discussion of religious pluralism in modernity, which Jared claims is distinct from the pluralism one could find in pre-modern times, so developing a sophisticated response to this phenomenon is critical. To this end, Jared discusses the problems of religious exclusivism and exceptionalism, both of which he argues present serious challenges to living peacefully in the landscape of contemporary pluralism. Jared claims that various forms of “traditionalist” religious identity have weak philosophical bases and can lead to various dysfunctions. Here he distinguishes between the “Traditionalist school”—a 20th century school of philosophy of religion with representatives such as Frithjof Schuon and Seyyed Hossein Nasr—who have a robust understanding of religious pluralism, and a more general “traditionalist” attitude that has been gaining steam particular amongst young Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Muslims which is often very intolerant of other faiths and modernity more generally. In response to this precarious situation, Jared shares two philosophies which he has found personally helpful in this context. The first is the Japanese Buddhist existentialist philosophy of the Kyoto School. These Buddhist thinkers gracefully weave together Western religious and philosophic sources with traditional Zen ideas to arrive at deep answers to life's perennial questions and to the unique problems of our age. The second is the Sufi-inflected imaginal philosophy of Henry Corbin. A 20th century orientalist-philosopher, Corbin draws on the insights of Sufi and Shi'i mystics, putting these Muslim sages into conversation with contemporary phenomenology, existentialism, and depth psychology. Like the Kyoto School, Cobin's cross-cultural thought offers robust perspectives for navigating the variety of religious forms of our day. The conversation closes with Jay drawing connections between these two perspectives and the process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead. While there are a number of points where these thinkers may be synthesized and integrated into a cohesive hole, Jay stresses that these philosophies can also stand on their own and need not be reconciled for their intellectual contributions to have profound impact. Kyoto School Resources: YouTube Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW5F4Z2xe27hX7BC3eQcodVHL8c1BaSAfThe Kyoto School of Philosophy website: https://thekyotoschoolofphilosophy.wordpress.com Keiji Nishitani's Religion and Nothingness: https://bookshop.org/books/religion-and-nothingness-1/9780520049468   LINKS: Jared's website: https://jaredmorningstar.com‘Alif: Traditional Wisdom in Review: https://alifreview.comThe Cobb Institute: https://cobb.instituteOpen Horizons: https://www.openhorizons.org https://youtu.be/tdCQJHVumWc

Ep. 27 (Part 1 of 2) | David Loy, Zen teacher, scholar, and prolific author, reveals his acute understanding of the crises we face today, the psychology at the root of the problems, and how we can make our way forward in this in-depth discussion. He has adopted the term ecodharma to focus attention on the challenge Buddhism faces now: integrating personal transformation with global activism and social transformation. As David points out, the focus needs to be on this world, with transcendence being a metaphorical understanding but not an excuse to abandon the problems we and our planet face today. Besides gaining great depth of knowledge from being a scholar and student of koans, David's insights come from a plethora of nondual experiences, which led David on a path of eco-action. Ecodharma asks: How does Buddhism need to change? How much is dwelling in emptiness becoming problematical in these challenging times? What's best for the Earth? Everyone says practice, practice, practice…when is the performance? Is evolutionary pressure going to create a new way of living sustainably? Recorded February 22, 2020. “When your sense of separation dissipates, it becomes not what's in it for me, but what can I do to help make this a better world for everybody?” (For Apple Podcast users, https://deeptransformation.io/david-loy-1-bodhisattva-to-ecosattva-integrating-personal-practice-and-global-activism/ (click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)) Topics & Time Stamps - Part 1Social activism, Zen practice, philosophy, koan study: how it all started (03:52) How does David's Zen practice inform his activism? It was the experiences of nondual reality (05:48) The emergence of compassion: when your sense of separation dissipates, it becomes not what's in it for me, but what can I do to help make this a better world for everybody (09:14) The cold civil war in the U.S. and the need to find a way to talk with each other and understand conflicting points of view (12:03) Our fundamental problem is that we don't feel real, because the separate self is a construct, inherently insecure, inherently uncomfortable, and we experience this as a sense of fundamental lack (14:03) The psychological and sociological implications of this sense of lack and how society is constructed to take advantage of it: the contemporary world religion is consumerism (17:31) The positive and negative sides of individualism (22:23) The heart of the bodhisattva path: personal transformation and social transformation (24:57) The challenge of integrating nondual experiences (27:31) 3 elements of the Pali Canon's Motivation for Awakening (28:31) Dukkha (suffering) is structural not just individual (30:09) Awakenings: transcendent, imminent, and the decline of Axial religions that devalue this world (36:26)  The problem with mindfulness and the 3 poisons: greed, ill will, delusion (40:51) Resources & References - Part 1David Loy, https://amzn.to/3PDdEqM (EcoDharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis)* David Loy, https://amzn.to/3Nv7AP9 (NonDuality: In Buddhism and Beyond)* David Loy, co-editor, https://amzn.to/3LO8q8u (A Buddhist Response to the Climate Emergency)* Full list of David's writings: https://www.davidloy.org/writing.html (https://www.davidloy.org/writing.html) David Loy's https://www.davidloy.org/index.html (website) David Loy, co-founder of the https://rmerc.org/ (Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamada_Koun (Yamada Kōun Roshi), David's teacher and author of https://amzn.to/3G984rR (The Gateless Gate : The Classic Book of Zen Koans)* (2004) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Baker_Aitken (Robert Aiken), one of the original founders of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C5%8Dgen (Dōgen), Japanese Buddhist priest, poet, philosopher, and founder of the Sōtō school of Zen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Blake (William Blake),...

本集節目由五十年醬油品牌 豆油伯贊助播出，好醬油 豆油伯直接幫你送到家   Summary: Soy sauce is arguably the most important seasoning in Asian cooking. Its well-balanced, salty-sweet taste and deep layer of umami richness make nearly all foods taste more delicious and satisfying. Its uses range from a dab on sushi to a splash into noodle soups and stir-fries, as well as the featured flavour of glazed dishes like teriyaki.   The now-beloved condiment came about soon after a Japanese Buddhist monk named Shinchi Kakushin returned from a trip to China and became the abbot at Kokoku-ji Temple near Yuasa. He brought with him a recipe for making Kinzanji miso, a uniquely chunky type of miso made from whole soybeans, various other grains (such as barley and rice) and vegetables.   Vocabulary: Condiment n. 調味品/醬料 Uncle Soy Sauce is now the hottest condiment in town. 豆油伯是現下最受歡迎的醬料。 Umami n. 鮮味(源於日本用語) Dipping your sashimi in soy sauce would elevate the umami of the fish 生魚片沾點醬油會提升鮮味。 Season v. 調味 If you season your food with soy sauce, you will easily create Chinese food 如果你用醬油來調味食物，馬上可以創造中華風味的料理。 更多Vocab Podcast節目: https://www.15mins.today/vocab 歡迎主題投稿/意見回覆 : ask15mins@gmail.com 商業合作/贊助來信：15minstoday@gmail.com    

So what is Reiki anyway, Sharmila? Well, I am so glad you asked because that's what this week's episode is about! I give many examples of how we experience energy in our everyday lives and we apply that to healing.  I also give a  what a Reiki micro-session, so you know what Reiki feels like. It's near the end of the episode.  Hopefully, you will understand Reiki healing and energy healing more and if you would like to experience a session, you can book an appointment: https://www.ojaireiki.com/scheduleyoursession Shownotes: -I started my Reiki journey for my own personal self-healing. -What is Reiki? -A Japanese type of healing either hands-on or done remotely. -Can be done across time, distance;  you don't have to be physically touching someone. -We are all energy beings. -What does this expression mean:  I don't have the energy or I have so much energy right now. -Reiki/energy healing is a meditative state that facilitates healing with intention. -Practitioner channels infinite energy to another person, using their Divine Guides. -In last week's episode, “how to stop absorbing other people's energy” I mentioned that you don't need to fix; or use all of your energy, you can get help from your guides. -Some energy healers have a mentality that they need to fix the person because that's what healing is. -You can't fix this person, you can help alleviate a sense of relief. -Example of feeling drained of energy is child-rearing, so you can prevent physical exhaustion. -Reiki helps clear, ground, relieving some kind of stress in your life. -Does this make sense, if it is or isn't let me know you can leave me a voice message on theconfidenthealer.net website. -There is an energy exchange with this podcast, you are drawn to me because something about me resonates with you. -Reiki, energy healing allows you to work outside the box, you use all of your senses and more even when you are receiving. -Visualize how the energy works, it comes from your infinite source, and imagine the energy coming out of your crown, third eye, and or heart chakra, flowing down and out of your hands. -To help you understand what energy/Reiki is, you can give a texture to the energy to help you connect with it more, maybe it's like water or light. -Another example of energetic interaction to help you understand, is walking into a room and you know whether or not you want to be there,  there is something you are feeling that makes you not want to be there. That's an energy that you do interact with on a daily without realizing it. -That's where you follow your intuition and leave. -Some people have fear about Reiki or energy healing because they don't want someone messing with their energy. -Most healing practitioners aren't nefarious, they are very altruistic and want to help people because it's their calling. -Of course, there are people scamming others, but they are easy to spot if you are discerning enough. -My Reiki experiences after the 1st level were exciting because I felt like King Midas, I felt like I had a golden, healing touch. -Reiki changed my life in so many great ways and brought a deeper healing experience so that I could be more self-reliant. -I would practice before going to work, after waking up, I would practice Reiki on myself. -Reiki can validate you, like if you have psychic abilities that you shut off since you were a kid. -A little history of Reiki, started by a Japanese Buddhist, Mikao Usui. -Downloaded a healing system after meditating for 21 days. -Reiki is different from other energy healing systems because a Reiki Master Teacher initiates or attunes the student to Reiki. -Energy healing teaches you how to connect with energy, using meridians, and visualizations, but there is no attunement process like in the Reiki system. -Either way, they are both effective. -The way I teach, are the traditional Usui Reiki attunements and Reiki hand positions, plus teaching energy healing techniques, and helping you find your own intuitive healing gifts. -Practice is key to growing your healing abilities and growing your intuition. -Practice Reiki, tapping into that universal energy flow -I transmit Reiki through the episode so that you can experience it. Mentioned in the episode: Here is the application  link for the Confident Healer Training Certification https://forms.gle/qHAXxuxW6geUCK4S9 About the Hostess: Sharmila Mali is a Self-Love Expert, intuitive healer, Reiki Master Teacher, Akashic Records Reader (in addition to being a podcaster) and for the past 19 years or so, most of her clients have been women, who want to get over their ex. She also teaches intuitive energy healing and Reiki. FB: @SharmilaTheSelfLoveExpert IG: @sharmilatheselfloveexpert  TIKTOK: @confidenthealer Support the Confident Healer: -DONATE, become a patron and donate one time or monthly, it's easy, www.theconfidenthealer.net/support -Share the podcast with someone that needs it. Intro and Outro Music: The Joker produced by Danya Vodovoz, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz2XCAr0rc0&list=PLq4r2IOXma9DSwR-JOVaCm3uqYrqwhV1x&index=26  Royalty Free Music. Produced and Edited by Sharmila Mali

Today's podcast was about "The Great Eastern Temple"; our group had a panel discussion where we gave our opinions about how to help American viewers appreciate its 1986 exhibition of Japanese Buddhist art from Todaiji. The Chicago Art Institute produced a catalog called The Great Eastern Temple, which explained the religious views of the period.

In this episode, the three of us discussed topics on the 1986 exhibition of Japanese Buddhist art from Todaiji. The Chicago Art Institute produced a catalog called The Great Eastern Temple which explained the religious views of the period. We brought up several topics, including the importance of being open-minded, different perspectives from different cultures or religions, and how today's world is growing in understanding other views.

Gemma, Caryn, and Darielis observe "The Great Eastern Temple," the latest catalog in the Chicago Art Institute, and discuss the influence of Buddhism on Japanese art and the significance of this period.

Kelly, Alyssa, and Pedro discuss the Great Eastern Temple and help viewers appreciate the Chicago Art Institute's 1986 exhibition of Japanese Buddhist art from Todaiji. They also mention the significance of fully understanding these works of art, meditation, associative iconography, and feature some fun facts to enlighten our viewers. Song Hang for Days Artist Silent Partner Album Hang for Days Licensed to YouTube by YouTube Audio Library YouTube Link: (1) EXPLORING ARTS EPISODE 2 ( THE GREAT EASTERN TEMPLE) - YouTube Audio Only File Attached

In this fascinating episode, we cover the truth about the 1986 exhibition of Japanese Buddhist art from Todaiji. This episode covered by Irvin, Eddie, and Susan reveals the lack of understanding of those who don't know about Buddhism and those who haven't had the opportunity to learn or be exposed to Buddhism and Japanese art.

Michael Vanhartingsveldt is a contributing columnist at Buddhistdoor Global. He works full-time at the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art. He did his masters in East Asian Art Business at Sotheby's Institute of Art, and he also works as a lecturer for the Japan Foundation. Michael collaborates on "Carving the Divine TV" with filmmaker Yujiro Seki. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Michael Vanhartingsveldt is a contributing columnist at Buddhistdoor Global. He works full-time at the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art. He did his masters in East Asian Art Business at Sotheby's Institute of Art, and he also works as a lecturer for the Japan Foundation. Michael collaborates on "Carving the Divine TV" with filmmaker Yujiro Seki. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/buddhist-studies

Michael Vanhartingsveldt is a contributing columnist at Buddhistdoor Global. He works full-time at the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art. He did his masters in East Asian Art Business at Sotheby's Institute of Art, and he also works as a lecturer for the Japan Foundation. Michael collaborates on "Carving the Divine TV" with filmmaker Yujiro Seki. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/art

Life in a Japanese Buddhist Monastery written by Mark Cartwright and narrated by Jennifer Sabir: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1423/life-in-a-japanese-buddhist-monastery/ Buddhist monasteries have been part of the Japanese cultural landscape ever since the 7th century CE, and they remained both powerful and socially important institutions right through the medieval period. Today, many of Japan's finest examples of ancient and medieval architecture are located at temple complexes, a good number of which are classified as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The monks who lived, worked, and meditated in Buddhist monasteries not only served their local communities on their way to reaching enlightenment but also produced some of Japan's finest historical works of art in painting, sculpture, and calligraphy.  If you like our audio articles, please support us by becoming a member or donating to our non-profit company: - www.worldhistory.org/membership/ - www.worldhistory.org/donate/ - www.worldhistory.org/patreon/ - www.worldhistory.store/ MUSIC USED Lotus Blossom

In this episode of "Explore Art Podcast", hosts Ethan, Sergey, and Erquis dive into the 1986 exhibition of Japanese Buddhist art from Todaiji, which can be found in the Chicago Art Institute. Take a look at the intricate background history of some of those exhibits, and learn something new about Japanese Buddhism - all while understanding whether or not someone who has no idea about any of that stuff could understand what's being depicted on those ancient statues and works of art. Of course, we are available on most of the streaming platforms, so listen on and educate yourself!

In this episode, I share a passage from the 13th century Japanese Buddhist monk, Dogen. As you listen, see if you can feel the words expand someone within you.As always, if you'd like to get free access to my resource library, including guided meditations, book recommendations, app recommendations, and more, text your email address to: +1 (631) 337-8298And if you'd like to get daily inspirational text messages to your phone from me, just text the word "podcast" to +1 (631) 305-2874

“To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things.” – Dōgen, Japanese Buddhist philosopher Today, I am sharing how the art of surrendering and letting go empowered me to become the best version of myself. By pursuing the journey of building my podcast and business, I knew I would be entering the most challenging time of my life. At times, I even felt like I was constantly at war with myself. In order to liberate myself from all my inner demons and be at peace, I needed to surrender and let go. In this episode, I will break down how I used the art of surrendering and letting go to experience true freedom, executional prowess and unified community. I hope that you gain a better sense of how to surrender and let go in your life to become the best version of yourself. *** If you are a fan of the pod, it would mean a lot to me if you rate and review Personal Legend on Apple Podcasts. It really makes a difference in convincing more guests to join the show. For show notes and past guests, please visit personallegend.me/podcasts/ For transcripts of the episode, go to https://personallegend.me/s1e7-becoming/ *** Follow Personal Legend: Facebook: facebook.com/personallegend Twitter: twitter.com/personallegendz Instagram: instagram.com/personallegend_ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/personallegend *** Follow Sean: Twitter: twitter.com/seandiep Instagram: instagram.com/seandiep_ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/seandiep YouTube: youtube.com/seandiep