Individual practice, community practice

Even though this week’s episode isn’t really about humanism per se, we pick up where we left off last time, allowing Scott a moment to clarify what he meant when he said that Buddhism doesn’t care about the individual. This week is really all about individual practice versus community practice, what does it mean to practice, and what do you do when you don’t live anywhere near any other Buddhists? This is a question we get asked a lot by folks who are “distant members” or “solo practitioners,” and it’s an especially important and difficult one for Jodo Shinshu which seems to place so much emphasis on community-based practice. But perhaps in these isolated and new communities we can see glimpses of the future, individual practitioners who are unencumbered by older and rigid communities, folks who are more engaged in multi-yana perspectives. All this and more in this week’s episode. Enjoy!