Live show part one: cosmology

Our second live recording — actually live this time and broadcast via webstream across the Internets — was recorded in the lobby of the Jodo Shinshu Center. This is the first installment of that day’s recording. Our jumping-off point is our previous conversations about science fiction and Buddhism, focusing here on the issue of cosmology and world view. There are all sorts of ways that we form world views, many different types of cosmology in pop-culture or music. And certainly Buddhism has a distinctive cosmology itself. We suggest, though, that there’s a big difference between the world view of Star Trek fans and Buddhism in part because the later actually challenges us to question our assumptions about cosmologies and world views. We circle around a bit before getting back to some of the concrete ideas within traditional Buddhism cosmology (such as multiple Buddhas, the six realms of rebirth, and so on) and ask, is any of this relevant in our modern world? We make a strong case for its continued relevance regardless of whether or not you take it as literally or merely symbolically true. Stay tuned for future releases from our live show in the coming weeks!