Roshi Jundo Cohen on Zen, AI, Transhumanism and Saving the World

Many of you know that I am a fan of Buddhism in general and Zen Buddhism in particular. So I’ve always wanted to get a Zen Master on the podcast. I never imagined, however, that there is a Zen Master who has listened to almost every episode of my show. But the universe is a weird place and it turns out there is such a person. Roshi Jundo is a former Newyorker, lawyer, husband, father of 2, cancer survivor, and Japanese Soto Zen Master. He is the founder of the Tree Leaf Sanga and co-host of the Zen of Everything Podcast. Jundo is also the author of The Zen Master’s Dance: A Guide to Understanding Dogen and Who You are In the Universe as well as an upcoming book provisionally titled Building the Future Buddha: The Kōan of Robots, Genes, Saving the World and Travelling to the Stars. During our 2-hour conversation with Jundo Cohen, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as the story of how a Jewish kid from the Bronx became a Zen Master in Japan; Buddhism and Zen Buddhism; oneness, wholeness, and the illusion of separation; whether we are living in a simulation; why the world is both perfect and imperfect; moderation, compassion, simplicity, desire and excess; dealing with pain and discomfort; why acceptance is not giving up; the wave as a manifestation of the sea; artificial meat, modifying the human genome and other tech solutions to our problems; David Pearce’s Hedonistic Imperative; the singularity, AI and Transhumanism. Check out this link to see the full video recording of this interview: https://www.singularityweblog.com/jundo-cohen/