A Christian and a Buddhist walk in to a bar

Do you worry about the judgement of others? do you care about the opinions of others? Today we ramble on about our own views on who's opinions matter, Tai-Sen shares his new formula for letting go of the opinions of some, and injustice in general.    Post-recording note: In this episode I (Tai-Sen) talk about referring to myself as a Monk. Since recording I have had further reflection and conversations about this, and have changed my opinion. 'Priest-candidate' is a more appropriate term for this life transition. 

NEW EPISODE! That's right, we are back with a new episode again, and this time, its fight night.    Sometimes, you need to explain something to someone, something about theology, some clear understanding that you have about important Augustinian doctrine that you've learnt from your recent conversion to Catholicism. But sometimes, the person you're explaining this complex theory to is....the Pope....?   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/17/pope-jd-vance-row-iran-just-war  

With so much violence going on in the world right now, we thought it would be a good time to re-release an episode about how religions of all kind, even Buddhism, can lead to violence. And how in any situation, it's probably not a good idea. Today we ask, is Buddhism, the religion on peace and love? Or... the religion of genocide? We look at why people are shocked at stories of violent Buddhism, and discuss peace in the middle east while we’re at it.     https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/05/opinion/buddhists-violence-tolerance.html  

Happy Easter once again! We are doing a big throw back to one of our first season specials, as Tai Sen (Jamal)learns all about Easter and what it really means.  

SOMEONE has become a real live priest!  Today we celebrate and talk about Jacob's ordination in to the Lutheran priesthood, how he feels, what's changed and what it all means.  https://www.youtube.com/live/8Sw-sq_d9BY?si=16bXogLH94lGXYkr

We continue our discussion on Tai-Sen's recent journey around Shikoku. And talk more broadly about pilgrimages, self and non-self, and spiritual growth. 

Tai-Sen is back from Japan. After walking 2000km and visiting 108 temples, he shares his thoughts and reflections on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, what it meant to him, what he learnt, and how he has changed.  

We are back, and we are starting the year on  a slightly serious note, given the way that last year ended.  Jacob and Tai-Sen talk about the Bondi terror attack, how we can respond to such violence, and what each of our roles might be - as spiritual people but also humans.  WARNING: this episode contains discussion of the Bondi Terror attack, violence and hatred in general. Please skip this episode if you feel it is not something you are ready or wanting to hear about.    https://www.nsw.gov.au/community-services/one-mitzvah-for-bondi 

We return this Christmas with a re release of one of our favourite Buddhamas episodes, about Tim Minchin's classic: White wine in the sun. 

We continue our conversation with Neti Mushin about all things Zen, life and being a priest.    https://netiparekh.com/

We've neen really looking forward to this one!  Today we bring in a very special guest: Neti Mushin Parekh. Neti is senior prest and leader of Twining Vines zen centre, and was Tai-Sen's preceptor for his recent ordination. She joins us talk all things zen and being a priest, and its such a wonderful conversation.    https://netiparekh.com/

Men. We need talk. About men, with men. we are two men talking about men.  Men are more christian. why? what happened? We dive in to the topic, and try to work out what to do about this podcasts man problem. 

Tai-Sen is off on a pilgrimage. But what even is that? We talk about the difference between a pilgrimage and a long walk, and Tai-Sen launches his 'is it a pilgrimage or not' scale (tm).  https://www.spiritualtravels.info/spiritual-travels-ordinary-trips/top10reasons/

We launch off from an earlier conversation into a rambling discussion on conversion. What is is? is it good? should we do it?   Please convert your friends to the pod, send it around :) 

Today in the cage - Christianity Vs Buddhism - in the showdown of the millennium.   Jacob and Tai-Sen discuss if religions are actually competing? or if they are in fact all speaking about the same truth. If you picked up some Bahai in this topic, well done you!    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/29/what-if-the-worlds-religions-arent-competing-but-rather-one-unfolding-truth

We are picking up all the good vibrations today, and talking about the Beach Boys! yes you heard right, notorious Christian pop band the Beach Boys.    We dive in to what makes their music actually maybe about God, and how Brian Wilson was perhaps an under heralded genius (but not really, he was pretty famous).    https://mbird.com/music/you-need-a-mess-of-help-to-stand-alone/

We are back to one of our favorite topics. The board game Diplomacy. Tai-Sen (Jamal) shares why he's known as the 'Jade Buddha', how he thinks about the game, and we talk about how others perceive him and the intersection between the game and his spirituality. Spoiler alert - its more closely connected than you may think! 

One Love dear listeners. Welcome to todays episode. And we are back with divine music! we know you missed it.  We jump in to the wonderful world of Bob Marley, and Rastafarianism in general. A highly informative episode to make, where we move beyond the cliché's and really take a look at what was behind some of the most spiritual popular music of the last century.   Give thanks    https://theconversation.com/under-the-influence-of-bob-marley-the-timeless-music-man-63347

Newly dubbed KoJu Tai-Sen has done it! He's become a non monk.  We reflect on the ceremony of Jukai, Jacob's thoughts in attending, and how Tai-Sen is feeling after the whole process. 

This is it, the final 'not-monk' episode. What a journey it has been!    Join us for the last time, as we discuss disparaging the three treasures, and how to 'just do it' when it comes to the precepts. 

It's Hulk mode time on the pod, as we discuss not being angry. Is it even possible? what does anger do to us? Stay tuned to find out, and write us an angry letter if we don't answer your questions appropriately. 

As the owners of this podcast, Jacob and Jamal spend the episode asserting their sole rights to it, keeping it from others and ensuring that no one else can have any of it.  Alongside that we continue exploring the Buddhist precepts. This time around not being possessive. 

This week. We talk about why we are the best. Just so much better than everyone else. And also why Buddhism asks us not to praise ourselves at the expense of others. 

This week in the bar we get out our critiques and slanders, and just go in on how much we really don't like each other.... not really. But we are looking at speaking ill of others, and the Buddhist precept that tells us... maybe don't.

Today we are back at the bar to tackle the topic of...being at the bar too much?  We look in to the role of intoxicants in the Buddhist precepts and discuss how one can better have a positive relationship with all things that cloud the mind.  https://open.substack.com/pub/oldster/p/ask-a-sober-oldster-23-nadia-bolz   

This week on the podcast, Jacob finally converts and Jamal reveals that he's been a universalist the whole time.    That's right! we are talking about lying, and how it interacts with the Buddhist precepts. Plus, stay turned for our brutal takedown of Kevin MacLeod.... nah I can't lie about that one. 

Sex is a complicated topic. But the Buddhist precepts has the answer! Maybe? We'll find out this week as we continue exploring the journey in to the zen precepts. 

We have a new Pope! And he's from Chicago, which makes him Da Pope. Today Jacob and Jamal learn all about the new head of the Catholic church, and dig deep in to the dish to find our about what they think this might mean for one of the worlds biggest religions.   https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0ln80lzk7ko

We continue our exploration of the Buddhist precepts and Jamal's journey in to being not a monk. Or maybe kind of a monk? or perhaps just a stand up dude. 

Today we explore a listener question about the lesser known faith of Bahai.  What is it? What do they believe? and is it an answer to the inherent conflicts between other religions like Christianity and Buddhism?  https://www.bahai.org/ 

Jamal has started working on the 10 Grave precepts of Zen. So we shall kick off our exploration of them with the 1st precept. Not Killing. Easy right? 

In our last throwback episode, we are back to finish the discussion of  'what does mindfulness look like without ethics behind it?'. This week we  turn the lens toward the mindfulness industry, and investigate the intersection between mindfulness and capitalism while asking: is there a place for mindfulness as a commodity in the market?   https://www.theguardian.com/l

Another throwback this week to an earlier conversation about how mindfulness has also become just a little bit of a capitalist industry. Ne episodes are just around the corner, we promise!  ---------------- Mindfulness is an ancient Buddhist technique for achieving enlightenment. It is also a massive capitalist industry, promising to both counter the issues caused by capitalism, and also to bring productivity and riches to all.  What does 'McMindfullness' have to do with traditional Buddhism, and what does it say about our society and religions? https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jun/14/the-mindfulness-conspiracy-capitalist-spirituality 

We are diving back in to the archives this week to bring back our conversation on mistakes, different types of love, and a bit about what samsara and enlightenment are.  Hope you enjoy, new episodes will be back very soon!    Article: https://bswa.org/teaching/wisdom-of-silence/ 

We return to the D&D tavern with Rebecca. Talking all things religious, fantasy and in between. Who will roll a nat 20 this time around? Tune in to find out! 

We have Rebecca back! And this time, its nerdy.  We delve in to the wonderful and spiritual world of Dungeons and Dragons, so see what alignment various characters are, how we might face in the world of D&D and importantly, is God just playing Dungeon Master? 

What is it like going through a spiritual journey. Jamal is starting a lay-ordination process and in part 1 of this series, talks about what he is doing, why he's doing it, and what his hopes and fear are.    https://www.lionsroar.com/what-is-jukai/ 

Its a special time of the year for multiple religions at once. And it all has to do with limiting our intake of food, and reflecting instead on the spiritual path.  Today we talk about the coalescence of Ramadan, Lent and the Bahai Fast, and what role fasting plays in religion.    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/10/three-religious-traditions-overlap-this-year-providing-a-rare-opportunity-for-collective-reflection? 

Today we ask a very old question - is cultural evolution a thing? (bet you cant guess our answer...) https://scribepublications.com.au/books-authors/books/the-lamb-enters-the-dreaming-9781921640476

We love Stan Grant here in the Christian Buddhist Bar. So we did an episode on a wonderful article of his on Christmas. Someone get Stan to listen to the pod! https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/comment/topic/2024/12/14/seeking-the-soul-christmas

Today we approach the thorny topic of religious cults, and what can happen if they really go too far.    TRIGGER WARNING  - this pod discusses a recent manslaughter and death of a child.  https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-29/elizabeth-struhs-diabetes-insulin-witheld-verdict/104863074?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other 

We have more divine music! This week looking in to the ephemeral Sarah Blasco, her life growing up in a cult, and how its created her sound and message.    https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/oct/08/sarah-blasko-i-just-need-to-conquer-this-mountain-album-interview?CMP=share_btn_url 

Today, Jacob has a question. What is the role of hope? This launches us off on one of our regular rambles, on all things hope, reincarnation, Buddhism and everything in between.   

Meshell Ndegeocello is a legend. A legend that so few have heard of. Today we unpack her song 'the Way' from her 1996 album, Peace Beyond Passion. We go in to how some artists just are drawn by the music, and how a song can convey so much more than what the words say.    Enjoy!    https://open.spotify.com/track/3txICxEvBgCBV63B4ednNB?autoplay=true

We are back! kicking off 2025 with a ramble about Jamal's recent experiences on a Zen retreat. How he found it, how it was different to others, and what he'll take away.

Merry Buddhamas all! As you gather around the Christmas tree to listen to this years episode, we thought we'd share a bit about where this holy tree came from. And look in to... is it Christian? or is it Capitalism in disguise? Have a great holidays, we will take a few weeks off and be back mid January    https://theconversation.com/a-story-of-legends-families-and-capitalism-a-candid-history-of-the-christmas-tree-196278  https://ltm.org.au/tract/view/37140-the-lights-of-the-christmas-tree 

Forgiveness. Is it Buddhist? Or is it Anti Buddhist?! Today we look in to this fascinating topic, and more. With your usual rambles and side quests.  https://tricycle.org/magazine/forgiveness-not-buddhist/

We have made it to 100 episodes! wow, what a journey. Today we go back to where it all started and talk about the first time we met at a bar and how we got to where we are now. Thanks for the memories everyone! 

We have more questions, more problems, more off the cuff answers! Enjoy :D  Perhaps listen to part 1 first if you haven't for this one. 

If you got God problems I feel bad for you son, I got 99 questions...   Some astute listeners listed out 99 questions they would like us to answer. We try to answer them all in one episode. We failed, so there's 2 parts!