Sentience and Buddha-Mind: How Do We Recognize Them?
Gereon Kopf
6 August 2024
Before we assign sentience or personhood to AI, we must understand better what these terms mean in the context of Buddhist philosophy
Buddhism in Japan introduces the histories, practices, and beliefs of various Buddhist schools, thinkers, and practitioners in Japan. It explores popular as well as little known faces of Buddhism in Japan through the reflections on texts, explorations of religious sites, and encounters with practitioners.
Primarily authored by Gereon Kopf, a Professor in the religion department at Luther College, Iowa, USA and the founding editor of the Journal of Buddhist Philosophy.
Buddhism in Japan is published bi-monthly.
Self, No-Self, or Self
Gereon Kopf
17 May 2024
A philosophical examination of the concepts of self and non-self in Buddhism and related systems of thought
What Is Truth? A Creative Misreading of Zen Kōans
Gereon Kopf
15 February 2024
A meditation on the way that Zen koans point out our discursive mind’s inability to get at certain truths
What is Violence? Self-immolation in Japanese Buddhism
Gereon Kopf
22 November 2023
Digging into the question of harm and violence given a deep philosophical understanding of Buddhist concepts
Where/What/When is nirvāṇa?
Gereon Kopf
16 October 2023
Most people with even some tangential knowledge of Buddhism have heard about the concept of “nirvāṇa.” But what is its significance for the pilgrims after weeks of solitary hiking ready to rejoin the society?
Dōgyō ninin: The Shingon Version of “You’ll Never Walk Alone”
Gereon Kopf
5 October 2023
Prof. Gereon Kopf continues his Shikoku pilgrimage in Japan, examining themes of awakening, loss, and connection
Practice of Attunement: The Shikoku Pilgrimage
Gereon Kopf
13 September 2023
A close look at the daily practices one undertakes on the famous Shikoku pilgrimage in Japan
Religion as Practice: The Shikoku Pilgrimage in Japan
Gereon Kopf
26 July 2023
Prof. Gereon Kopf reflects on years of teaching about Japanese Buddhism as he embarks on the arduous Shikoku Pilgrimage
Entangled in Indra’s Net
Gereon Kopf
21 December 2022
Diving fully into Mahayana Buddhist philosophy in order to connect deeply with contemporary intercultural and interfaith encounters
Ghosts, Mummies, and Robots in Buddhism
Gereon Kopf
25 August 2022
Exploring Buddhist philosophy through the varied ways that practitioners in Japan navigate death and conversations with insentient beings
The Hidden Buddha
Gereon Kopf
7 July 2022
An academic account of finding religion and spiritual beings and forces in Japan’s supposedly areligious society
Why I Study Zen Philosophy
Gereon Kopf
5 March 2022
Examining Japanese Zen thought through the lens of meditation practice and Western philosophical ideas