The Bangkok Podcast | Expat Life In Thailand Via Expats From Canada & America

Greg interviews our old friend Phra Phandit, resident podcast expert on all things Buddhism and religion. This time the topic is ‘Neo-Buddhism’ or the way Buddhism has changed and adapted over time, in particular the way it has been appropriated in the modern era by Western culture and pop culture in general. Greg sets the stage with a quote about ‘modern’ Buddhism that has eliminated supernatural beliefs, ritual, and the monkhood, and instead focused on interior exploration and happiness in this life. Phra Pandit argues that there are certainly a number of people today who practice mindfulness meditation and call it Buddhism, but that there really isn’t a serious movement of people staking a claim to modern Buddhism.  What’s really happening, according to Phra Pandit, is that many people are choosing the parts of Buddhism they like (namely meditation) and combining it with other aspects of psychology, yoga, or environmentalism. Greg asks when these changes render Buddhism not even a religion at all, and Phra