Earlier this summer, National Public Radio did a story about Enryaku-ji temple’s Endo Mitsunaga, the “thirteenth monk since World War II to complete the Sennichi Kaihogyo, 1,000 days of walking meditation and prayer over a seven-year period around [Japan’s] Mount Hiei.”
Though it was a very fine write-up with that special NPR touch, there was nonetheless one rather large problem with the story: Mitsunaga was incorrectly identified as a “Zen monk.” He is, in fact, a Tendai Buddhist. (NPR did eventually put a correction online; the audio version, however, has not been altered.)
This mistake would seem to illustrate the pervasiveness of the assumption that all Japanese Buddhism is Zen Buddhism. I thought this incident might give us all a good opportunity to grow in our knowledge of Japanese Buddhism–or at least the Tendai tradition. So I reached out to Dr. Stephen G. Covell, associate professor in the Department of Comparative Religion and director of the Soga Japan Center at Western Michigan University, for help. Continued
In the aftermath of January’s terrible earthquake in Haiti, 
Last month saw the 125th anniversary of an important Buddhist symbol 
By Danny Fisher
two reasons. First, it addressed the important questions, “How has Buddhism outside Asia been shaped by diaspora and immigration? How has the increase in global tourism, communication, and capitalism affected the way Buddhism is understood, taught, and practiced?” Second, it brought together many of the preeminent scholars of Buddhism in the West, including Galen Amstutz, Franz Metcalf, Charles Prebish, Richard Hughes Seager, Duncan Ryuken Williams, Jeff Wilson, Thomas Tweed, and others.
A founding member and the executive director of the All Burma Monks’ Alliance, U Pyinya Zawta, who spent ten years of his life behind bars for his pro-democracy activities, was one of the leaders of 2007’s “Saffron Revolution”—the nonviolent demonstration by thousands of Buddhist monastics calling for economic and political justice in the military-ruled country.
With the launch of 
An independent film and video-maker based outside of Boulder, CO, James Zito is making the best films about Buddhism that you haven’t seen. His company 
Though he is perhaps best known for his English translations of huge portions of the Pali canon—Wisdom Publications’