2025 Talk​: "Finding Meditation in Rissho Kosei-kai"

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Everyone seems to be talking about meditation. Social media is filled with meditation teachers, and hundreds of meditation apps are available on both the Apple iOS App Store and Google Play. For many people, “Buddhism = meditation.” So it may come as a surprise to discover that sitting meditation is not a central practice of Rissho Kosei-kai. This raises an important question: where is meditation in Rissho Kosei-kai?

As Dharma teachers and Rissho Kosei-kai practitioners, how can we follow the example of the father in the Parable of the Burning House, offering the skillful means of “rare toys and fascinating objects”—such as meditation—that people today seek? In this talk, we’ll explore the place of meditation in Rissho Kosei-kai and consider how different forms of meditation might be meaningfully integrated into its liberating tradition of Buddhist practice.

Dominick Scarangello obtained his PhD from the University of Virginia 2012.  His interests include Lotus Sutra Buddhism in East Asia, Japanese religions, and religion and modernity.  Dr. Scarangello has taught at the University of Virginia and was the Postdoctoral Scholar in Japanese Buddhism at the University of California, Berkeley (2013-2014).  Presently he is the International Advisor to Rissho Kosei-kai, coordinator of the International Lotus Sutra Seminar, and also works with the international Buddhist Congregation, a Rissho Kosei-kai group for international residents of Japan.​