A good friend asked today, "What do you mean by post-traditional?" So, as I started answering it became clear that for me this term has three distinct layers. A little background first, though.

Dharma is timeless, always just so. Its characteristics non-contingent. Its functions not limited to a particular time, place, situation, or culture. Dharma needs no reinventing. If anything, it invites a re/discovery which can only happen by and through awakening. Therefore, Dharma is also a practice, as well as a path.

Most of the last 12 months I've been reviewing the foundational texts of Shingon Buddhism, using available English translations for reference, adding some to my limited knowledge of Sanskrit and Chinese, and producing a Croatian translation of major works by Kobo Daishi Kukai,,,

We live among fragmented images, perhaps even as fragmented selves, thus the art of imagination often stands neglected. I want to look at – 1 – how creative imagination is important, 2 – how tradition provides good examples, and 3 – how we don't know what to do with what's available.

History of Buddhist spirituality lends itself to two very different perspectives. On one hand, it is a history of transmission and continuation, featuring institution building and cultural naturalization. For the most part, this is the story of schools and sects, politics and economy, controlled discourse and imperial sponsorship. On the other hand, it's also a history of inspiration and innovation, brimming with creativity, breakthroughs, and original thinking.

I've recently talked to John Peacock, scholar and Associate Director of The Oxford Mindfulness Centre. His studies of the earliest Buddhist writings have revealed to him a very human Buddha and a very different Buddhism than we know today.