Mark Unno is an ordained priest in the Shin Buddhist tradition and an Associate Professor of Buddhism at the University of Oregon. He is the author of Shingon Refractions: Myoe and the Mantra of Light, and the editor of Buddhism and Psychotherapy Across Cultures.
Mark Unno
Recent Articles
How to Practice Chanting
It’s an expression of oneness — with the Buddha, with the sangha, with the cosmos itself. Mark Unno teaches you how to let go into the flow of chanting.
Understanding Self Power & Other Power
Mark Unno explains how giving ourselves over to other power, an idea central to Asian Buddhist thought, can lead us to awakening.
Enlightenment of the Cosmic Buddhas
Through the Pure Land practice of nembutsu, explains Mark Unno, we “foolish beings” entrust ourselves to the full awakening of Amida, the primordial Buddha of Infinite Light.
Bearing Witness to the Wounds of Internment
Mark Unno reviews "American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Second World War" by Duncan Williams.
Radical Thinkers of Pure Land Buddhism
Mark Unno looks at the historical figures behind Pure Land Buddhism — the tradition based on the enlightened realm of Amida Buddha, the Buddha of Infinite Light.
Touching the Ocean of Boundless Compassion
Mark Unno reflects on compassion as immersion into the sufferings of samsara, like a raindrop falling into the ocean.
If It Sounds Too Good to Be True…
When we pray, says Mark Unno, it’s important not to get caught up in magical thinking or to become attached to specific outcomes. Just praying is enough.
The Path of Foolish Beings
Who are the foolish beings? According to the Shin tradition of Pure Land Buddhism, we all are. Mark Unno explains that only by becoming aware of our limited self and acknowledging our fundamental foolishness can we realize the oneness of all beings and the limitless flow of compassion.