Mark Unno

Mark Unno

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.

Recent Articles

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.

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.

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.

Buddha Amitabha.

The History of Pure Land Buddhism

Mark Unno looks at the rich history behind Pure Land Buddhism — the tradition based on the enlightened realm of Amida Buddha, the Buddha of Infinite Light.

Grasshopper on a stalk of grass at sunet.

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.

Buddhist prayer Mark Unno Buddhadharma Lion's Roar

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.

Buddhadharma - Spring '07 Failure Foolishness Mark Unno Pure Land Shin Buddhism

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.