Apologies of the Patriarchs: Why Zen Masters Don't Fly

The buddhas can fly. Zen masters are buddhas. Therefore, Zen masters can fly. Right? Wrong. This talk examines how the Zen masters in China and Japan explained to their Buddhist colleagues why, although they called themselves buddhas, they did not display the supernormal powers and physical characteristics attributed to the buddhas in scripture.

Speaker: Carl Bielefeldt, Professor of Religious Studies