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Q: Who is Ryu Cope (The Bad Buddha)?
That would be me. I'm a creative, spiritual type who has been a frustrated Buddhist for quite a while. I believe strongly in the Middle Way and the pragmatic teachings of the Buddha. I don't believe in the importance given to the confusing messages that have been added to the Buddha's words over the past twenty-six centuries -- karma, reincarnation, transmigration, enlightenment as an "escape" of anything, etc.
I'm also an ex-stand-up comedian, so don't take anything I say too seriously. Including the previous comment. So there, nyah!
Q: Why "Bad" Buddhism?
Because it is my feeling that modern Buddhism has gotten lost in a quagmire of "feelgood" babble and spiritual mumbo-jumbo. To me, the teachings of the Buddha were about reality and practicality -- not "infinite love and compassion for all things" and "escaping the wheel of rebirth". I believe that the practical, no-nonsense Buddhism I espouse makes me a "bad" Buddhist in the light of what is generally accepted as modern Buddhism by society at large.
Q: Are you a Buddhist monk?
Nope. And neither was the Buddha.
Q: Then what makes you such an expert on Buddhism?
Absolutely nothing. The Buddha himself was special only in that he considered himself "awake". I'm trying to wake up and I'm trying to wake others up with me. And that waking up also means waking up from the metaphysical idiocy that seems to have taken over the Buddhist world.
Q: Can I burn copies of your podcasts onto CD and then sell them?
Uh, NO! That's Copyright infringement, which is a criminal offense punishable by law. Since the podcast and website actually cost me money to make and maintain, I hope to someday be able to sell CDs and such to help support everything. If you sell bootleg CDs of the podcast, that's stealing money that I could otherwise use to improve Bad Buddhist Radio.
Q: What's with the funky gear-looking thingie?
That would be the Torched Wheel. The typical "religious" symbol for Buddhism is a wheel that looks something like a ship's wheel. It's supposed to symbolize the "greater" and "lesser" vehicles (Mahayana and Hinayana [also called Theravada]) of Buddhism with all the spokes symbolizing all the different paths. Like a snowball rolling down a hill, Buddhism has picked up more and more snow, as well as dirt, rocks, leaves, sticks and other unnecessary stuff. The pure core of Buddhism has become hidden behind all these layers. I'm setting the wheel on fire to melt away all those accumulations of the Buddhist wheel, leaving behind the simple teachings of the infinitely practical Buddha. In short, the Torched Wheel symbolizes the burning of the Buddhist wheel as my "bad" act of rebellion against pointless dogma, needless teachings and nonsensical metaphysics. The flames represent the fire of knowledge, the warmth of enlightenment and the light of reason while the wheel of Buddhism is cleared of the many spokes that cover its simplicity. Plus, it just plain looks cool!
Q: What's your RSS feed?
The Bad Buddhist Radio RSS feed can be found at www.badbuddhistradio.com/rc_bbr.rss
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