Ronald Y. Nakasone, a member of the Core Doctoral Faculty at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, earned his MA from Ryūkoku University in Kyoto, Japan, and his PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has written extensively on Buddhist doctrine, ethics, and aesthetics, aging and spirituality, and Ryūkyūan studies. He is a Jōdo Shinshū priest and a skilled sho(calligrapher)-artist.
Huayan philosophy is often thought of as a difficult scholarly source within Buddhist practice. But using the Chinese Buddhist monk Fazang (643-712) as a navigator, Ronald Nakasone invites readers to learn how to apply this Buddhist view of true reality to their contemporary lives. While solidly based in many years of academic study, this book beautifully accomplishes its main aim of inspiring a spiritual journey in the midst of everyday living, from ethical and moral decision making to aesthetic pursuits such as calligraphy and painting. -Eisho Nasu, Ryukoku University, Kyoto, Japan Dr. Nakasone, long-time scholar of the Huayan (Avatamsaka) teachings, illuminates , dharmadhatu-pratityasamutpada, or universal dependent co-arising, a core insight from the Buddha's experience of Awakening. The culmination of many years of study and reflection, this book is a richly rewarding investigation of essential Dharma for 21st century students of the Buddha's wisdom. -Heng Sure, Director of the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery and Senior Monastic at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, Ukiah, California