Buddhist Studies on Stage? What the Buddha Never Taught: A Rock Opera

Join Mangalam Research Center for this conversation with Martin T. Adam, creator of the new rock opera, “What the Buddha Never Taught”

Can the creation of a broadway-style Buddhist musical comedy be justified in Buddhist terms? This presentation explores the challenges and dilemmas of adapting Buddhism for the stage– as encountered by the speaker in writing and producing his new play, What the Buddha Never Taught: A Rock Opera. The challenges encompass ethical concerns regarding cultural appropriation as well as practical issues arising from different stages of project development, including the writing of Buddhist pop songs. The project will be discussed from a perspective based in Buddhist ethics, reflecting on questions of motivation and consequence.

Martin T. Adam (he/him) is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Victoria, Canada. Much of his work has been centered on Buddhist ethics, as well as Buddhist meditation theory. In recent years he has entered into different kinds of creative writing as a way of exploring and expressing his engagement with Buddhism.