Alfred Bloom

Rev. Dr. Alfred Bloom (1926–2017) was one of the world’s foremost authorities on the study of Shin Buddhism. He was Professor Emeritus at the University of Hawaii. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University, taught World Religions and Buddhism at the University of Oregon and the University of Hawaii. He was Dean at the Institute of Buddhist Studies, sponsored by the Buddhist Churches of America. Prof. Bloom was an ordained Shin priest.

About Dr. Bloom, the well known Buddhist magazine Tricycle: The Buddhist Review said: “Bloom is widely regarded as one of the most important American figures of the past five decades in the Jodo Shin school of Buddhism.”

For World Wisdom, Prof. Bloom  edited The Shin Buddhist Classical Tradition: A Reader in Pure Land Teaching (vol 1), which was the first volume of a two-volume work. This book is an expertly compiled reader that lends itself to use in classroom settings, as well as for personal enjoyment. The second volume was released in September 2014. Earlier, Prof. Alfred Bloom also edited The Essential Shinran: A Buddhist Path of True Entrusting for World Wisdom, as well as Living in Amida’s Universal Vow: Essays on Shin Buddhism, a collection of articles on Shin Buddhism.