Mitchell grew up in the Los Angeles area and studied philosophy and religion at San Francisco State University under Jacob Needleman and Ronald Epstein.
[1] Between 2002 and 2012, Mitchell maintained the blog The Buddha is My DJ where he wrote about his research, American Buddhism, racism, and engaged in debate with other Buddhist bloggers of the time, including the "Angry Asian Buddhist.
Harry Gyokyo Bridge, a Shin Buddhist minister and bassist based in Oakland.
Mitchell has argued for the importance of media analyses in the understanding of Buddhism’s dissemination to the West,[7] and has published numerous essays on the topic.
[9] In addition to his original scholarship, Mitchell serves on the editorial committees of the Pacific World Journal, The Pure Land: Journal of the International Association of Shin Buddhist Studies, and the Oxford Encyclopedia of Buddhism.