Buddhist Geeks

Where does awareness tend to locate itself? And how is this important in our experience and understanding of the Buddhist path of awakening? This week Diane Musho Hamilton—Zen sensei and Big Mind lineage holder—joins us again to discuss the importance of what Ken Wilber calls the three faces of spirit. Using this powerful notion as a lens we explore questions about how and why lineage is passed down, the way that Buddhism adapts to new cultures and why it is particularly vulnerable to being destroyed, how cultural development impacts the tradition, issues surrounding the master-disciple relationship, and finally whether or not one can regulate the erotic impulse. This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1: Discover Yourself as a Perspective-Taking Being. Episode Links: BigMind.org Women Who Sleep with Their Gurus … and Why They Love It ( http://bit.ly/1HO1QHI ) Essential Spirituality: The 7 Central Practices to Awaken Heart and Mind ( http://bit.ly/732ga )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/pri

Diane Musho Hamilton, Zen sensei and Big Mind lineage holder, joins us to discuss her personal story on the path of awakening. From experiencing the death of several friends at a young age, to studying with Chogyam Trunpga in the mid-80s, to becoming the first lineage holder of a unique new spiritual process called Big Mind, join us as Diane shares the intimate details of her life as a seeker (and non-seeker). In this dialogue we also touch in on the importance that the work of integral philosopher Ken Wilber has had on her teaching, especially with regards to what Wilber calls the three primordial perspectives. These three perspectives can be summarized by the pronouns, “I” (first-person), “we” (second-person), and “it” (third-person). Find out why these perspectives are so important to someone who is trying to bring together the spiritual quest with all of their other endeavors. This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to Part 2, The Three Faces of Spirit: Where is Awareness Locating Itself? Episode Link

We continue our discussion with Buddhist teacher and author, B. Alan Wallace, on the impact of the recently completed Shamatha Project. Dr. Wallace shares the astounding levels of concentration that were achieved during the 3-month retreats he led and tells us more about the achievement of shamatha. Find out how deep the students on this retreat went, and why nearly %20 of them decided to continue on with intensive retreat practice after it was over!Dr. Wallace also discusses the potential impact that a study of this magnitude could have on the scientific community as well as the culture-at-large. Questions that the study aimed to answer included, “Is it possible to train attention?” & “Does meditation have an effect on ethics?”. While the answers may be obvious to meditators, having them scientifically validated could have a major impact on the fields of education, mental health, and psychology.This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to Part 1: Reverberations from The Shamatha Project.Episode Links:T

B Alan Wallace, author of “The Attention Revolution” and “Embracing Mind”, joins us to discuss the initial results from The Shamatha Project—one of the most extensive studies on the long-term benefits of meditation practice ever conducted. The terabytes of data that were collected during the course of the retreat-study included physiological and psychological measurements, thousands of entries from student journals, and the ongoing evaluations from Dr. Wallace as he interviewed with the students. Find out what his evaluations were, and how deeply the yogi’s progressed over the course of their 3-month retreats. Also listen is in to hear Dr. Wallace’s perspective on the relationship between shamatha and vipassana, and whether deep states of shamatha are necessary pre-requisites for the advanced practices of insight found in the Buddhist tradition. This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to Part 2: Unwavering Samadhi: Meditative Achievement and Its Impact in the World. Episode Links: The Attention Revolution

Have you ever considered what it would be like to cultivate, what in the Buddhist tradition are called the siddhis or magical powers? Buddhist magic is an endlessly fascinating topic, and in this episode we speak with Daniel Ingram, one of our favorite guests here on Buddhist Geeks, about the powers.We cover their historical treatment by some of the major traditions, including the Zen, Tibetan, and Theravada. Daniel also gives us his first-hand experience having explored the powers, and considers the implications of doing public magic, and whether or not this kind of magic is “objectively real”. We also discuss the ethical issues involved in using magic and issues of reproducibility.Finally, we take a look at the ancient text, The Fruits of the Homeless Life, and explore what was said in that text about the powers, especially about the greatest power of all, the power of insight.Episode Links:Mahasi Sayadaw ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahasi_Sayadaw )InteractiveBuddha.com Pa Auk Sayadaw ( http://www.paauk.

The Geeks of the Round Table™ continue their discussion on the Big Mind process and the criticisms from Zen teacher Brad Warner, in his article Big Mind™ is a Big Load™ of Horse Shit (link goes to SuicideGirls, an alt porn site). The geeks focus on these criticisms which include charging for the dharma, the nature of an authentic transmission, trademarking Dharma practice, ethical issues with marketing the dharma, and issues of confusing personal psychology with transpersonal states and stages. Hold on to your seat and be prepared to be whisked into a world of geeky and fun banter between these young (and foolhardy) practitioners. This is Part two of a two-part series. Listen to Part 1: McZen: A Double Satori with Cheese. Episode Links: Seth Godin ( http://www.sethgodin.com ) Sex, Ecology, Spirituality ( http://bit.ly/awSyG ) BigMind.org Instant Enlightenment: Fast, Deep, and Sexy ( http://bit.ly/H1vIn ) Tracing Back the Radiance: Chinul’s Korean Way of Zen ( http://bit.ly/1aB1KR )See Privacy Policy at https:

This is an experimental dialogue called Geeks of the Round Table. In this session we speak with two young Buddhist practitioners in a round-table format about Brad Warner’s criticisms of the Big Mind process, in an article he wrote called, Big Mind™ is a Big Load™ of Horse Shit . We are joined by a student of Genpo Roshi’s as well as someone who has a more skeptical view of the Big Mind process. This quick-paced dialogue covers a number of interesting topics including the difference between altered states and permanent traits, issues of marketing the Dharma, the nature of skillful means, transmission and practice, the important dialectic between tradition and innovation, and the recipe for a sensational new sandwich, the double satori with cheese. This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to Part 2: Geeks of the Round Table™. Episode Links: Skillful Means / Upaya ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skillful_means ) Big Mind Zen Center ( http://bigmind.org ) Big Mind(tm) Sucks (Part a Million) ( http://hardcoreze

Crazy Wisdom, a phrase coined by the late Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, is used to describe uncommon, unique, and even wild ways of sharing wisdom. Wes Nisker, insight meditation teacher, shares with us his connection to the crazy wisdom teachers of the past, including such spiritual teachers as Jesus, Rumi, Kabir, and Benkei as well as philosophers, scientists, and artists from the Western tradition. We discuss the importance of crazy wisdom, especially with regards to it’s ability to pave the way for new ways of thinking. Quoting Oscar Wilde, Wes explains that, “all great truths begin as blasphemy.” At the end of the talk we share an except from Wes Nisker’s comic monologue album, with a track entitled Meeting the Buddha on the Road. With his own unique brand of Crazy Wisdom, Wes shares his initial exposure to the dharma and to the difficult, albeit funny, truth of how the mind works. This is part 3 of a three-part series. Listen to Part 1: Atto, Zepto, and Yacto: The Buddhist Marx Brothers and Part 2: Science

“The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which he has attained to liberation from the self.” – Einstein One would think that the above quote would come from one of the East’s great sages, but instead it comes from one of the last centuries most celebrated physicists. In this episode Wes Nisker shares with us his understanding of the similarities and differences amongst the Eastern and Western approaches to knowledge. He uses the human brain and it’s two hemispheres as a metaphor for understanding these two different, and yet intimately related perspectives, and explores whether or not science is actually be a valid wisdom tradition. We also discuss issues of intelligent design and evolution, as well as what it’s like to look at the history of humanity through a “deep time” perspective. Enjoy this fast-paced and intellectually stimulating dialogue. This is part 2 of a three-part series. Listen to Part 1: Atto, Zepto, and Yacto: The Buddhist Marx Brothers, and Par

What would it be like if we were able to extend the silence & clarity of the meditative mind into our relationships? Would this impact how we listen, what we say, and even how we perceive reality? Gregory Kramer, teacher of a unique interpersonal meditation called Insight Dialogue, claims that it does this and much more. In this dialogue we find out about the specifics of the Insight Dialogue practice, covering each of the six steps of this practice (see below), as well as exploring what it’s like to be on a retreat where both individual and interpersonal contemplation takes place.The six steps of Insight Dialogue:PauseRelaxOpenTrustEmergence Listen Deeply Speak the Truth This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to Part 1, Interpersonal Meditation: Awakening as Relational Beings. Episode Links: Insight Dialogue: An Interpersonal Path to Freedom ( http://bit.ly/U4EAi )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full

We speak to insight meditation teacher and comedian Wes Nisker about humor, enlightenment, and the way that the scientific vision has impacted and informed the teachings of the Buddha. Quoting Wavy Gravy, Wes comments that, “If you don’t have a sense of humor, it just isn’t that funny.” Wes, who also has a passion for science, shares the Buddha’s teachings on karma and impermanence and how those teachings relate to the current state of science. Find out how much happens in a yactosecond, and what science and the Buddhist teachings in karma have in common. This is part 1 of a three-part series. Listen to Part 2: Science as the Western Wisdom Tradition & Part 3: Crazy Wisdom Saves the Day! Episode Links: The Big Bang, The Buddha, and the Baby Boom ( http://bit.ly/D9jv7 ) Inquiring Mind ( http://www.inquiringmind.com )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscr

Gregory Kramer, teacher of an interpersonal meditation practice called Insight Dialogue (and author of a book with the same title) joins us to explore the question of, “What is the path of awakening, when we realize that we are essentially relational beings?” We discuss his early path as a meditator and the later work that contributed to the co-creation of the dialogic meditation practice, insight dialogue. We also delve into the interpersonal truths behind the 4 noble truths, especially as they relate to interpersonal suffering and hunger, and see how interpersonal meditation is one way to become free both personally and relationally. This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to Part 2, Insight Dialogue: Extending Meditation into Mutuality. Episode Links: Insight Dialogue: An Interpersonal Path to Freedom ( http://bit.ly/U4EAi )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeek

Jundo Cohen, student of Gudo Wafu Nishijima Roshi, and abbot of the almost completely virtual Treeleaf Zendo joined us to discuss his virtual sangha. Jundo formed the community to meet the needs of those people who were living in highly isolated situations, or were too sick or elderly to continue to sit with a local Sangha. Using technological tools such as Skype, U-Stream, and Operator 11 Jundo has found a way to do daily sittings, ceremonies, and even retreats online. Listen in and find out more about this ground-breaking endeavor. Episode Links: Treeleaf Zendo ( http://www.treeleaf.org ) U-Stream ( http://www.ustream.tv )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscribe

We continue our discussion with spiritual teacher and dharma punk Noah Levine, and cover several more areas of interest, including the traditional Theravada ideal of enlightenment. We also discuss what it looks like to live as a Spiritual Rebel, Revolutionary, and finally a Spiritual Radical. Finally, Noah shares some of his thoughts on ways to engage environmental and political issues from a Buddhist perspective. Far from trying to escape samsara, Noah finds himself more and more interested in taking on the ideals of the Bodhisattva. We finish the dialogue asking Noah whether he thinks the Buddha was a boxers or briefs kind of guy. Be prepared to fall out of your chair (or cushion) in laughter when you hear his reply. This is the 2nd part of a two-part series. Listen to Part 1: Being Human and Suffering Less Along the Way. Episode Links: Against the Stream: A Buddhist Manual for Spiritual Revolutionaries ( http://bit.ly/KKrC8 ) Dharma Punx ( http://bit.ly/cmiwi4 )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/priva

Finishing up our discussion with scholar-practitioner, and Shambhala Acharaya, Judith Simmer-Brown we explore two very important issues for Western Buddhists: lineage and gender. Judith shares her take on the importance of lineage for new teachers, explaining the role of an Acharaya, and discussing the need to connect strongly to the roots of the tradition. She also warns that if as Western Buddhists we aren’t properly educated in our traditions we can’t make intelligent adaptations, however important those adaptations might be. We also discuss the role of gender in the West, acknowledging first and foremost that Western Buddhism has a very different relationship to gender then our Asian forefathers. A large percentage of Buddhist practitioners and teachers in the West are women, and as a result there have been interesting changes afoot. This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to Part 1: The Scholar-Practitioner: Joining Theory and Practice.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Pr

Noah Levine, Buddhist teacher and dharma punk, shares the intimate details of his early lifestyle of punk rock, drugs, and jail and his climb out of a harmful way of living that was facilitated in part by meditation practice. For more details about his journey check out his spiritual memoir, Dharma Punx. He also shares with us his experience of becoming a Buddhist teacher under the tutelage of Jack Kornfield. We go on to talk about Noah’s most recent writing Against the Stream, and his unique way of expression the dharma. We also discuss the difference in how 1st generation & 2nd or 3rd generation teachers might express the Dharma in the West. He claims that there is a difference in emphasis, but that they are expressing the same fundamental teachings. We finish our conversation discussing the ideas of karma and grace, and their inter-relation, as well as the true aim of the path, which for Noah is about “being human and suffering less along the way.” This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to Part 2:

Judith Simmer-Brown, a professor of Religious Studies at Naropa University and authorized teacher in the Shambhala tradition speaks with us about the coming together of theoretical study and meditation practice in the context of academia—what professor Charles Prebish calls the “scholar-practitioner”. She shares with us the historical precedents for this movement in America, and how it is changing now. When asked about the benefits of doing both study and practice together, Judith shares much of what she sees are the benefits of using a “contemplative pedagogy” (or contemplative education approach) in the classroom. She also relates the danger of not bringing these two forms of practice together, in that one could become either a “stupid practitioner” or “arrogant scholar” without the grounding of the opposite discipline. We finish the conversation with Judith sharing some of resources she suggests for those people who want to deepen their theoretical understanding of the Buddhist tradition. This is part 1 of

We continue our discussion with the Venerable Thubten Chodron, a long time Western Buddhist Nun, and founder of Sravasti Abbey in Washington State. In this dialogue she shares with us the vision behind Sravasti Abbey, discussing the benefits of living the monastic life and using community life as a means to continue to deepen practice. She also discusses the importance of monasteries in western culture, and maintains that monastics can serve as the conscience of the society, citing the recent events in Burma as an example. She also holds that monasteries are a place of hope and optimism, and that many people feel inspired and challenged by the monastic lifestyle. Before closing off the conversation she also touches on the importance of the dharma being offered freely to all people, especially with regards to gender. We hope you enjoy this conversation with one of the West’s most beloved Tibetan Nuns. This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, Reformatting the Hard Disk of the Mind. Episode Links:

In the second half of our conversation with Buddhist teacher Diana Winston we go on to discuss the various ways that Buddhism and more secular mindfulness practices are being marketed to youth. The mindfulness movement itself seems to be one of the most promising of these different methods, as does the promulgation of Buddhist teachings via the internet. We finish off our discussion exploring the promises and perils of starting a serious practice when one is in their teens, and explore how serious, young practitioners end up often missing out on some other important areas of development. This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, What Happens to the Dharma when the Boomers Die Out? Episode Links: Wide Awake: Buddhism for the New Generation ( http://bit.ly/RHZXx ) UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center ( http://www.marc.ucla.edu )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.bu

Thubten Chodron, a long time Western Buddhist Nun, and founder of Sravasti Abbey in Washington State, took time with us to discuss her work as a teacher, including all of the work she has done with students online. She shared with us the potential down-sides of having a purely digital relationship with a teacher, as one doesn’t have the opportunity to see experience teacher as a living example. Chodron also commented on an issue she sees our society having with spiritual practice, in that we tend to want things to be easy and quick. Her, and other teachers, have observed a tendency to want a kind of “push-button enlightenment”. The truth, she says, is that there aren’t any shortcuts when it comes to transforming the mind and realizing suffering and it’s cessation. We finish off our conversation with Chodron exploring what has changed as Buddhism has come to the West. She mentions that much of the packaging has changed, but that it’s always a tricky process differentiating the packaging from the teachings of l