Buddhist Geeks

Latest Episodes:

No Yogi Left Behind Jul 25, 2015

Show notes

We’re joined again on Buddhist Geeks by one of the most influential figures in the transpersonal psychology movement, Dr. Charley Tart. We cover a huge range of topics in this interview, covering many things related to what he refers to as a “broad scale approach to meditation.”
Charley starts off by speaking about several hypnosis and sensory deprivation research studies, wherein the “demand characteristics” of the experiments dramatically affected the results of the research. We explore the implications this might have on the “set” or context that is used to set up meditation practice, and on the results people experience. We also discuss the lack of useful feedback that occurs in meditation communities, and the dramatically lower success rates of meditation communities, when compared to Western educational institutions.
Episode Links:
An Evidence-Based Spirituality for the 21st Century ( http://bit.ly/1S15WGC )
The Buddhist Atheist ( http://bit.ly/1S15VCy )
The End of Materialism: How Evidence of the Paranormal Is Bringing Science and Spirit Together ( http://amzn.to/py2BQ2 )
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Where Science and Compassion Meet Jul 25, 2015

Show notes

We’re joined this week by Dr. Kelly McGonigal, to discuss her work at Stanford University, where she is teaching compassion-based practices from the Buddhist tradition, taught in a way that pulls from scientific research and appeals to a secular sensibility.
As part of her work with CCARE she shares some of her background with Stanford as well as her long-standing Buddhist practice, which pulls from both the Zen and Tibetan traditions. We close the discussion by exploring some of the difficulties with teaching meditation in a secular context, as well as some of the benefits that come through framing the teachings in scientific and psychological terms.
Episode Links:
www.kellymcgonigal.com
The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It ( http://amzn.to/lcYMyR )
The Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education ( http://ccare.stanford.edu )
Cheri Huber ( http://www.cherihuber.com )
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The Dark Night Project Jul 25, 2015

Show notes

We’re joined again this week by Brown University neuroscience researcher Willougbhy Britton. Willougbhy begins this episode by going into further depth into some of the typical experiences that have been reported during her research into the difficult stages of the contemplative path. She lists out typical changes in cognition, affect (emotion), perception, and other psychological material. She also explores the typical duration of these experiences and explores some of the philosophical and practical ramifications of these stages.
Toward the end she also speaks about how she and her colleagues–all part of this emerging group of contemplative scientist hybrids–have come together to create a new contemplative development mapping project. This new generation of scientists are studying the mind, and have immersed themselves not only in scientific methodologies but also in contemplative practice.
This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, The Dark Side of Dharma.
Episode Links:
Willoughby Britton @ Brown University ( http://research.brown.edu/myresearch/Willoughby_Britton )
Britton Lab ( http://www.brittonlab.com )
Mind and Life Institute ( http://www.mindandlife.org )
Cheetah House ( https://cheetahhouse.wordpress.com )
Brown University Contemplative Studies Initiative ( http://bit.ly/rOnze )
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The Dark Side of Dharma Jul 25, 2015

Show notes

We’re joined this week by Brown University neuroscience researcher Willoughby Britton. In this episode Dr. Britton shares some of the details of a research project that she’s working on called, “The Difficult Stages of the Contemplative Path.” She goes into the purpose of the research project and also some of the research methods she’s using to establish a helpful subjective phenomenology for these difficult stages.
She also speaks about how she has collaborated with both meditation teachers and Buddhist scholars to help determine what the common experiences are for practitioners, and whether they have textual references in the Buddhist canons. And to make matters even more interesting, she shares what her personal experiences have been like, as she’s a committed meditation practitioner herself.
This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, The Dark Night Project.
Episode Links:
Willoughby Britton @ Brown University ( http://research.brown.edu/myresearch/Willoughby_Britton )
Britton Lab ( http://www.brittonlab.com )
Willoughby Britton at the Buddhist Geeks Conference, on the Problem with Meditation ( http://blogs.laweekly.com/stylecouncil/2011/09/buddhist_geeks_considerable_to.php )
Cheetah House ( https://cheetahhouse.wordpress.com )
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The Internet is Not Your Teacher Jul 25, 2015

Show notes

This week’s episode comes from the recent Buddhist Geeks conference where Ethan Nichtern, a Buddhist teacher in the Shambhala tradition, speaks about ways in which the internet falls as a an aid in dharma. He uses the Tibetan teaching on co-emergence to frame the simultaneous benefits and harms of the internet, while also speaking about the limitations of a DIY (Do it Yourself) approach, especially when not being open to genuine human contact, with your community or with a teacher. And he argues that in order to go beyond a surface level dharma, which is mostly what he sees online, that one has to stay with things long enough to penetrate their true meaning. He suggests ways that we might do this and presents a very strong argument for not virtualizing Buddhist practice.
Episode Links:
Ethan Nichtern ( http://www.ethannichtern.com )
The Interdependence Project ( http://www.theidproject.org )
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Enlightenment For the Rest of Us Jul 25, 2015

Show notes

“You can perform neurosurgery on yourself.” – Kenneth Folk
This week’s episode comes from the recent Buddhist Geeks Conference, where meditation teacher Kenneth Folk spoke about his three pillars of pragmatic dharma: 1) awakening is possible, 2) I know because it happened to me, and 3) here’s how.
Kenneth cycles through each of these pillars, going deeper each time, first exploring what enlightenment is–highlighting the difference between a moment of awakening and enlightenment as human development. He also speaks about why he claims that it happened to him, challenging a taboo in Buddhist culture to not speak about one’s personal experience of enlightenment. He then speaks about attention as the common denominator of all the technologies for awakening, exploring his particular approach to training attention, what he calls the 3-speed transmission.
Episode Links:
Kenneth Folk Dharma ( http://kennethfolkdharma.com )
The #bgeeks11 Round-Up ( http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2011/08/the-bgeeks11-round-up/ )
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There is No Enemy Jul 25, 2015

Show notes

“Obstacles in your path should not be regarded as obstacles. They are simply features of the landscape which have to be negotiated.” – Ken McLeod
This week’s episode is taken from the recent Buddhist Geeks Conference, where Ken McLeod–a well known Buddhist teacher and management consultant–spoke about moving beyond ‘us vs. them,’ embracing the mystery of the human condition, and changing the world. Ken speaks about the futility of fighting our lives, explores what it means to make an something an enemy, and how to realize that there is no enemy. He shares many helpful suggesting in creating what he calls “a toolkit for change.”
Episode Links:
Unfettered Mind : Pragmatic Buddhism ( http://www.unfetteredmind.org )
Secret Pilgrim ( http://amzn.to/pzqFAm )
The #bgeeks11 Round-Up ( http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2011/08/the-bgeeks11-round-up/ )
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To Know One Religion is to Know None Jul 25, 2015

Show notes

We’re joined this week by Comparative Religion scholar and Buddhist teacher Rita Gross. Rita shares how she got into Buddhist practice, first studying deeply in the Shambhala tradition and then in the last several years with the Tibetan Nun Jetün Khandro Rinpoche.
Rita goes on to speak extensively on the value of studying religion, both as a comparative endeavor and also from the perspective of history. She speaks about the vital insights of the Western European Enlightenment and how the values of rationality and tolerance can imbue our study of Buddhism. She speaks about the types of confusion, sectarianism, and fundamentalism which can reign supreme without this comparative mirror, and urges Buddhist practitioners to learn the clear difference between traditional narratives–the story that tradition tells us–and historical narratives–what a camcorder would record if it were sent back in time. She wraps up our conversation by pointing out that the study of Buddhist history also reveals an incredibly continuity across traditions, and also suggests that we might be at the cusp of a proliferation of Buddhist thought that hasn’t been experienced since 7th century India.
Episode Links:
Rita M. Gross ( http://ritamgross.com )
“Buddhist History for Buddhist Practitioners” ( http://www.tricycle.com/feature/buddhist-history-buddhist-practitioners )
Naropa University ( http://www.naropa.edu )
Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khandro_Rinpoche )
Buddhism After Patriarchy ( http://amzn.to/qo1yxp )
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The Buddhist Teachers Council Jul 25, 2015

Show notes

We’re joined this week by vipassana teacher Martin Alyward to hear his perspective on the Buddhist Teachers Council, a recent gathering of Western teachers that was held at the Garrison Institute. Martin was part of the group of next generation teachers who met with pioneering teachers to explore how they might better support one another. In addition to exploring some of what happened at the teachers council we speak about some of the intense reactions, particularly in the blogosphere, that this gathering incited.
Episode Links:
2011 Buddhist Teachers Council ( http://bit.ly/1S13OOS )
Le Moulin Meditation Centre ( http://www.dharmanetwork.org )
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The End of Self-Referencing Jul 25, 2015

Show notes

We’re joined again by Harvard trained social scientist Dr. Jeffery Martin. As a conclusion to our discussion on the initial findings on his research into “non-symbolic consciousness” Jeffery goes into the further reaches of his research participants. He speaks about the tendency for people on the higher range of his model to have a diminished sense of self-referential thoughts, emotions, and will, even to the point of being completely gone. Jeffery also covers some of the biases in his research pool, as well as the way that traditions might serve to both support and then also hinder people’s movement into non-symbolic consciousness.
This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, The Study of Non-Symbolic Consciousness.
Episode Links:
The Fourth Awakening ( http://www.fourthawakening.com )
Center for the Study of Non-Symbolic Consciousness ( http://www.nonsymbolic.org )
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