Buddhist Geeks

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Self is a Network Phenomenon Jul 21, 2015

Show notes

We’re joined again by Neuropsychologist and Theravada teacher, Rick Hanson. This time we explore the Buddhist proposition of anatta, or selflessness, from the point of view of neuroscience and the brain. Rick explores whether a self actually exists using the following 4 core attributes of how a self is often defined:
1. It is unified & coherent
2. It is stable & enduring
3. It is independent
4. It is the whole of experience
Looking at current research on how the self manifests in the brain, as what Hanson calls a “network phenomenon”, he deconstructs each of these four attributes, arguing that “self is not special inside the brain.”
This is part 2 of a three-part series. Listen to part 1, A Crash Course in Applied Neurodharma and part 3, Eddies in the Stream.
Episode Links:
Wise Brain ( http://www.wisebrain.org )
Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom ( http://bit.ly/J4gPr )
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A Crash Course in Applied Neurodharma Jul 21, 2015

Show notes

This week, we’re joined by trained Neuropsychologist and Theravada Buddhist teacher, Rick Hanson, to explore what he calls “applied Neurodharma.” We begin by exploring the 1st noble truth of suffering, but from the perspective of evolutionary neurobiology. In other words, why does it appear that we’re hard-wired to suffer, and what are the mechanisms behind it?
And just as in the 4 noble truths, where we start with the diagnosis and end with a prescription, after exploring the 1st noble truth, Rick shares some suggestions for training the mind to overcome some of the hardwired tendencies we have to fixate on the negative. These suggestions come both from the Buddhist tradition, as well as directly from what we know of the distributed nervous system (and the Brain) from modern-day neuroscience.
This is part 1 of a three-part series. Listen to part 2, Self is a Network Phenomenon and part 3, Eddies in the Stream.
Episode Links:
Wise Brain ( http://www.wisebrain.org )
Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom ( http://bit.ly/J4gPr )
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Work, Sex, Money, Dharma Jul 21, 2015

Show notes

Martin Aylward continues his discussion with us how we can bring forth a more relevant, relational, and potent form of contemporary dharma practice. He begins by exploring the tendency for Western practitioners to rely too much on retreat practice, instead of on the juice that comes from their daily lives, and the need to work more skillfully with our everyday experience.
In particular he highlights the areas of money and sex, as being areas of our lives that have a lot of charge, and yet are usually nominalized in dharma teachings. In 2010 Martin will be leading a special urban-based retreat (or sandwich retreat) entitled Work, Sex, Money, Dharma that deals specifically with these parts of our human experience, in the hopes that we can create a practice of awakening that includes every aspect of our lives.
This is part 2 of a two part series. Listen to part 1, Freestyle Awakening
Episode Links:
Le Moulin Meditation Centre ( http://www.dharmanetwork.org )
Work, Sex, Money, Dharma ( http://worksexmoneydharma.com )
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Freestyle Awakening Jul 21, 2015

Show notes

The theme of distinguishing between the Buddhist teachings and forms which lead to awakening, and those forms that are culturally inherited and perhaps unsuited for our current Western context, is an ongoing one on Buddhist Geeks. This week, we continue this exploration with Dharma teacher, Martin Aylward.
Martin, who lives in southern France, where he runs and teaches as Le Moulin Meditation Centre, has been actively exploring what it means to translate Dharma to the West. He recognizes that we’re still quite early in that process, but is a pioneer when it comes to adapting the forms of Buddhism to the West. His use of technology and emphasis on relational dharma, as well as what calls “Freestyle” or “DIY Awakening” is a striking attempt at making Dharma more relevant for the lives of Western, engaged, lay practitioners.
This is part 1 of a two part series. Listen to part 2, Work, Sex, Money, Dharma.
Episode Links:
Ajahn Buddhadasa ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhadasa )
Le Moulin Meditation Centre ( http://www.dharmanetwork.org )
Work, Sex, Money, Dharma ( http://worksexmoneydharma.com )
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Investing in the Future of American Buddhism Jul 21, 2015

Show notes

We continue our discussion with Shambhala acharya, Judith Simmer-Brown, about how we can strategically invest in American Buddhism so that it survives in the long-term. We explored the first three areas of importance in-depth in part 1, which included the translation of core texts, the development of a monastic lineage, and the appointment of dharma heirs.
In this part of the discussion we flesh out the details of the fourth area, which is royal patronage. Judith speaks about how, given a lack of that kind of support, most dharma teachers and organizations turn whole-heartedly to the market to sustain them. And with that come all sort of issues–including the pursuit of fame and fortune. We finish the discussion, going back to the question of whether we’ll be able to develop a monastic community in the West, and why that’s important to the healthy development of Buddhism in America.
This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, The Survival of American Buddhism.
Episode Links:
Naropa University ( http://www.naropa.edu )
Tassajara Zen Center ( http://www.sfzc.org/tassajara/ )
Gampo Abbey ( http://www.gampoabbey.org )
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The Survival of American Buddhism Jul 21, 2015

Show notes

This week, we’re joined by Shambhala acharya and Naropa University professor, Judith Simmer-Brown. She joins us today to discuss four areas, which she learned about while at Colombia University in the late 60’s, that help determine whether or not Buddhism will take root in a new country. These four are:
1. The translation of core Buddhist texts into English
2. The development of a monastic lineage w/ American lineage holders
3. The training and appointment of dharma transmission holders
4. Royal patronage, or financial support from within the country
After describing each area of focus, Judith goes into depth as to how we’re doing with the first three areas, today in America. She shares her reflections, while also raising some provocative questions, as to how we’re doing with building a sustainable infrastructure for Buddhism to prosper in the West. Next week, we’ll finish the conversation by exploring the 4th area in depth, and speaking about how we can best invest in the future of American Buddhism.
This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, Investing in the Future of American Buddhism.
Episode Links:
Becoming Whole: Lineage and Gender in American Buddhism ( http://bit.ly/1VrfRUW )
The Scholar-Practitioner: Joining Theory and Practice ( http://bit.ly/1Vrggqu )
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Turning Your Back to the Buddha Jul 21, 2015

Show notes

Insight Meditation teacher, Rodney Smith, joins us to explore the topic of “urban dharma”–seeing that the transformative potential of one’s life and relationships are on equal footing with silent, more passive forms of meditation. Rodney critiques the common tendency to elevate silent retreat practice above all other aspects of practice. As part of that exploration he also shares a moving story from his time studying with the famous Advaita teacher Nisargadatta Maharaj.
Rodney concludes by exploring what it might it mean to be a “Buddhist revolutionary,” updating and contemporizing the Buddhist teachings, while “turning one’s back to the Buddha and moving forward…”
This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, Stepping out of Self-Deception.
Episode Links:
I Am That ( http://bit.ly/1gfAD2 )
Dharma Talks by Rodney Smith ( bit.ly/1TOJ5LH )
Seattle Insight ( www.seattleinsight.org )
Lessons From the Dying ( bit.ly/40F0Gh )
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Stepping out of Self-Deception Jul 21, 2015

Show notes

Rodney Smith, the founder of the Seattle Insight Meditation Society, joins us today to discuss several fascinating topics. We start with an exploration of how the Big Bang and the origin of life on Earth (some 3.8 billion years ago) and spiritually significant events. We also discuss the overall compatibility between Buddhist teachings and these new found scientific findings.
Finally, Rodney shares with us a powerful mathematical analogy for understanding the spiritual path, that of fractions. The numerator of the fraction represents the appearances of things, and the denominator represents the undifferentiated wholeness underlying appearances. Rodney shares how spiritual practice, and the process of dying, can both help us cross the fraction line.
This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, Turning Your Back to the Buddha.
Episode Links:
Dharma Talks by Rodney Smith ( http://bit.ly/1TOJ5LH )
Seattle Insight ( http://www.seattleinsight.org )
Lessons From the Dying ( http://bit.ly/40F0Gh )
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Buddha in a Cup of Tea Jul 21, 2015

Show notes

This week, we’re joined by Kenneth Cohen, a well-known qi-gong master. Along with his training in the Taoist qi-gong and tai chi chuan, Kenneth has a strong connection to the Zen tradition and to the Japanese tea ceremony.
In this episode, he shares with us some of the history of tea (the camellia sinensis plant), its long-standing relationship to the Buddhist tradition, his own training with Japanese tea master Millie Johnstone, and the wonderful profundity of drinking a simple cup of tea.
Episode Links:
www.KennethCohen.com
Tao Te Ching ( http://bit.ly/1UysbC )
The Way of Qigong ( http://bit.ly/1P0BiP )
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The Mechanisms of Kensho Jul 21, 2015

Show notes

"A perception, sudden as blinking, that subject and object are one, will lead to a deeply mysterious wordless understanding; and by this understanding will you awaken to the truth of Zen." – Zen Master Huang-po
The above quote, taken from James Austin’s newest book Selfless Insight, is a description of kensho, an "initial awakening" to the true nature of things. We continue our discussion, this week, with James Austin about the importance of both kensho and satori in the Zen tradition, and his hypothesis as to what is happening in the brain, leading up to and during these events. We also discuss the vast importance of the thalamus, which Austin describes as a type of gateway of perceptual experience.
Finally, Austin makes a strong distinction between both the absorptions and various types of quickenings that can precede kensho or satori, but that are not the same as them.
This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, This is Your Brain on Meditation.
Episode Links:
Selfless Insight ( http://bit.ly/QRGFu )
Zen and the Brain ( http://bit.ly/KxYDq )
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