Buddhist Geeks

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Peering Under the Hood of Buddhist Media Jul 21, 2015

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“Buddhism offers the most profound critique or criticism of life imaginable in it’s analysis of the role of ego, and of the nature of samsara, as well as in its basic doctrine of emptiness. There could hardly be a more profound critique of life then to say that neither your nor it exists.” – Melvin McLeod
Melvin McLeod, Editor-in-Chief of the Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma magazines, joins us to share his perspective on the differences and similarities that Buddhist media sources have with more traditional media. Listen in to find out more about the philosophical underpinnings of a publication that has at it’s heart a commitment to the teachings of non-ego.
This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, The Inevitable Tension: Going Deep vs. Spreading Wide.
Episode Links:
Mindful Politics: A Buddhist Guide to Making the World a Better Place ( http://bit.ly/KnkeU )
Shambhala Sun ( http://www.shambhalasun.com )
BuddhaDharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly ( http://www.thebuddhadharma.com )
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Existential Threats and Risks: We Can't Escape Impermanence! Jul 21, 2015

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“At any moment the Yellowstone caldera could blow up, wipe out %99 of the life on the surface of the planet, and probably all humans, and in our last minutes the degree of equanimity with which we face that prospect is the test of our dharmic fortitude and wisdom.” – James Hughes
In our final episode with professor James Hughes we tackle the less rosy side of Transhumanism, which has to do with massive existential threats and risks. Though there are many natural risks that could threaten humanity as a whole, including large asteriod collisions, gamma bursts, and super volcanoes, the Transhumanist recognize a whole host of other ways that we could threaten ourselves with advanced technologies.
In addition to discussing these threats and all of the possible side traps on the way toward a more techno-utopian future, James ties these together with our understanding of the dharma. He argues that even in a techno-utopian future (assuming we make it), we will still have to deal with annica—the ever changing flow of reality.
This is part 3 of a three-part series. Listen to part 1, Transhumanism and the Authentic Self and part 2, Cyborg Buddhas & Techno-Utopian Pure Lands!
Episode Links:
The Cyborg Buddha Project ( http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/cyborgbuddha ( http://bit.ly/Wh12u )
Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond To The Redesigned Human Of The Future
The Lifeboat Foundation ( http://www.lifeboat.com )
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Cyborg Buddhas & Techno-Utopian Pure Lands! Jul 21, 2015

Show notes

With radical advances in science in technology would it be possible for us to turn our world into a so-called, “Buddha Realm” or would it be more likely that we create some sort of God Realm, where awakening is discouraged because the conditions are so radically pleasant? And how specifically could these advances help us develop spiritually, on the path toward Buddhahood?
This week, we discuss this and other questions with professor James Hughes, author of the upcoming book Cyborg Buddha. If you want to have your views regarding technology and it’s relation to the Buddhist path challenged, please listen in!
This is part 2 of a three-part series. Listen to part 1, Transhumanism and the Authentic Self and part 3, Existential Threats and Risks: We Can’t Escape Impermanence!
Episode Links:
The Cyborg Buddha Project ( http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/cyborgbuddha )
Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond To The Redesigned Human Of The Future ( http://amzn.to/1HOESA8 )
Technologies of Self-Perfection ( http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/hughes20040922/ )
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Transhumanism and the Authentic Self Jul 21, 2015

Show notes

“The longer our lives, the more we’ll have a chance to see that there’s no self living them.” – James Hughes
What is Transhumanism and how is it related to Buddhist practice? Will technology enable us to radically extend our lifespans, help us control our thoughts and emotions, and bring about the potential to upload our consciousness into virtual reality spaces? And if so, what are the deeper implications for our contemplative traditions. Will these advances actually support the deepening of wisdom? According to professor James Hughes, a Buddhist practitioner and leading voice in the Transhumanist movement, these advances will enable us to deconstruct the notion and experience we have of an “authentic self” and will support the development of happiness, and the cessation of suffering. Listen in to find out how…
This is part 1 of a three-part series. Listen to part 2, Cyborg Buddhas & Techno-Utopian Pure Lands! and part 3, Existential Threats and Risks: We Can’t Escape Impermanence!
Episode Links:
The Illusiveness of Immortality ( http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/430/ )
Zen and the Brain ( http://bit.ly/KxYDq )
The Cyborg Buddha Project ( http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/cyborgbuddha )
Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond To The Redesigned Human Of The Future ( http://bit.ly/Wh12u )
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Rebirth and Suffering: How Important Are They? Jul 21, 2015

Show notes

“I do not believe in an after life, although I am bringing a change of underwear.” – Woody Allen
The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche joins us again, this time to discuss the importance of the teachings of rebirth in the Western context. He also gives many detailed suggestions on how to work with suffering in practice, especially when your awareness of it becomes more acute–a common occurrence in practice. We finish off this fantastic dialogue with Rinpoche hearing his thoughts on transplanting Buddhism to the west to form a genuine form of western buddhism.
This is part 3 of a three-part series. Listen to part 1, Analytical Meditation: Going Beyond Coffee Table Dharma and part 2, The Best Preparation for Dying Well is Living Well.
Episode Links:
Bodhi Magazine ( http://www.bodhionline.org )
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche ( http://dpr.info )
Mind Beyond Death ( http://bit.ly/OJHKT )
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The Best Preparation for Dying Well is Living Well Jul 21, 2015

Show notes

The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche is the only Rinpoche we know who owns and uses a Blackberry! Rinpoche shares with us the different ways that he has adopted modern technology into the work that he does and into his teaching style. We also speak with Rinpoche about his most recent book, which explores the Bardo teachings, Mind Beyond Death. Rinpoche explains to us that death, one of the greatest sources of suffering, gives us a palpable opportunity to live well. He also points out that in terms of the trained mind, both death and life are but two sides of the same coin. Both can bring about enlightenment.
This is part 2 of a three-part series. Listen to part 1, Analytical Meditation: Going Beyond Coffee Table Dharma
Episode Links:
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche ( http://dpr.info )
Bodhi Magazine ( http://www.bodhionline.org )
Mind Beyond Death ( http://bit.ly/OJHKT )
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Analytical Meditation: Going Beyond Coffee Table Dharma Jul 21, 2015

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The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, one of the foremost teachers in the Nyingma and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism, joins us to discuss his efforts in creating a genuinely Western form of the traditional shedra tract of Buddhist learning. This traditional scholastic training system is being translated and slightly altered for Westerners so that they can learn the full system of monastic training. In this episode we spoke with Rinpoche about the ways that these systems are being altered for Westerners, how this in-depth training is different from “coffee table dharma”, and how analytic meditation—using the mind to analyze the mind—actually works.
This is part 1 of a three-part series. Listen to part 2, The Best Preparation for Dying Well is Living Well.
Episode Links:
Nitartha Institute ( http://www.nitarthainstitute.org )
Bodhi Magazine ( http://www.bodhionline.org )
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche ( http://dpr.info )
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Zen Masters: Dressing the Donkey with Bells and Scarves Jul 21, 2015

Show notes

Long-time American Zen practitioner Stuart Lachs has spent some 40 years practicing Zen. First with Suzuki Roshi at the Tassajara Monastery in California and then with Eido Shimano Roshi, Walter Nowick, and finally with Ch’an Master Sheng-yen. In all of these communities Stuart ran up against strange and unfortunate dynamics playing out between the Zen Master and their communities. After getting heavily involved with the academic and sociological study of Zen, Stuart began seeing some of the cultural (and invisible) reasons that these communities would falter, whether from sexual scandals, the intense vanity of the teacher, or worse.
In this episode he shares with us some of the ways that the legitimacy, authority & power of the Zen Master are spread through the Zen institution, and how these sometimes ridiculous ideals are accepted without questions from many intelligent, well-meaning, people. If you’re a Buddhist practitioner of any sort, you won’t want to miss this conversation!
This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, The Darker Side of Zen: Institutions Defining Reality.
Episode Links:
Zen Master in America: Dressing the Donkey with Bells and Scarves ( http://mandala.hr/samsara/Stuart_Lachs.The_Zen_Master_in_America.pdf )
The Sacred Canopy ( http://bit.ly/Svhwi )
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The Darker Side of Zen: Institutions Defining Reality Jul 21, 2015

Show notes

"What the teacher really offers the student is literally living proof that all this talk and the seemingly impossible goals [of Zen] can be realized in this lifetime.” – Baker Roshi in the Introduction to Zen Mind, Begineer’s Mind
Stuart Lachs, who for many decades has studied Zen from within and from without, challenges the legitimacy and authority of the Zen Master by deconstructing the structures and invisible institutional systems that grant this authority to the Zen Master. Listen in to find out how Noam Chomsky’s notion of “useful doctrinal fabrications” applies to Zen, how the story of an unbroken lineage of Zen masters going back to the Buddha himself is basically bogus, how all of the elements of Zen itself weave together to form a seamless web of nearly unquestionable power, and why it’s so hard to leave these communities even if you want to.
This isn’t to say that the practice of Zen isn’t extremely powerful, and Stuart himself is a huge fan of the practices therein, but it is to say that many of us aren’t aware of the ways that the institution itself defines reality for us.
This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, Zen Masters: Dressing the Donkey with Bells and Scarves.
Episode Links:
Zen Mind, Begineer’s Mind ( http://bit.ly/pecQo )
Shoes Outside the Door: Desire, Devotion, and Excess at San Francisco Zen Center ( http://bit.ly/ipGKl )
Zen Master in America: Dressing the Donkey with Bells and Scarves ( http://mandala.hr/samsara/Stuart_Lachs.The_Zen_Master_in_America.pdf )
Mahākāśyapa ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahakashyapa )
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Mind Like Space Jul 21, 2015

Show notes

Our conversation with Susan Piver continues this week as we wrap our discussion on the relationship between meditation and writing. We also also explore the role that intention plays in offering or marketing the dharma. Finally, we wrap up the conversation by touching in on personality theory and productivity. Find out which enneagram type the Buddha was, and why productivity systems can bring about more bliss than meditation, in one of our geekiest (and fun) conversations to date!
This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, Susan Piver: The Fearless Writer.
Episode Links:
susanpiver.com
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity ( http://bit.ly/grQY1 )
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