Buddhist Geeks

Latest Episodes:

Susan Piver: The Fearless Writer Jul 21, 2015

Show notes

When Susan Piver’s book, The Hard Questions, hit the top of the NY Times Bestsellers list (and stayed there) she decided that she needed to deepen her practice immediately. Listen in this week as speak with Susan about her journey as a popular author and Buddhist practitioner. And if you have an interest in writing, or the creative process, you won’t want to miss out on her description of the “meditation for writers” retreats that she leads, where writers of all backgrounds are able to combine their interest in writing with the power of the retreat environment. Are creativity and meditation really all that different?
This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, Mind Like Space.
Episode Links:
How Not to be Afraid of Your Own Life ( http://bit.ly/UwJpP )
Susan Piver ( http://www.susanpiver.com )
The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity ( http://bit.ly/YX85s )
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Every Generation Creates the Dharma Anew Jul 21, 2015

Show notes

The Round Table Geeks continue their exploration of Whitney Joiner’s article, “Dive-bar Dharma”. In a flurry of paradox, perspectives, humor, and exploration they tackle questions of integrating dharma into life, the Buddhist secular movements, contemplative practices in other traditions, and the historical and sociological dimensions of Dharma’s spread to the West. We hope you enjoy this dynamic and fun conversation between fellow Buddhist geeks.
This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, Dive-bar Dharma: Making it Fresh or Sensationalizing it?.
Episode Links:
Dive-bar Dharma ( http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/02/20/dharma_in_dive_bars/ )
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Finding the Future in the Past Apr 30, 2015

Show notes

Hokai Sobol and John Peacock continue their discussion about how the Buddha and Buddhism are described in the earliest Buddhist writings. By getting more accurate with translations of the earliest writings, Peacock believes modern Buddhism can free itself of the trappings of Religion, Humanism, and the need for consolation in the face of reality. They discuss the role and importance of critical inquiry in Buddhism’s future, and how all of this is leading to a secularization of Buddhism.
This is part 2 of a 2 part series. Listen to part 1, Will the Real Buddha Please Stand Up?
Episode Links:
Oxford Mindfulness Center ( http://oxfordmindfulness.org )
Hokai Sobol | 21st Century Dharma ( http://www.hokai.info )
Sutta Nipata ( http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/index.html )
Ariyapariyesana Sutta ( http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.026.than.html )
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The Stories We Tell Ourselves Apr 18, 2011

Show notes

Buddhist scholar and Chaplain Danny Fisher, joins us to explore various stories, or narratives, that run through the Buddhist world. There are a variety of different kind of stories in the Buddhist tradition, including those that are more traditional and those which are more modern. Included in those narratives are Buddhist hagiographies (traditional teaching stories about important figures), historical narratives, and more modern narratives. Listen in as we try and piece apart what some of these stories are, and find out how the stories that we believe in affect us as individuals and communities.

Episode Links:

www.DannyFisher.org

University of the West ( http://www.uwest.edu )

A People’s History of the United States ( http://amzn.to/eytcyu )

How the Swans Came to the Lake ( http://amzn.to/gtQqvB )

Buddhism in America ( http://amzn.to/hu3UWV )

Luminous Passage ( http://amzn.to/fAWiDL )

After the Ecstasy, the Laundry ( http://amzn.to/dHxc2N )

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Redesigning Zen Mar 28, 2011

Show notes

We’re joined this week by Soto Zen teacher Zenkai Taiun Elliston. Along with the being the abbot of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center, Taiun is also a long-time professional designer, having trained and taught modern design. We ask him to share his perspective on the interplay and parallels between the two fields, which brings about a very interesting conversation about the aesthetic of simplicity, the importance of sensory engagement, and the nature of the medium we are exploring, whether it’s a physical medium, as in design, or the medium of consciousness itself, as in Zen.

Episode Links:

Silent Thunder Order ( http://silentthunderorder.org )

Atlanta Soto Zen Center ( http://www.aszc.org )

Bauhaus Design ( https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Bauhaus )

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Optimizing Awareness in Organizations Mar 14, 2011

Show notes

We’re joined this week by Rich Fernandez, who serves as the Head of Learning and Organization Development at eBay. Rich has a long history with meditation and eastern practices, and has been working to bring secular mindfulness practice into the workplace. He shares some striking early research into the experimental programs that he’s helping to implement at eBay and also explores a larger initiative that he’s working on, called the Wisdom 2.0 Architecture.

Episode Links:

Wisdom 2.0 ( http://wisdom2summit.com )

Taylorism ( http://www.answers.com/topic/taylorism )

Migration of Mindfulness: Cave to Corporate America ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbJZFb3ZTrY )

The Mindful Leader ( http://amzn.to/fAq35E )

Awake at Work ( http://amzn.to/fHxw2u )

George Mumford ( http://bit.ly/gXXzYx )

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Young Buddhist Vignettes Mar 09, 2011

Show notes

This week we have an intimate conversation with two young Buddhist practitioners. The first vignette is with Sophie McLaren, who practices in the Shambhala community and runs an organization dedicated to bringing Buddhism and mindful living to youth populations. The second vignette is with Wes Rosacker a Zen practitioner in the White Plum sangha and a training psychotherapist. We discuss how each of these young practitioners makes sense of their practice in terms of the rest of their lives, and how specifically they bring their practical understanding of Buddhism into their professions.

Episode Links:

Everybodhi : peace within, peace in the world ( http://every-bodhi.org )

Taizan Maezumi Roshi ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taizan_Maezumi )

Robert Kegan ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kegan )

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The Way of Everyday Life Feb 28, 2011

Show notes

We’re joined this week by mother, author, and Zen teacher Karen Maezen Miller. Maezen speaks directly to the need to see through the dualisms that we create in our lives, and speaks specifically about the dualism of being a parent and a practitioner. She shares advice on how to not make one part of our life battle with other parts, and explores an empowering understanding of what monastic forms have contributed to us. She also speaks about the misunderstandings that can plague our meditation practice, and where these originate from.

Episode Links:

www.KarenMaezenMiller.com

Hand Wash Cold: Care Instructions for an Ordinary Life ( http://amzn.to/hwJwjh )

Momma Zen: Walking the Crooked Path of Motherhood ( http://amzn.to/gEA5Hc )

Hazy Moon Zen Center ( http://www.hazymoon.com )

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Secrets of Meditation Feb 14, 2011

Show notes

We conclude our discussion with spiritual teacher Sally Kempton—who has her spiritual roots in the Hindu tantra tradition of Kashmir Shaivism—this time speaking about some of the crucial secrets that she has discovered about deepening in meditation. She begins by sharing how she overcame a period where she had been stopping short in her meditation. She shares how she used her spiritual heart and an intention to move into everything to arose in her practice to continue deepening on the path.

She also speaks about how important it is to consider the relationship we have with experience, and connects this with the understanding of relationship being a facet of Spirit. She speaks about the type of relationship one can have with experience, and how that fundamentally changes the act of meditation.

This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, The Tantric Cousins.

Episode Links:

www.SallyKempton.com

Meditation for the Love of It: Enjoy Your Own Deepest Experience ( http://amzn.to/e1bp40 )

The Three Faces of Spirit: Where is Awareness Locating Itself? ( http://bit.ly/1MsmyTT )

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The Tantric Cousins Feb 08, 2011

Show notes

This week we speak with spiritual teacher Sally Kempton. Sally was a student of the influential Hindu guru Swami Muktananda and taught in his lineage for many years. She shares with us her journey of first being introduced to Swami Muktananda, how she became a teacher, and why she shifted from being a swami to teaching in a more secular capacity later on. During the 2nd half of the discussion Sally shares with us some of the history of the tantric non-dual system of Kashmir Shaivism, which is a close cousin to Indian Tantric Buddhism. She compares and contrasts the two systems, and also goes into detail concerning some of the crucial texts, practices, and philosophical tenets of the tradition.

This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, Secrets of Meditation.

Episode Links:

www.SallyKempton.com

Meditation for the Love of It: Enjoy Your Own Deepest Experience ( http://amzn.to/e1bp40 )

Kashmir Shaivism ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashmir_Shaivism )

Vasugupta ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasugupta )

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