In this final episode of Open Question season one, Elizabeth speaks with Fleet Maull, prison activist, Buddhist practitioner, and author of “Dharma in Hell” and “Radical Responsibility.” He has a fascinating story to tell us about his 14 years of Buddhist practice in prison, starting the first prison hospice program, and the practice of bearing witness. One of the messages Elizabeth took away from this conversation with Fleet, was the need to take ownership of one’s life circumstances. Fleet uses the term “radical responsibility” to describe how agency comes from accepting our own karma. Fleet’s example shows us that it is possible to find agency even in an environment like prison, which, by all conventional definitions, is the antithesis of freedom.

OQ 110 - Dharma in Hell

How do we navigate our lives in the midst of uncertainty? How do we bring our deepest intentions together with our actions? What is the purpose of spirituality? How can we accommodate both the beauty and the pain of life?

These questions may never find a definitive answer,
but they are questions to live by.  At OQ we feel that if you have a genuine question you should explore it, continue to ask it, and then pay attention. 

I am Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel, a Buddhist student and teacher. Please join me as I share some intimate and rich dialogues with accomplished practitioners of diverse wisdom lineages.

To learn more please visit: https://www.elizabethmattisnamgyel.com/oqpodcast

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At 7:15 am on August 7th, 1974, 1,300 feet above a gathering crowd, French high wire artist, Philip Petit, renowned for his unauthorized public stunts, stepped onto a 131-foot wire rigged between the twin towers of New York City's World Trade Center.  In this episode, Elizabeth recalls Petit 's "impossible" display of human courage and confidenceas an analogy for faith, why we need to cultivate it, what it is, and how it works.

OQ 502 - Hail The Impossible!

In this episode, Elizabeth takes us on a journey through the term ‘faith.' We may assume we know what faith is, but most of us have never truly explored its nuance or spectrum of meanings. We often use the term faith to refer to: dogma, fundamentalism, doctrine, confidence, devotion conviction, just to name a few. In the context of contemporary culture, there are those who suggest that we replace the world faith with spirituality, but Elizabeth requests us not to write-off faith so glibly. Faith carries with it the undeniable tension between our search for security and the limits of our ability to know. Faith keeps us connected to the heart of the human condition.

OQ 501 - The F Word

Elizabeth shares the classic Buddhist narrative of Avaloketeshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, and asks us to contemplate the story carefully, adding, “because something similar could happen to you.” Continuing her exploration of the self, Elizabeth navigates the common responses to our challenging human experience: fixing, despairing or withdrawing…all of which are rooted in misunderstanding. Elizabeth takes inspiration, instead, from Avaloketeshvara's example to bear steadfast witness to experience.

OQ 405 - The Self: Bearing Witness

In previous episodes we engaged in the liberating practice of looking and not finding, as we searched for something singular or independent. In this episode, Elizabeth explores the topic of permanence - the 3rd in this triad of classical Middle Way inquiries.  Elizabeth drops back into her grandmother’s kitchen for a tour of the nature of time, what it might mean to ‘live in the moment,’ and the difference between impermanence and emptiness.

OQ 404 - The Self: When Does Bread Become Toast?

Continuing with the theme - The Self: Walking the Middle Way Path, we meet the 2nd Century spiritual genius, Nagarjuna, who is considered the father of the Middle Way school. Nagarjuna once paid homage to the Buddha, saying, “I prostrate to he who has abandoned all views.” Looking into the topic of views, Elizabeth will take us on a fascinating quest.

OQ 110 - Dharma in Hell

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