Be Here Now Network

In this Independence Day focused episode, Jack reflects on how we can foster true freedom and independence through using a spiritual rudder.

"The Buddha, in the last bit of his life, said, 'When I'm gone, don't follow or place all of your reliance on elders or teachers, but rather follow the Dharma, the universal law, and know these things for yourself. Know the forces of grasping, hatred, and ignorance. Really know what they are. Let yourself see them, and know that it is possible to find freedom from these. If it weren't possible I wouldn't tell you about it. Then as you live your life, be aware of what brings goodness, what brings freedom from grasping, hatred, and delusion. Nourish that which brings that freedom, sustain it and support it." – Jack Kornfield

In this episode, Jack dives into:

The ideals of the U.S., versus its reality and history

What it means to be independent, what it means to be free

Learning what your "spiritual rudder" is to steer you in the midst of this Kali Yuga

Buddha's advice on following the Dharma, and your Way, rather than following others

Our spiritual rudder as synonymous with truth, love, integrity, and our Buddha Nature

True freedom as freedom from the pull and sway of outside circumstances

Real loving kindness, real metta, as timeless, fearless, and free

This Dharma talk given by Jack on July 4th, 1994 was originally published on DharmaSeed.

For episode 218 of the Metta Hour Podcast, we are continuing the Real Life Series celebrating Sharon’s new book by the same name, “Real Life.”

This interview features a conversation between Sharon and Valarie Kaur, recorded for the Living An Authentic Life Summit.

Valarie Kaur is a renowned civil rights leader, lawyer, award-winning filmmaker, educator, innovator, and best-selling author of “See No Stranger.” In Fall 2022, President Biden honored Valarie at the White House in the first-ever Uniters Ceremony, naming her as one of 16 leaders whose work is healing America. Her work has ignited a national movement to reclaim love as a force for justice.

Today, she leads the Revolutionary Love Project to inspire and equip people across America to build community.

To learn more about Valarie’s work, visit her website at valariekaur.com.

Tim Burkett joins Raghu to chat about his journey and the lessons along the way of writing his book, Enlightenment Is an Accident.

Tim joins Raghu to shine light on:

- Stories of studying zen with Suzuki Roshi

- The various perceptions of the term, “enlightenment”

- “Idiot compassion,” spiritual bypassing, and authentic generosity

- The amygdala’s role in our behavior

- The Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, and manifesting non-dual feeling

“Compassion begins with embracing the flaws of others. Healing begins with embracing our flaws.” - Tim Burkett

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Enlightenment Is an Accident with Tim Burkett and Raghu Markus - Mindrolling – Ep. 498 - https://youtu.be/_KS-0LA4KtQ

Raghu Markus – Mindrolling – Ep. 498 – Enlightenment Is an Accident with Tim Burkett - https://beherenownetwork.com/raghu-markus-mindrolling-ep-498-enlightenment-is-an-accident-with-tim-burkett

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Be Here Now Network

Podcasts, Courses, and Articles to help you live a Life in Balance.

Heart-Centered wisdom from Ram Dass, Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Krishna Das + many more!

Get a Free Guided Meditation from Sharon Salzberg when you first sign up at:

https://beherenownetwork.com/

Joseph Goldstein explores the five Iddhis, or fulfillments of understanding, spoken of by the Buddha, and offers four different paths which can lead one to the completion of the fulfillments.

“The Buddha spoke of five Iddhis, or five fulfillments of understanding. The first of them is the Iddhi of special knowledge, which means the knowledge or the understanding of things which go beyond the conventional realm of concepts.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode, Joseph examines the following:

- The term Iddhi, which is best translated as fulfillment of understanding

- The five Iddhis that the Buddha placed the most emphasis on: understanding all the constituent elements of what we call self; opening to the truth of suffering; abandoning the causes of suffering; realizing the end of suffering; developing a path to the end

- The four different paths which can lead one to the completion of the five Iddhis

“These are the fulfillments that the Buddha talked about, the true miracle for us, the true development of understanding. In many of the texts, one of the ways in which somebody who got enlightened would celebrate the event, one of the common refrains, which has always been very inspiring to me, they would often say, ‘Done is what had to be done.’ Wouldn’t that be nice? Done is what had to be done. Finished. Come to completion. Come to fulfillment. We have actually done what needs to be done. What needs to be done is the realization or the development of these five Iddhis.” – Joseph Goldstein

This dharma talk from November 26, 1988 was originally published on Dharma Seed.

Hop in the Sauna with Jack Kornfield and Prince Ea, as they steep deeply into topics of spirituality, fear, meditation, compassion, and staying awake in the world.

Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/heartwisdom

"People say the world is going to hell in a hand-basket, but that's only half the story. There is a lot of suffering that really needs our honest compassion and tending, but it also needs hope. If you go into a refugee camp and you're depressed and worried; they don't need that, they already have plenty of that. They need somebody that comes in and says, 'We human beings can make the world better." – Jack Kornfield

In this episode, Jack and Prince Ea steam in:

- Meeting all facets of the world with optimism and hope

- Why we should never underestimate the human heart

- Mindful presence, loving awareness, and waking up to who we are

- Overcoming fear and not buying into the scare tactics used in politics

- What it was like for Jack to meet and learn from Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

- The story of Jack becoming a Buddhism monk and finding Vipassana meditation

- Unpacking compassion as a verb, rather than empathy which is inactive

About Prince Ea:

Prince Ea is a film maker, speaker, human optimization researcher, and creator who has touched the hearts, minds and souls of millions of people worldwide. By producing creative, inspirational and thought provoking content, Prince has accumulated over 1 billion views on Facebook alone and even more on a combination of other platforms. For more info, please princeea.com

Dr. Sylver Quevedo and Raghu jam on psychedelic preparation and integration, the MAPS MDMA studies, a Ram Dass ketamine story in India, and how 'love, serve, remember' connects to Indigenous wisdom.

“One of the cardinal features that's been learned in the second psychedelic renaissance in the clinical trials has been the importance of two things that were not really understood that well in the 1960s—that is, preparation and integration. By contrast, one of the things that really was discovered early on and articulated very well by Ram Dass and Timothy Leary, was the importance of 'set and setting.' That has survived. It was figured out early on, never went away, and has been rediscovered over and over again.” – Dr. Sylver Quevedo

Raghu and Sylver dive into:

- Taos, New Mexico; the Pueblo people; and the Neem Karoli Baba Ashram in Taos which houses the radiant and emotive Hanuman murti who jumped the ocean from India with Ram Dass and friends back in the day

- Working with MAPS (The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) on their monumental MDMA for PTSD trials

- Psychedelics and love in the 1960s compared to psychedelics and science in the 2020s

- Ram Dass giving the "yogi medicine" LSD to his Guru, Neem Karoli Baba (Maharaj-ji)

- How Ram Dass and Maharaj-ji's lessons of "love, serve, remember" applies to Indigenous wisdom

- The transformational neural-plasticity and heart-opening properties of tryptamines and phenethylamines

- A fascinating Ram Dass on ketamine in India story, and Sylver's out-of-body revelation on ketamine

"In the 1960s, we were mostly young and naive kids. But on the other hand, the ideals that came through there were real, even if we were misguided and naive about a lot of things like psychedelics. Now that science is part of the reality, in terms of the truth: the love and unity that we were pursing in the 1960s was a worthy cause." – Raghu Markus

About Dr. Sylver Quevedo:

Dr. Sylver Quevedo is a psychedelic researcher who has practiced medicine for over 40 years and played major roles in world health projects. He is currently working with MAPS (The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) on their monumental MDMA for PTSD trials.

For episode 216 of the Metta Hour Podcast, we are continuing the Real Life Series celebrating Sharon’s new book by the same name, “Real Life.” In this conversation, Duncan and Sharon speak about states of contraction. How we get stuck there and how to find our way back to a place of openness and curiosity.

This interview features a conversation between Sharon and Duncan Trussell, recorded for the Living An Authentic Life Summit. Learn more: https://summit.wisdomforlife.life/?affiliate=bhnn

Duncan Trussell is a stand-up comedian, podcaster, and actor. His popular podcast, The Duncan Trussell Family Hour, has been downloaded over 25 million times and is known for its blend of humor, fringe ideas, eclectic guests, and great interviews. The DTFH is the foundation for Duncan’s Netflix animated series,

The Midnight Gospel, which he co-created with Pendleton Ward in 2020. To learn more about Duncan’s work, visit his website at duncantrussell.com. This is Duncan’s first appearance on the Metta Hour Podcast.

Sharon's newest book, Real Life, is now available from Flatiron Books in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats. To learn more about the book or get a copy, you can visit Sharon’s website here: https://www.sharonsalzberg.com/reallife/

Joseph Goldstein explores the nature of Samsara, or endless wandering, and the three interdependent cycles of defilements, actions, and results that keep the wheel of Samsara rolling.

“These three Kleshas in the mind – ignorance, craving, and grasping – they keep us moving around and around in this cycle of Samsara. There’s no balance in our lives, there’s no rest in our lives, as long as this cycle of Klesha is revolving.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode, Joseph explores:

- The nature of Samsara and the profound questions it raises for us

- The first interdependent cycle that keeps the wheel of Samsara rolling, the cycle of defilements, or Kleshas

- The three root defilements that keep the cycle of defilements turning – ignorance, craving, and grasping

- The second interdependent cycle, the cycle of actions and karma

- The third interdependent cycle, the cycle of results

- How mindfulness can help us escape the wheel of Samsara

This dharma talk from October 23, 1988, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

Comedian, Mike Finoia, joins Raghu to share his difficult patch with mental health and the tools that have helped him cultivate inner peace.

“I realized that there’s only two ways of operating: It’s either from a place of love or a place of fear. If you're operating from a place of fear, you really can’t be open to the love there is around us. But if you’re operating from a place of love, fear doesn’t stand a chance.” – Mike Finoia

Mike and Raghu go deep about:

Anxiety and finding the tools that work to manage it

Being vocal about the rough patches on Mike's public platform

Practices for changing our internal landscapes

Buddhist perspectives on anger, fear, good-enoughness, and emptiness

Having a sense of humor about our “self-cherishing”

"Mother recognition," or the essence of motherly compassion

“It takes way more courage to break through the constriction that we have in this society. And it takes courage to say, ‘I need some help.’” - Raghu Markus

Connect with Mike on his website or on social media @mikefinoia

Learn more about Vipassana meditation with Joseph Goldstein and Sharon Salzberg here

Check out The Zen of Therapy by Mark Epstein here

Joseph Goldstein guides us through the steps of integrating the science of meditation with the art of meditation as a way of awakening within us the heart of wisdom.

This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthour

“Through this integration, the art and the science, we really awaken in us this heart of wisdom. And the heart of wisdom means seeing the true nature of phenomena. Seeing the true nature very deeply and very profoundly. It means going from the level of concept, from the level of our ideas and opinions about things, to the nature of the reality of it.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode, Joseph explores:

- How our practice is about awakening the heart of wisdom within us by integrating the science of meditation with the art of meditation

- The steps to integrate the science and art of meditation, including opening ourselves to all aspects of experience and refining the quality of our relationship to experience

- How we can drop from the level of concept to the level of what’s really happening, the true nature of experience

- How we can further develop concentration and mindfulness

This dharma talk from September 24, 1988, was originally published on Dharma Seed.