Buddhist Geeks

Lisa Ernst is an artist and meditation teacher in the Zen and Vipassana traditions. She leads the One Dharma Nashville Community that draws from the wisdom traditions of Zen, Vipassana, and Tibetan Buddhism.
In this conversation with host Vincent Horn, Lisa discusses the various facets of working with spiritual questions as part of a contemplative path. She describes her own experience first working with koans in the Rinzai Zen tradition, and then applying that questioning process in her Vipassana practice. The discussion then turns towards how questions can help develop “not knowing”, and how Lisa helps her students learn skillful questioning.
Episode Links:
www.lisaernst.com
One Dharma Nashville ( http://www.onedharmanashville.com )

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Rohan Gunatillake is the creator of buddhify, the mobile mindfulness app for modern life, and the co-producer of Sync, a program that’s helping cultural organizations in Scotland have a more progressive relationship with technology, technologists, design and designers. In 2013 he was appointed a trustee of the British Council, a large scale NGO which promotes Britain internationally through work in the arts, education, and English language training.
In this episode Rohan joins host Vincent Horn to talk about the newly released app buddhify2, as well as the world of “Indie Buddhism”. He begins by describing the updates from the original buddhify app, the general reception the new app has received, and the significance of the project’s success. The conversation then moves to Rohan’s personal experience leading the project and his perception that still more innovation is needed in mindfulness technology.
Episode Links:
www.rohangunatillake.com
buddhify 2 ( http://buddhify.com )
We Need More Buddhist Startups ( https://youtu.be/pLiKHjAyw4M )

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Megan Miller is a technology researcher and entrepreneur from the San Francisco Bay area. After working in editorial and digital roles at National Geographic Adventure, New York Magazine and Popular Science, Megan became regarded as an expert in digital media innovation, appearing frequently as a TV talking head and speaker at events like CES and SXSW Interactive.
In this episode taken from the 2013 Buddhist Geeks Conference, she speaks about digital distraction and how it affects human behavior. She begins by pointing out the many emerging technologies that contribute to digital distraction such as multi-tasking smart phones, link baiting websites, and instant gratification fueled social media. Then she concludes the talk by highlighting the increased efforts made by some people in the media and tech industries to bring less distraction and greater depth to digital technology.
Episode Links:
Megan Miller on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/missmilla2u )

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Diane Musho Hamilton is a Zen teacher and conflict mediator. In this episode she joins host Vincent Horn to explore some of the themes from her first book Everything is Workable: A Zen Approach to Conflict Resolution.
Starting with a description of her early life and education, Diane talks about her introduction to the practice of conflict resolution and how she became the first Director of the Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution for the Utah Judiciary. The conversation then turns to the connections Diane has made between conflict resolution insights and the Buddhist teachings of The Three Poisons. This leads to an exploration of whether contemplatives are naturally conflict averse, what it means to actually practice conflict resolution, and why “everything is workable” doesn’t necessarily mean everything always works out the way we want.
Episode Links:
Diane Musho Hamilton ( http://www.dianemushohamilton.com )
Everything is Workable: A Zen Approach to Conflict Resolution ( http://www.shambhala.com/everything-is-workable.html )
The Hidden Lamp: Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women ( http://www.wisdompubs.org/book/hidden-lamp )

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Mikey Siegel is a meditator & technologist known for his work in projects like BrainBot & HeartSync. He is a pioneer in a field that he calls “Enlightenment Engineering”—the science and technology of facilitating the heightened states of consciousness long described by contemplative and spiritual traditions.
In this episode taken from a recent BG TV episode of Contemplative Technology, hosts Vincent Horn and Mike Redmer speak with Mikey about the current state of contemplative technology. Mikey describes his goal of bringing more legitimacy to the space in academia and business so that more professionals will enter the field. The group then discusses developments in the contemplative technology DIY crowd, a project to create mental activity soundtracks, and the potential inherent to applying contemplative technology in group settings.
Episode Links:
www.MikeySiegel.com
Biofluent ( http://www.biofluent.com )
HeartSync ( http://www.biofluent.com/heartsync/ )

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Lodro Rinzler is a meditation practitioner and teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage. His latest book is Walk Like a Buddha: Even if Your Boss Sucks, Your Ex Is Torturing You, and You’re Hungover Again.
In this conversation with host Vincent Horn, Lodro talks about the book and his new project The Institute for Compassionate Leadership, a leadership training and job placement organization that utilizes mentoring, meditation, traditional leadership skills training, and Obama style community organizing to produce compassionate, self-aware leaders. The interview starts with the inspiration for starting the Institute and what Lodro hopes to accomplish with it and his writing. This leads to a wider conversation about the usefulness of ancient teachings in the contemporary world and the value of fostering global conversation.
Episode Links:
Walk Like a Buddha: Even if Your Boss Sucks, Your Ex Is Torturing You, and You’re Hungover Again ( http://amzn.to/1g9Z7yU )
The Institute for Compassionate Leadership ( http://instituteforcompassionateleadership.org )
www.LodroRinzler.com

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Mark Oppenheimer is an essayist, reporter, critic, and one of the United States’ leading investigators of religion. His new book, The Zen Predator of the Upper East Side, is an investigation of the decades of sexual scandal surrounding Japanese Zen teacher Eido Shimano.
Mark joins host Vincent Horn to discuss the book and the impact his writing has had on the Zen community. Mark reports a brief history of the situation, they discuss the conditions that led to the problems, and they examine why the problem of sexual misconduct is not as common in other Western Buddhist traditions.
Episode Links:
The Zen Predator of the Upper East Side ( http://amzn.to/1as7Uak )
www.MarkOppenheimer.com

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Dr. Jay Michaelson is the author of five books and two hundred articles on religion, sexuality, law, and contemplative practice. His new book is Evolving Dharma: Meditation, Buddhism, and the Next Generation of Enlightenment, published in October, 2013.
In this episode, Jay joins host Vincent Horn to discuss his new book, which explores the evolution of Buddhism. Jay describes his personal interests in writing Evolving Dharma, as well as the value of the topic to wider academia. The conversation includes Jay’s observations on new kinds of Buddhist communities, the trends away from the traditional guru model, and the possible future being created by the further integration of mindfulness with the Western mainstream.
Episode Links:
www.JayMichaelson.net
Evolving Dharma: Meditation, Buddhism, and the Next Generation of Enlightenment ( http://amzn.to/1851v57%EF%BB%BF )

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Willoughby Britton and Daniel Ingram continue their conversation with hosts Emily Horn and Kelly Sosan Bearer to discuss helping people through the experience of the contemplative Dark Night.

To begin the second part of their discussion, Daniel describes the characteristics of Dark Night experience he has seen in the Dharma Overground community and the cycles many people experience. Emily asks whether compassion practice is a common tool to use when in the Dark Night stage. Willoughby and Daniel each describe observations of the usefulness of metta practice and attempt to answer the question: can a sniper have compassion?

Finally, the group explores the topic in context of the TIME story “Aaron Alexis and the Dark Side of Meditation”. This is part two of a two part series. Listen to part one: Varieties of Contemplative Experience Episode

Episode Links:

• TIME: Aaron Alexis and the Dark Side of Meditation ( healthland.time.com/2013/09/17/aaro…-of-meditation/ )
• Daniel Ingram ( integrateddaniel.info )
• The Dharma Overground ( www.dharmaoverground.org )
• Willoughby Britton & Cheetah House ( www.cheetahhouse.org )
• The Dark Side of Dharma ( bit.ly/1IBv56f )
• The Dark Night Project ( bit.ly/1gc7P2j )

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Willoughby Britton and Daniel Ingram join hosts Emily Horn and Kelly Sosan Bearer for Geeks of the Round Table to discuss helping people through the experience of the contemplative Dark Night.
Willoughby starts the conversation by reporting the latest updates on the rebranded Dark Night Project, now called “The Varieties of Contemplative Experience”. The group then moves on to discuss helping mindfulness practitioners through episodes of the contemplative Dark Night, how mental disease does and doesn’t get addressed in the community, and some shared characteristics of people that experience the Dark Night.
This is part one of a two part series. Listen to part two BG 302: Mental Illness and the Dark Night.
Episode Links:
TIME: Aaron Alexis and the Dark Side of Meditation ( http://healthland.time.com/2013/09/17/aaron-alexis-and-the-dark-side-of-meditation/ )
Daniel Ingram ( http://integrateddaniel.info )
The Dharma Overground ( http://www.dharmaoverground.org )
Willoughby Britton & Cheetah House ( http://www.cheetahhouse.org )
The Dark Side of Dharma ( http://bit.ly/1IBv56f )
The Dark Night Project ( http://bit.ly/1gc7P2j )

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