Buddhist Geeks

“Obstacles in your path should not be regarded as obstacles. They are simply features of the landscape which have to be negotiated.” – Ken McLeod
This week’s episode is taken from the recent Buddhist Geeks Conference, where Ken McLeod–a well known Buddhist teacher and management consultant–spoke about moving beyond ‘us vs. them,’ embracing the mystery of the human condition, and changing the world. Ken speaks about the futility of fighting our lives, explores what it means to make an something an enemy, and how to realize that there is no enemy. He shares many helpful suggesting in creating what he calls “a toolkit for change.”
Episode Links:
Unfettered Mind : Pragmatic Buddhism ( http://www.unfetteredmind.org )
Secret Pilgrim ( http://amzn.to/pzqFAm )
The #bgeeks11 Round-Up ( http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2011/08/the-bgeeks11-round-up/ )

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We’re joined this week by Comparative Religion scholar and Buddhist teacher Rita Gross. Rita shares how she got into Buddhist practice, first studying deeply in the Shambhala tradition and then in the last several years with the Tibetan Nun Jetün Khandro Rinpoche.
Rita goes on to speak extensively on the value of studying religion, both as a comparative endeavor and also from the perspective of history. She speaks about the vital insights of the Western European Enlightenment and how the values of rationality and tolerance can imbue our study of Buddhism. She speaks about the types of confusion, sectarianism, and fundamentalism which can reign supreme without this comparative mirror, and urges Buddhist practitioners to learn the clear difference between traditional narratives–the story that tradition tells us–and historical narratives–what a camcorder would record if it were sent back in time. She wraps up our conversation by pointing out that the study of Buddhist history also reveals an incredibly continuity across traditions, and also suggests that we might be at the cusp of a proliferation of Buddhist thought that hasn’t been experienced since 7th century India.
Episode Links:
Rita M. Gross ( http://ritamgross.com )
“Buddhist History for Buddhist Practitioners” ( http://www.tricycle.com/feature/buddhist-history-buddhist-practitioners )
Naropa University ( http://www.naropa.edu )
Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khandro_Rinpoche )
Buddhism After Patriarchy ( http://amzn.to/qo1yxp )

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We’re joined this week by vipassana teacher Martin Alyward to hear his perspective on the Buddhist Teachers Council, a recent gathering of Western teachers that was held at the Garrison Institute. Martin was part of the group of next generation teachers who met with pioneering teachers to explore how they might better support one another. In addition to exploring some of what happened at the teachers council we speak about some of the intense reactions, particularly in the blogosphere, that this gathering incited.
Episode Links:
2011 Buddhist Teachers Council ( http://bit.ly/1S13OOS )
Le Moulin Meditation Centre ( http://www.dharmanetwork.org )

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We’re joined again by Harvard trained social scientist Dr. Jeffery Martin. As a conclusion to our discussion on the initial findings on his research into “non-symbolic consciousness” Jeffery goes into the further reaches of his research participants. He speaks about the tendency for people on the higher range of his model to have a diminished sense of self-referential thoughts, emotions, and will, even to the point of being completely gone. Jeffery also covers some of the biases in his research pool, as well as the way that traditions might serve to both support and then also hinder people’s movement into non-symbolic consciousness.
This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, The Study of Non-Symbolic Consciousness.
Episode Links:
The Fourth Awakening ( http://www.fourthawakening.com )
Center for the Study of Non-Symbolic Consciousness ( http://www.nonsymbolic.org )

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We’re joined by Harvard trained social scientist Dr. Jeffery Martin to discuss some of the incredible research that he’s doing into the further reaches of human potential. He speaks about his initial research, done during his first PhD program, wherein he extensively studied the self-help and positive psychology literature. He explains how this research led him to see that where the further reaches of that literature–and the practices therein–left off was where non-symbolic consciousness begins. Jeffery then goes on to describe the extensive research that he’s done, while completing his PhD at Harvard, on the nature of awakened, or non-dual consciousness.
This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, The End of Self-Referencing.
Episode Links:
The Fourth Awakening ( http://www.fourthawakening.com )
Center for the Study of Non-Symbolic Consciousness ( http://www.nonsymbolic.org )
The God Formula ( http://amzn.to/ovnEwe )
The Intention Experiment ( http://amzn.to/nraxW0 )

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We’re joined again by meditation teacher and actress Stephanie Nash, this time to explore some of the striking parallels between the disciplines of acting and meditation. Stephanie shares how a month-long Shakespeare acting intensive was her gateway to the spiritual path and how at it’s core acting is about allow the flow of experience and emotion. She relates some of the Vajrayana practices to the techniques that actors use, and shares some of the ways that actors use the body to enter into an emotion. We conclude by discussing some of the ways that meditators might also learn from actors, especially when it comes to learning how to positively express emotions and stay embodied.
This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, The Chief Facilitator.
Episode Links:
www.mindfulnessarts.org

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We’re joined this week by meditation teacher and actress Stephanie Nash, to discuss her experience of working with her Shinzen Young. Stephanie is one of Shinzen’s chief facilitators and has been working closely with him since the late 90s. She shares some of the key things she has learned in that process, including the practice of interactive meditation and radical experimentation.
This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, (airing next week).
Episode Links:
Mindfulness Arts ( http://www.mindfulnessarts.org )
Shinzen Young Interviews | YouTube Channel ( http://www.youtube.com/user/ShinzenInterviews )
Stephanie Nash & Other Teachers | YouTube Channel ( http://www.youtube.com/stephnashmeditation0 )

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We’re joined again by Yoga and Buddhist meditation teacher Michael Stone, this time to look at Buddhism as a system. We speak about the interrelations between spiritual systems and the sociological, ecological, and cultural systems that also make up our lives. We also explore what it means for dharma to be in concert with its environment looking at how a systems view may support our motivations to really bring inner wisdom into the outer world.
This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, Connections Between Yoga & Buddhism.
Episode Links:
Centre of Gravity ( http://www.centreofgravity.org )
The Ariyapariyesana Sutta ( http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.026.than.html )

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We’re joined this week by Yoga and Buddhist meditation teacher Michael Stone. We begin by finding out how Michael got into spiritual practice, which happened to be at an early age through a profoundly spiritual uncle who suffered from schizophrenia. During his time in the asylum, visiting his uncle, he learned to meditate, to contemplative the words of great masters from the past, and to develop his own ideas regarding the spiritual path. This early exposure and interaction informed Michael’s future journey, when he ended up practiced deeply in both the yogic and Buddhist traditions.
We finish our conversation by exploring some of the overlaps and deep connections between these wisdom schools, paying particular attention to the similarities between Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and the early sutras of Siddhartha Buddha. We also speak about the body practices of yoga and what they may have to offer to the mind practices of Buddhism, noticing that both schools are ultimately both mind and body practices.
This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, No System Exists in a Vacuum.
Episode Links:
Center of Gravity ( http://www.centreofgravity.org )
The Satipatthana Sutta ( http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.010.than.html )
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali ( https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Yoga_Sutras_of_Patanjali )

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We’re joined again this week by organizational expert, and founder of HolacracyOne, Brian Robertson. Brian begins by describing the pit-falls of both strict hierarchy and consensus based organizational structures, pointing out that in both cases the systems are fused with the people. He contrasts that with the Holacracy structure, which employs several methods designed such that the value of both top-down and bottom-up wisdom can be incorporated into an organization.

We then discuss the challenges of implementing a system like Holacracy, including the difficult “ego shock” that it can have on people who are used to being heroic leaders. We then speak about the notion of “organizational enlightenment”, which Brian speaks of as “the organization waking up to its own purpose in the world”.

This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, Liberating the Soul of Organization.

Episode Links:

🔗 HolacracyOne

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