Buddhist Geeks

We’re joined this week by Brian Robertson, founder of HolacracyOne, a company whose aim is to liberate the soul of organization. We discuss with Brian the main principles and practices behind Holacracy—a system that Brian helped develop as a new operating system on which businesses can run. He distinguishes between what he calls “predict-and-control” management practices and “sense-and-respond” processes, which are much more like the dynamic steering of a bicycle.

We also look at the parallels between the practice of Holacracy and the practice of meditation. Brian’s description of Holacracy as a practice which encourages people to be ruthlessly present with current tensions and to not identify with the roles that they fill are two striking examples of meditative principles applied to business. We conclude our discussion by exploring what he calls “the tyranny of consensus”, seeing that even with a group of highly conscious individuals we may not have the collective skills to really give life to the organizations we’re a part of.

This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, Organizational Enlightenment.

Episode Links:

🔗 HolacracyOne

📄 Differentiating Role and Soul

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We’re joined again by a regular contributor of Buddhist Geeks and blogger at 21awake.com, Rohan Gunatillake. Rohan joins us to explore three areas in which the aesthetic of meditation could be improved. Specifcally these areas are: 1) language, 2) look & feel, & 3) delivery models. We then explore various ideas on how to meet these design challenges with design-specific solutions. Rohan suggests that taking a co-design approach to these challenges, including the users more fully into the design process, is a great first step. In addition he shares details on a project that he’s currently working on, a mobile application called Buddhify, which is a specific example of improving the aesthetic of meditation through technological and design innovations.
Episode Links:
www.21awake.com
Edinburgh Festivals Innovation Lab ( http://festivalslab.com )
Buddhify ( http://buddhify.com )

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This week we’re joined by Susan Kaiser Greenland a leader in bringing mindful awareness to children and teens. We explore the differences between mindful based approaches and Buddhist approaches, seeing in what ways they are mutually supportive and in what ways tensions exist between them. Susan then shares some of the methods she uses for introducing mindfulness to children in a natural way, while highlighting the importance of that teaching being truly embodied.
Episode Links:
www.susankaisergreenland.com
www.MindfulnessTogether.net

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We’re joined this week by Buddhist teacher and scholar Hokai Sobol to explore the broad, but crucial topic of Emergent Buddhism. As a preface to the panel that Hokai will be leading at the upcoming Buddhist Geeks Conference on “The Emerging Face of Buddhism,” he explores the nature of emergence in the history of Buddhism, pointing out that “everything that we call traditional now was at one point emergent.”
Hokai also explores some of the his deepest questions regarding “Emergent Buddhism,” namely 1) What has emerged thus far, that has worked?, 2) What is emerging right now?, and 3) What do the coming decades hold? He explores the importance of each of these questions, while at the same time tackling some complex issues regarding the massive cross-pollination and convergence of multiple religious and secular traditions with Buddhism.
Episode Links:
www.hokai.info

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“Photography and Buddhism share essential interests: both are concerned with clear seeing.” – Andy Karr & Michael Wood
We’re joined this week by Buddhist teacher and photography Andy Karr. We explore some of the principles and practices behind the practice of contemplative photography, a unique method developed by Michael Wood. We also look into the overlaps between Buddhism and photography, with a special emphasis on the distinction of perception vs. conception.
Finally we discuss the broader topic of art and creativity, exploring some of the ways that Chogyam Trunpa taught on this subject, the differences between Western and Eastern art, and the way that “basic nature” serves as the very source of creativity.
Episode Links:
The Practice of Contemplative Photography: Seeing the World with Fresh Eyes ( http://amzn.to/fPJWQc )
Contemplating Reality for the 21st Century ( http://contemplatingreality.blogspot.com )
The Miksang Institute for Contemplative Photography ( http://www.miksang.com )

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In this episode, taken from the Buddhist Geeks Conference 2012, Daniel Ingram talks about the ways that contemplatives could learn from the Naturalists. The Naturalists excelled in meticulous exploration, descriptive science, and classification. Their example can serve as the foundation for the next step in contemplative advancement, where the vast spectrum of inner experience, could be described and cataloged in an entirely new way.

Episode Links:

Daniel Ingram ( http://www.integrateddaniel.info )

Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha ( http://amzn.to/Ri7No5 )

We finish up our discussion with meditation teacher Ken McLeod, touching on a number of fascinating and challenging topics. Ken speaks about the distinction between answering the questions that drive us, as opposed to simply understanding “what the Buddha taught.” He gets into where he thinks these questions originate from, and also what meaning evolution might have on our personal stories.
Ken also explores the dichotomy of lay vs. monastic practice, and uses several analogies to illustrate the differences, including from both music and sports. Vincent and Ken get into a spirited and philosophical discussion as to how far one can take these analogies and how accurate they might be when applied to Buddhist theory and practice.
This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, Pragmatic Buddhism.
Episode Links:
Unfettered Mind ( http://www.unfetteredmind.org )
Buddhism Without Beliefs ( http://amzn.to/ednqVh )
Malcolm Gladwell ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Gladwell )
Khyungpo Naljor ( http://www.tibetanlineages.org/biographies/view/151/6285 )

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We’re joined this week by Buddhist teacher, Ken McLeod, to explore an approach he has coined “Pragmatic Buddhism.” We explore his early Buddhist training, which included 2 back-to-back 3-year retreats, completed under the guidance of Ven. Kalu Rinpoche. He describes this period as part boarding school, prison, and seminary. He shares why it was such a huge culture shock coming out of that traditional training, and ties that in with the way Buddhism has evolved in various cultures up to this point. Ken goes on to share 4 ways that he has adapted his own teaching style to reflect our culture, touching on issues of translation, power, questioning, and the meaning of practice itself.
This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, Resolving the Questions that Drive Us.
Episode Links:
Unfettered Mind ( http://www.unfetteredmind.org )
Dr. James Carse ( http://www.jamescarse.com )
Kumbh Mela ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbh_Mela )

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We’re joined this week by Ph.D Candidate and Buddhist blogger Brooke Schedneck, to explore her research into several emerging patterns in Western Buddhist communities. We begin with how, as a training academic, she got into Buddhism and how she ended up combining both 1st and 3rd person observation into her research. We also explore her current research at International meditation centers in Thailand, and how this research highlights larger trends in how Buddhism is interacting with modernity.
She goes into several broad trends that she is tracking including 1) The ongoing relationship between lay and monastic forms 2) the pragmatic dharma movement 3) practitioners having a strong interest in the future of Western Buddhism & 4) an overall sense of a movement toward greater balance in Buddhist communities.
Episode Links:
Wandering Dhamma ( http://wanderingdhamma.wordpress.com/ )
Cambridge Insight Meditation Center ( http://www.cimc.info/ )
The Hardcore Dharma Movement ( http://wanderingdhamma.wordpress.com/2010/07/16/the-hardcore-dharma-movement/ )
The Blogisattva Awards ( http://www.blogisattva.org )
Turning the Wheel of Truth: Commentary on the Buddha’s First Teaching ( http://amzn.to/hk7G65 )

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In the last part of our discussion with Buddhist teacher and scholar Hokai Sobol, we wrap up our exploration on some of the important influences and forces that shape Western Buddhism. As part of that we discuss the fluid nature of his consumer-client-colleague model. We also talk about the deep problems that have arisen from adopting traditional models, instead of current ones, and how this has generated a multitude of scandals—including scandals of power, sex, and also of the generational problem of their being so few young practitioners today. Finally, we talk about how to reinvigorate “the timeless tradition of spiritual apprenticeship.” Hokai speaks about what he calls “essential apprenticeship,” and also brings up a couple of questions related to the way that spiritual apprenticeship relates to current cultural forms.

This is part 4 of a multi-part series.

Episode Links:

Hokai Sobol ( www.hokai.info )

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