Buddhist Geeks

“Enlightenment is found in the Body and nowhere else.” – famous Dzogchen saying
We’re joined in this interview by Reginald Ray–author of numerous books on Tibetan Buddhism and teacher in the lineage of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. In this episode we discuss the forest dwelling meditator, a category of practitioner outside of the normal lay / monastic dichotomy. In particular we look at the role that retreat–both group and solitary–plays for the type of practitioner that does intensive retreat but is not a full-time practitioner. We also discuss Reggie’s teaching emphasis on the shamanic aspect of Vajrayana Buddhism, particulary the role that the body plays in awakening.
This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, Tibetan Buddhist Lineage in the West.
Episode Links:
Naropa University ( http://www.naropa.edu )
Buddhist Saints in India ( http://bit.ly/ixNr8 )
Civilized Shamans: Buddhism in Tibetan Societies ( http://bit.ly/mJeGn )
Dharma Ocean ( http://www.dharmaocean.org )
Your Breathing Body – Vol 1. ( http://bit.ly/1HOKNVR )
Your Breathing Body – Vol 2. ( http://bit.ly/1HOKR81 )
Touching Enlightenment ( http://bit.ly/ia0sJ )

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Shinzen Young joins us again to discuss the possibility of a new way to deliver classical enlightenment to the masses. He discusses the classic delivery systems, which included monastic and lay life. He then builds on that to show a hybrid two-fold delivery system that would incorporate his artificial intelligence system with virtually led home retreats. This Home Practice Program is what is currently being offered at BasicMindfulness.org.
Finally Shinzen discusses the “crowning glory” of his mission to unify Western and Eastern technologies, and that is to help nurture the emergence of a “neuro-scientific paradigm for classical enlightenment.” This paradigm could help lead to the emergence of technologies which have the potential to bring classical enlightenment to the masses and hence make large-scale social and individual change. Though Shinzen doesn’t think he’ll see these changes in his own lifetime, he does believe that he can do a lot to help train the future scientists who will.
This is part 3 of a 3-part series. Listen to part 1, Shinzen Young: The Hybrid Teacher & part 2, Building a Dharma Successor.
Episode Links:
Shinzen.org: The Science of Meditation in Action ( www.shinzen.org )
Basic Mindfulness: Home Practice Program ( www.basicmindfulness.org )

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Shinzen Young, professional meditation instructor and geek-extraordinaire, joins us today to share his unique journey as a contemplative. From discontinuing his PhD studies to become a full-time shingon practitioner to taking up Japanese Zen and finally discovering the mindfulness practices originating from Theravada Buddhism, Shinzen has gone deep with several contemplative techniques.
In addition to his training in the contemplative traditions of the East, Shinzen took time to train himself to become a relatively qualified mathematician and scientist so that he could one day be poised to bring together the best of the East (contemplative practice) with the best of the West (the scientific method). The hybrid of which, he thinks will yield a comletely unique fusion. Listen in to hear more from this incredibly gifted and incredibly geeky meditation teacher.
This is part 1 of a 3-part series. Listen to part 2, Building a Dharma Successor and part 3, Enlightenment for the Rest of Us.
Episode Links:
Shinzen.org: The Science of Meditation in Action ( http://www.shinzen.org )
Basic Mindfulness: Home Practice Program ( http://www.basicmindfulness.org )

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Shinzen Young, professional meditation instructor and geek-extraordinaire, continues his discussion with us on the unique approach he has taken to combining the best of the scientific approach with the best of the contemplative modalities of the East. The result of this combination appears to be a delivery system for enlightenment that uses an interactive and algorithmic approach to guiding a student in their practice. In short, instead of appointing a human dharma successor, he is trying to build one.
Listen in to find out more about this artificial intelligence system, which he refers to as “virtual Shinzen,” and how it might revolutionize the way that dharma teaching is done!
This is part 2 of a 3-part series. Listen to part 1, Shinzen Young: The Hybrid Teacher & part 3, Enlightenment for the Rest of Us.
Episode Links:
Shinzen.org: The Science of Meditation in Action ( http://www.shinzen.org )
Basic Mindfulness: Home Practice Program ( http://www.basicmindfulness.org )

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Jun Po Roshi, an American Zen Master in the Rinzai Zen tradition, joins us again this week to discuss the limitations of Japanese Zen as it enters contemporary American culture. He also shares the way that his Hallow Bones Zen community has re-organized the core teachings of the Buddha in their five training elements:
Sacred stewardship
Philosophical re-indoctrination
Emotional maturity & integrity
Conscious embodiment
Genuine insight
These five training elements are a re-working and re-presentation of the original 8-fold path, but one that was designed specifically for our time and place.
This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, Psychotropics and NeuroLinguistic Zen.
Episode Links:
Hollow Bones Zen School ( http://www.hollowbones.org )

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Ken Wilber coined the terms “ascending” and “descending” to describe two possible orientations to spiritual practice. The ascending path has to do with transcending the world, leaving samsara behind, and fusing with the infinite. The descending path has to do with finding spirit in the world–in the midst of everyday life. Both approaches are important, and both have been clearly highlighted in Stuart Davis’s journey as a Zen practitioner.
Listen in to hear Davis’s radical flip-flop between these two approaches. Where Davis once found himself sitting up in his “Zen tree fort in the sky” he now finds that “the mystery” is most intimately connected with being a father & husband. Lastly, Davis shares with us a very strange and powerful connection he has with crows (yes, the animals), who apparently are an important symbol in the Zen tradition.
This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, Stuart Davis: Bodhisattva Rocker.
Episode Links:
Stuart's Crow Paintings ( http://www.stuartdavis.com/paintings )
StuartDavis.com
Sex, God, & Rock ‘n Roll ( http://www.sexgodrocknroll.com )

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Jun Po Roshi, an American Zen Master in the Rinzai Zen tradition, joins us to discuss his fascinating history with psychotropic drugs, including a form of LSD, called Clear Light, that he helped to create and distribute a long time ago.
We also speak with him about his new form of Koan practice that uses NeuroLinguistic Programming (NLP) techniques to help anchor spiritual realization in one’s linguistic structures.
This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, Hollow Bones Zen.
Episode Links:
Hollow Bones Zen School ( http://www.hollowbones.org )

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This week we’re joined by prolific musician, artist, writer, & comic Stuart Davis. Davis, a long-time Zen practitioner, shares with us his background as a creative and the resulting unique understanding that he has of the Bodhisattva’s path.
Specifically, we discuss his current creative projects, including a language called IS that he is in the process of developing & and a spiritual talk-show that he’s hosting entitled Sex, God & Rock ‘n Roll. We also cover the topic of re-incarnation, and the spiritual tutelage he has received from his wife Marci. We hope you enjoy this interview with one of the most creative, absurd, and hilarious Zen-artists we know!
This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, The Zen Tree Fort in the Sky.
Episode Links:
StuartDavis.com
Sex, God, & Rock ‘n Roll ( http://www.sexgodrocknroll.com )

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We are joined this week by Jenny Phillips, Director and Producer of the newly released documentary, The Dhamma Brothers. The Dhamma Brothers gives an in-depth look at how a trial program of vipassana meditation courses radically transforms the lives of inmates in a the maximum-security prison facility in Alabama.
In our interview with Jenny we explore the story behind the film, her intentions for creating it, and the potential ramifications of introducing these powerful meditation practices into an environment where genuine positive transformation is almost unheard of. Put another way we discuss what happens when “East meets West, in the Deep South.”
To find out more about the movie and to watch the trailor please visit: www.dhammabrothers.com.
Episode Links:
Interview with Jenny Phillips on Oprah’s Soul Series ( http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Jenny-Phillips-on-Oprahs-Soul-Series-Webcast )
Doing Time, Doing Vipassana ( http://www.karunafilms.com/dtdv/dtdv.htm )
The Dhamma Brothers Film ( http://dhammabrothers.com )

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The Geeks of the Round Table are back, continuing our discussion of Judy Lief’s article Glimpses of Awakening. We speculate on the language and culture surrounding enlightenment both here in the West and in various countries in the East–including Japan, Burma, and Thailand. We also speculate on how likely it is that people can have initial breakthroughs in their practice (the first glimpses of enlightenment) and how useful it would be to have an empirical, longitudinal study that tracked these kind of breakthroughs. And if you make it all the way to the end of this dialogue you’ll hear something that has a %99 chance of getting you enlightened, right there on the spot. :::wink, wink:::
This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, The Buzz Lightyear Model of Enlightenment: To Infinity and Beyond.
Episode Links:
Episode Links:
“Glimpses of Awakening” by Judy Lief ( www.lionsroar.com/glimpses-of-awakening-2/ )
The Zen Center of Las Cruces ( www.zencenteroflascruces.org )

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