Buddhist Geeks

We’re joined this week by Flamenco guitarist and Zen practitioner Ottmar Liebert. Ottmar shares the story of how he broke with his childhood religion of Catholicism, started doing Transcendental Meditation, and then found his spiritual home in the Zen tradition. We also discuss the nature of practice, and compare how it manifests in both music and meditation. We also explore the distinction between solitary practice and performance, seeing what parallels to music we might find in Zen.

Episode Links:

www.OttmarLiebert.com

Petals on the Path ( http://www.ottmarliebert.com/music/album/petals-on-the-path )

Letter to a Young Musician #1 ( http://www.ottmarliebert.com/diary/?p=6374 )

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“You need not make efforts to create non-conceptuality. You need not regard thoughts as a fault. And so that your practice does not succumb to famine, from the beginning have a bountiful crop. Not searching for a state that is calmly resting, vividly clear, and filled with bliss, bring into your experience whatever arises without taking it up or discarding it.” – Orgyenpa

We’re joined again this week by one of our favorite Buddhist Geeks, Robert Spellman. In our discussion with him, we delve into the often tenuous relationship that meditators have to their own thoughts. Robert shares a profound teaching from a 13th century Tibetan teacher, Orgyenpa, on how to relate to the thinking mind. He also talks about the difficulty in getting personally identified with insights, and explores what is meant by “non-meditation.” For those meditators out there who are interested in having a more empowering and healthy relationship to their own minds, this promises to be a very interesting interview.

Episode Links:

www.RobertSpellman.com

Orgyenpa ( http://www.kagyuoffice.org/kagyulineage.karmapa2.html#Orgyenpa )

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We’re joined again by meditation teacher Jason Siff to conclude our exploration of the fundamental ideas and practices behind his unique approach of Unlearning Meditation, or what he calls Recollective Awareness.

We begin with exploring what recollection, or mindfulness, is and how it can be harnessed through a practice of meditative journaling. Jason continues his deconstruction of the type of prescribed practices which suggest doing something “all of the time” and suggests instead that we find out for ourself what meditation is about and where it is leading. We wrap up the discussion by exploring a different way of developing samadhi, a method that Jason describes as “drifting off in meditation.”

This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, Unlearning Meditation.

Episode Links:

Skillful Meditation Project ( http://www.skillfulmeditation.org )

Unlearning Meditation: What to Do When the Instructions Get In the Way ( http://amzn.to/c0iBUm )

A Mindful Balance ( http://www.alanwallace.org/spr08wallace_comp.pdf )

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“Meditation instructions that disallow thinking, reflection, or being open to the full range of experience usually imply a distrust of the mind.” – Jason Siff

We’re joined by meditation teacher and author Jason Siff, to explore what happens when meditation instructions and techniques get in the way. Jason explains that meditation instructions and rules contain within them certain limitations, that can lead to impasses in our practice. We explore Jason’s approach, Recollective Awareness, as well as discussing the role that both trust and intention play in untangling these unhelpful meditation habits.

This is part 1 of a two-part series.

Episode Links:

Skillful Meditation Project ( http://www.skillfulmeditation.org )

Unlearning Meditation: What to Do When the Instructions Get In the Way ( http://amzn.to/c0iBUm )

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We’re joined this week by filmmaker Michael Trigilo, to explore some of the themes from his newest allegorical documentary, “Bodhisattva, Superstar.” Included in our conversation are questions around what it means to be “spiritual but not religious”, what purpose Religion serves and what difficulties come with it, and why anger is such a hot topic in the Buddhist tradition? We also discuss controversy in spiritual communities—with Michael highlighting his own experience of disappointment and disillusionment—and how these controversies and scandals can become opportunities for a more transparent “cultural conversation” to occur. Finally he shares what he hopes both Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike might get from watching this edgy and sophisticated Buddhist documentary.

Episode Links:

Bodhisattva, Superstar ( http://www.starve.org/superstar/ )

“The Buddha” on PBS ( http://www.pbs.org/thebuddha/ )

Bewitched, Buddhist, and Bewildered ( http://conceptualart.dreamhosters.com/npr/archives/102 )

The Kalama Sutra ( http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/soma/wheel008.html )

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We’re joined this week by clinical psychologist and Buddhist practitioner John Welwood. John has spent his entire adult life exploring the intersection between Eastern and Western psychological approaches. In our discussion we cover the following topics: the three realms of human experience, spiritual bypassing (a term that John coined), the Buddhist perfections, waking up and growing up as different tracks of human development, and the ways that spiritual awareness can be used in service of psychological growth and well-being.
Episode Links:
www.JohnWelwood.com
Toward a Psychology of Awakening: Buddhism, Psychotherapy, and the Path of Personal and Spiritual Transformation ( http://amzn.to/bKvera )

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We’re joined again by British meditation teacher, Christopher Titmuss, to continue our exploration into the powerful, and often challenging, realm of human sexuality. Christopher shares a couple of stories of monks dealing with sexuality, one a traditional story and the other a story of a 92 year old monk that he practiced with in Thailand. He also explains that if sexual energy, which is a natural part of our humanity, is repressed than it can wreak havoc on how we engage in the world.
Finishing up our conversation with Christopher, we ask him if there’s anything he’d like to share with the Buddhist Geeks listeners. He responds with a very interesting caution on not over-emphasizing the development of the mind, over the development of the heart and the vibrancy of our “feeling lives.”
This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to Part 1, The Place of the Erotic.
Episode Links:
www.ChristopherTitmuss.org

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We’re joined this week by Insight meditation teacher and engaged activist Christopher Titmuss. Our main topic of exploration is the place of sexuality, eros, and love in the practice of Dharma. Contained within that topic we explore what is often meant by the word ‘desire’ in English, and how that differs from the what the Buddha taught as the source of suffering, tanha (often translated as thirst or craving).
Christopher explains some of the historical reasons that Buddhism has not be able to provide many helpful suggestions concerning sexuality, and also challenges what he sees as a common orthodox among Western teachers and practitioners in regards to sexuality and relationships. We conclude our conversation by exploring the importance—in a cultural climate where long-term monogamous relationships are becoming more and more rare—of treating the ending of relationships with greater care. “How,” Christopher asks, “if we are ending a relationship, can we make a transition from intimacy to that of a caring friendship?”
This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, Working with Sexual Energy.
Episode Links:
Bodh Gaya Retreats ( http://www.bodhgayaretreats.org )
www.ChristopherTitmuss.org

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Secular Buddhist teacher Stephen Batchelor joins us to explore some of the ideas presented in his newest book, Confession of a Buddhist Atheist. We start off by examining the two Buddhist doctrines of karma and rebirth, using the original teachings of the Buddha, especially the “imponderables” as a touchstone for the conversation. Stephen’s basic claim being that the belief in rebirth doesn’t have sufficient evidence behind it, and it actually takes away from the core practices and teachings of the Buddha. We conclude the interview by exploring the difference between agnosticism and atheism, which Stephen claims can be integrated together into what he calls an “ironic atheism.”

Episode Links:

Stephen and Martine Batchelor ( http://www.stephenbatchelor.org )

Buddhism Without Beliefs ( http://amzn.to/bHGkI7 )

Confession of a Buddhist Atheist ( http://amzn.to/9WL5X1 )

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This week we speak to vipassana meditation teacher, and psychotherapist Trudy Goodman. Trudy completes the story of her early Zen days, and also describes how she transitioned into becoming a vipassana teacher. She also shares some of her training in psychology, wherein she studied with the famous child developmentalist, Jean Piaget in France. She was eventually led her to work with children diagnosed with extreme developmental disorders, and with adults as well. Trudy shares how her practice of meditation was crucial in supporting people in their own therapeutic process, and how the key for all therapists who want to practice some sort of mindful therapy is to really practice and become familiar with their own mind.
This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, Zen, Vipassana, & Psychotherapy.
Episode Links:
Jean Piaget ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Piaget )
InsightLA ( http://www.insightla.org )

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