Buddhist Geeks

This week we speak to vipassana and Zen teacher, Trudy Goodman. Trudy shares how she got into both Buddhist meditation and psychotherapy, and uses her story to illustrate the powerful ways that these different methods can compliment one another. Trudy also reflects on the differences between her experience in Zen training with Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn, and her practice of vipassana meditation.
This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, The Mindful Therapist.
Episode Links:
Zen Master Seung Sahn ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seung_Sahn )
Insight Meditation Society ( http://www.dharma.org )
InsightLA ( http://www.insightla.org )

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This week we’re joined by Zen teacher Jiun Foster, who is actively involved in teaching dharma in the virtual world of Second Life. We speak with him about what it’s like being a participant in Second Life, and what the limitations and strengths of Second Life are, compared to other social media technologies.
Finally, we patch in Adam Tebbe, the wizard behind the curtain, to share some details of the organization he helped start, that is responsible for getting so many good dharma teachers onto Second Life.
Episode Links:
Kannonji Zen Retreat ( http://kannonjiretreat.com )
Five Mountain Buddhist Seminary ( http://five-mountain.org )
Zen Sitting Group of Cincinnati ( http://cincinnatizen.org )

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Join the Geeks of the Round Table as we discuss an article published on Salon.com entitled, Dive-bar Dharma. The geeks explore several questions, sparked by this article, including whether or not we should update ancient metaphors with more contemporary metaphors? Also of interest is how far teachers should go in adapting the teachings of the Buddha to the culture and counter-cultures that they teach within? How do we discover the fine between making the dharma more fresh and relevant and of sensationalizing it?

This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, Every Generation Creates the Dharma Anew.

Episode Links:

• Dive-bar Dharma ( http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/02/20/dharma_in_dive_bars/ )
• Buddhist Peace Fellowship ( http://www.bpf.org )

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"Real creative expression, to me, is a process of discovery … It’s entering the mystery." – Daido Roshi

John Daido Loori, Roshi continues his discussion with Robert Spellman on the intersection between contemporary art and contemplative awareness. The two teachers share revealing stories about their understanding of the importance of meditative awareness in the creative process, and of specific exercises that one can do to tap into deeper ways of seeing, participating, and merging with the creative process.

This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, Zen Mountain Monastery: Zen and the Arts.

Episode Links:

• The Eight Gates of Zen: A Program of Zen Training ( http://bit.ly/11HmaQ )
• Zen Environmental Studies Institute ( http://www.mro.org/zesi/ )
• Robert Spellman ( http://www.robertspellman.com )
• Zen Mountain Monastary ( http://www.mro.org/zmm/ )

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John Daido Loori, Roshi abbot of the Zen Mountain Monastery in NY and well-known Buddhist author, joins us to discuss the history and development of his teaching, especially with regards to the key role that Art plays in Zen practice. Naropa University teacher Robert Spellman joins us as guest host to ask Daido Roshi about the 8 gates of zen, Roshi’s training with Minor White, the difference between Western and Eastern forms of art, how the wildness of nature relates to Buddha-Nature, and ethical issues of taking responsibility for one’s state of mind and their art work.

This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, Everything Arises in the Mind of the Yogi.

Episode Links:

• Mysticism – by Evelyn Underhill ( http://bit.ly/aQOOs )
• Zen Mountain Monastary ( http://www.mro.org/zmm/ )
• Robert Spellman ( http://www.robertspellman.com )
• Minor White ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_White )
• The Eight Gates of Zen: A Program of Zen Training ( http://bit.ly/11HmaQ )

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Where does awareness tend to locate itself? And how is this important in our experience and understanding of the Buddhist path of awakening? This week Diane Musho Hamilton—Zen sensei and Big Mind lineage holder—joins us again to discuss the importance of what Ken Wilber calls the three faces of spirit. Using this powerful notion as a lens we explore questions about how and why lineage is passed down, the way that Buddhism adapts to new cultures and why it is particularly vulnerable to being destroyed, how cultural development impacts the tradition, issues surrounding the master-disciple relationship, and finally whether or not one can regulate the erotic impulse.

This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1: Discover Yourself as a Perspective-Taking Being.

Episode Links:

• BigMind.org
• Women Who Sleep with Their Gurus … and Why They Love It ( http://bit.ly/1HO1QHI )
• Essential Spirituality: The 7 Central Practices to Awaken Heart and Mind ( http://bit.ly/732ga )

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Diane Musho Hamilton, Zen sensei and Big Mind lineage holder, joins us to discuss her personal story on the path of awakening. From experiencing the death of several friends at a young age, to studying with Chogyam Trunpga in the mid-80s, to becoming the first lineage holder of a unique new spiritual process called Big Mind, join us as Diane shares the intimate details of her life as a seeker (and non-seeker). In this dialogue we also touch in on the importance that the work of integral philosopher Ken Wilber has had on her teaching, especially with regards to what Wilber calls the three primordial perspectives. These three perspectives can be summarized by the pronouns, “I” (first-person), “we” (second-person), and “it” (third-person). Find out why these perspectives are so important to someone who is trying to bring together the spiritual quest with all of their other endeavors.

This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to Part 2, The Three Faces of Spirit: Where is Awareness Locating Itself?

Episode Links:

• BigMind.org
• Integral Institute ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integral_Institute )
• Ken Wilber ( http://www.kenwilber.com )

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We continue our discussion with Buddhist teacher and author, B. Alan Wallace, on the impact of the recently completed Shamatha Project. Dr. Wallace shares the astounding levels of concentration that were achieved during the 3-month retreats he led and tells us more about the achievement of shamatha. Find out how deep the students on this retreat went, and why nearly %20 of them decided to continue on with intensive retreat practice after it was over!

Dr. Wallace also discusses the potential impact that a study of this magnitude could have on the scientific community as well as the culture-at-large. Questions that the study aimed to answer included, “Is it possible to train attention?” & “Does meditation have an effect on ethics?”. While the answers may be obvious to meditators, having them scientifically validated could have a major impact on the fields of education, mental health, and psychology.

This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to Part 1: Reverberations from The Shamatha Project.

Episode Links:

• The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind ( http://bit.ly/HIW1o )
• Embracing Mind: The Common Ground of Science and Spirituality ( http://bit.ly/1at9hH )
• Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies ( http://www.sbinstitute.com )
• AlanWallace.org

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B Alan Wallace, author of “The Attention Revolution” and “Embracing Mind”, joins us to discuss the initial results from The Shamatha Project—one of the most extensive studies on the long-term benefits of meditation practice ever conducted. The terabytes of data that were collected during the course of the retreat-study included physiological and psychological measurements, thousands of entries from student journals, and the ongoing evaluations from Dr. Wallace as he interviewed with the students. Find out what his evaluations were, and how deeply the yogi’s progressed over the course of their 3-month retreats.

Also listen is in to hear Dr. Wallace’s perspective on the relationship between shamatha and vipassana, and whether deep states of shamatha are necessary pre-requisites for the advanced practices of insight found in the Buddhist tradition.

This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to Part 2: Unwavering Samadhi: Meditative Achievement and Its Impact in the World.

Episode Links:

• The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind ( http://bit.ly/HIW1o )
• Embracing Mind: The Common Ground of Science and Spirituality ( http://bit.ly/1at9hH )
• Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies ( http://www.sbinstitute.com )
• AlanWallace.org

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Have you ever considered what it would be like to cultivate, what in the Buddhist tradition are called the siddhis or magical powers? Buddhist magic is an endlessly fascinating topic, and in this episode we speak with Daniel Ingram, one of our favorite guests here on Buddhist Geeks, about the powers.

We cover their historical treatment by some of the major traditions, including the Zen, Tibetan, and Theravada. Daniel also gives us his first-hand experience having explored the powers, and considers the implications of doing public magic, and whether or not this kind of magic is “objectively real”. We also discuss the ethical issues involved in using magic and issues of reproducibility.

Finally, we take a look at the ancient text, The Fruits of the Homeless Life, and explore what was said in that text about the powers, especially about the greatest power of all, the power of insight.

Episode Links:

• Mahasi Sayadaw ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahasi_Sayadaw )
• InteractiveBuddha.com
• Pa Auk Sayadaw ( http://www.paauk.org )
• The Fruits of the Homeless Life ( http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.02.0.than.html )
• Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha ( http://bit.ly/E1tF )

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