Dharma Roads

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In this episode I explore some of the issues surrounding educational methods and processes in contemporary Buddhism and suggest changes in perspective and practice that can lead to a more empowering experience for students (and teachers). It seems to me that in the development of secular approaches to Buddhist practice there is much to be learnt from the creative, transformative and egalitarian modes of learning employed within the education of artists. My comments about art education are based on my own experience as an artist and educator working in art schools and universities in the UK. This talk relates particularly to points I made in Episode 33 on creativity and mindful meditation.

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In this episode I talk about the American poet, essayist and translator, Kenneth Rexroth. Like Gary Snyder, who I will speak about in a future episode, Rexroth explores the natural world – both literally, as a hiker through the American landscape, and in his poetry and other writings. Rexroth belongs to the generation immediately prior to Snyder though they did know each other well in the 1950s. I will touch on various strands of his work and point out a few parallels with Buddhist ideas and practices. While Snyder is probably more widely known today, and more influential, I want to begin with Rexroth whose work I am particularly fond of and who had quite an influence on his younger west coast American colleagues. In particular, I want to draw out the ways in which Rexroth celebrated the act of paying attention as a way of revealing the beauty of being alive, and the practice of making poems as a revelation of what one might call the sacred or divine dimensions of nature and life.

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In this episode, somewhat longer than usual, I explore some of the relationships between mindful meditation and creativity – what we might call ‘creative awareness.’ I begin by examining what we mean by creativity and go on to suggest that there is a close affinity between paying attention and the development of a creative engagement with the world. I argue that letting-go and unlearning, and the making of connections, are important aspects of both mindful meditation and creativity. 

Taking up Jane Hirshfield’s thoughts about the role of concentration in the composing of poetry, I suggest that mindful meditation involves the development of concentration and that this can be helpful in developing a creative practice. I go on to make reference to John Cage’s ideas about living the creative life and briefly discuss drawing as a mindful discipline. I end with a salutary note about creativity and ethics. Towards the end of the episode, I employ an exploratory, open, poetic form of words - in harmony, I hope, with the overall theme. Please see the transcript for spelling of names and for references.

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In this special episode I interview, Mike Slott, about his new book titled, Mindful Solidarity: A Secular Buddhist Democratic Socialist Dialogue. 

Mike is the founder of the Secular Buddhist Network – an organisation that has done a lot of work advocating for a secular approach to Buddhist ideas and practices, and in helping to link together secular Buddhist individuals and groups from around the world. In his book Mike argues for a dialogue between secular Buddhists and democratic socialists – two communities often seen as far apart – showing how, working together, both groups offer a critique of contemporary economics and politics, and show ways to develop and maximise human flourishing. The book is jargon-free, thought-provoking and helpful to anyone trying to navigate a way through the complex and challenging conditions of contemporary life. In the transcript notes, rather than a full transcript, I have included a brief note about secular Buddhism and notes about, and links to, books, organisations and terms referred to by Mike.

I hope you will enjoy this episode and find it to be useful.

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In this extended episode I explore some of the main ideas and beliefs of Daoism (also known as Taoism) - highlighting aspects of Daoist philosophy that have a particular connection to the development of Zen. I also describe the way in which Daoism is complemented by Confucian ideas in the history of Chinese culture. It seems to me that there are many things we can learn from the ways in which Daoists think about change, uncertainty, the natural world and finding harmony within apparently opposing viewpoints and forces. Forgive my pronunciation of Chinese terms – I am not a Chinese speaker. To avoid confusion please refer to the transcript of this episode.

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In this extended episode I share some thoughts on a strand of philosophy known as ‘pragmatism’ as realized in the work of one of its key exponents, John Dewey – who was born in 1859 and died in 1952 at the ripe old age of ninety-three. Here and there I will point out parallels between Dewey’s ideas and the ideas and practices of other Buddhist and non-Buddhist thinkers I have mentioned in earlier talks. Over Dewey’s long life he had a profound influence on American philosophy and on the development of psychology, politics and education within the United States and eventually in many democratic states around the world.

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In this episode I share some more thoughts on global warming, climate action and eco-grief. This is a revised and extended version of Episode 3. I argue that we need to face up to the global challenge we face, however difficult this may be, and to do what we can, individually and collectively, to address issues raised by climate change and its causes. I also suggest some actions we can take to combat, or at least lessen, the increase in global warming and to transform potential despair into a more hopeful outlook. 

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In Episode 21 I talked about existentialism and mentioned that while Jean Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and other existentialist thinkers were agnostics or atheists, there were a number of influential Christian philosophers who developed forms of existential thinking. The earliest of these was the Danish theologian, Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), who lived in Copenhagen for most of his life. In this episode I share a few thoughts about Kierkegaard's ideas and life. Please keep in mind that what follows is my personal view of just a few strands of Kierkegaard’s many-stranded thought. I hope you will find it to be interesting and useful - if it is, I encourage you to read some of Kierkegaard's many writings. 

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In this extended episode, I am going to talk about the notion of tathata, or ‘suchness,’ and relate this to the Zen practice of ‘bare attention.’ I will also say something about what is known as kensho in Japanese Zen – often translated as, ‘seeing into the nature of things.’ I will end by tracing a connection between these practices and the concept of Gelassenheit as used by the German philosopher, Martin Heidegger. I hope to show how this bundle of ideas and practices can have a practical application in helping us, and all beings, to live well.

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In this episode, I return to the question discussed in Episode 22, that is, what kind of ethical values may be necessary to the development of a just and peaceful society – describing in more detail what I have called ‘mindful ethics.’ In a sense what I say here is repeating what I had to say in Episode 7, though with some significant changes. In particular, I provide a slightly different way of articulating, and thinking about, the ‘Eightfold Path’ – one of the key features of most accounts of the Buddha’s teaching. As in Episode 7 I suggest that it may be helpful to consider this as being a guide to developing eight skills, though in this episode I have changed the way in which I describe them.