In this episode I talk with Stephen Snyder, meditation teacher and author who is perhaps best known as being the first non-monastic Western man to master the virtuoso-level shamata meditation system of Pa Auk Sayadaw.

Video version here: https://www.guruviking.com/ep24-stephen-snyder-a-stroke-of-realisation-guru-viking-interviews/

In this interview we learn about Stephen’s early fascination with meditation, teaching himself Zen practice from books for years before attending his first traditional sesshin. We also explore Stephen’s vivid past life memories in detail.

At 28 Stephen had a radical spiritual awakening, went on to develop unique processes to integrate that awakening and improve his behaviours. We also discuss how Stephen’s professional role as a lawyer to various Zen masters revealed to him the importance of combining psychological work with spiritual practice.

In 2018 Stephen had a serious stroke, during which he was thrust into a profound experience of what he calls the Vajra Body. In the last part of the interview Stephen recounts this incident and details the realisations that followed.

Topics include:

01:00 - Childhood meditation experiences

03:30 - Learning Zen practice from books

05:04 - Encountering Zen monks at 3 years old

06:55 - Stephen’s past life experiences

12:56 - Siddhis and special powers that can arise from concentration practice

16:26 - Choosing the right practice

19:10 - Stephen’s first Zen retreat

21:18 - Learning to sit through pain

23:14 - Radical awakening at age 28

28:00 - Stephen’s strategies for working with the personality material after awakening

39:30 - Recognising awakened people

41:09 - Integrating spiritual experience in work and daily life

46:33 - Working with recurring interpersonal conflict

48:00 - When to stay in conflict and when to walk away

51:44 - Lessons learned lawyering for Zen Masters

56:20 - Meeting Tina Rasmussen and a mutual recognition

1:00:53- Mastering the jhanas with Pa Auk Sayadaw

1:08:03 - Meditations to train disgust towards the body

1:13:04 - Current book projects

1:14:58 - Stephen’s stroke in 2018 and experience of the Vajra Body

1:23:54 - Cultivating the Vajra Body 
1:28:40 - How to contact Stephen 


To contact Stephen Snyder, please email:

- [email protected]

For more interviews, videos, and more visit:

- https://www.guruviking.com/

Music 'Deva Dasi' by Steve James