In this episode I am joined by Victor Shiryaev a teacher of Buddhist and modern meditation and somatic practices.

Victor recounts his childhood in the Soviet Union, early underground exposure to the New Age, and subsequent study of Avaita Vedānta and Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory.

Victor details his discipleship under American mindfulness teacher Shinzen Young, reflects on the tension between tradition and innovation, and shares stories of his own awakening experiences.

Victor also lays out his disagreements with Shinzen Young’s approach, critiques the Pragmatic Dharma’s use of maps and stages, and presents his own understanding of the spiritual experiences to be expected on the road to awakening and beyond.

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Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep318-modern-mindfulness-victor-shiryaev

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro

00:56 - Childhood in the Soviet Union

02:24 - Exposure to the New Age and psychotherapy

07:15 - Studying Chinese History at university

08:07 - Advaita Vedānta and Ken Wilber

09:18 - Unity experience

10:21 - Altered states and psychic phenomena

13:14 - Personal crisis

14:52 - Awakening in Myanmar

17:19 - “I know what I have is working”

19:17 - Meeting Shinzen Young and adopting his model

24:50 - Observational statistics

27:29 - Studying with Shinzen

29:27 - Divorce and launching meditation teaching career

31:00 - Finding a path thru crisis

37:10 - Writing a letter to nature

42:48 - Finding purpose in spirituality

44:15 - Victor’s teaching approach and activities

48:58 - Why go deeper in practice?

51:17 - Creating a culture of openness

58:33 - Shinzen & Ken Wilber vs Victor

01:05:16 - Being a clear conduit

01:19:32 - I am not a Buddhist teacher

01:12:40 - Experience vs faith

01:15:58 - Disagreements with Shinzen

01:17:43 - Disagreements with Theravāda

01:19:32 - Shinzen’s modernism and scientism

01:25:19 - Steve’s understanding of Shinzen

01:28:15 - Victor’s update on Shinzen’s scientism

01:30:50 - Heretics and reformers

01:33:39 - Fundamentalism and the world-centred view

01:30:39 - A world-centred view is also fundamentalist

01:42:50 - Victor on the Pragmatic Dharma movement

01:46:55 - Hypocrisy of Pragmatic Dharma

01:49:29 - Traditional vs modern practitioners

01:58:13 - Critique of maps and stages

02:06:18 - First stage: thoughts to presence

02:09:41 - Second stage: all experience is consciousness

02:12:09 - One taste

02:13:38 - Intimacy with all things

02:15:26 - The consciousness trap

02:18:18 - We shape our experience

02:19:10 - The pregnant void

02:22:32 - Victor’s view of the path

To find out more about Victor Shiryaev, visit:

- https://victorshiryaev.co/

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For more interviews, videos, and more visit:

- www.guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James