Series 2 - Episode 11

A wide-ranging Dharma conversation and a kind of follow up episode, with Josh of Integrating presence we discuss types of identity and self-exploration(e.g., shaved-head practice as a lay 8-precept holder despite no longer living monastically), then pivot to the viral Walk for Peace—a 120-day, ~2,300-mile pilgrimage by ~18–26 Vietnamese/Theravada-aligned Buddhist monastics from Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C. (started October 26, 2025; expected end mid-February 2026). Accompanied by rescue dog Aloka, they promote inner peace, compassion, non-harming, and healing through meditative walking (inspired by traditional Tudong with an engaged-Buddhism focus), drawing thousands of supporters, media attention, and occasional challenges (e.g., confrontations with preachers, a traffic accident injuring monastics).

Key themes include:

• Inner peace as the foundation for outer peace (start within via mind training, resolving inner conflict before external action).
• The Brahma Viharas (loving-kindness/metta, compassion/karuna, sympathetic joy/mudita, equanimity/upekkha—sometimes reframed as resilience) as tools for relating to self/others and dissolving the three poisons (or poisonous roots of greed, hatred/ill will, delusion).
• Non-duality as interdependence, seeing self/other reflections, loosening grasping/stickiness to stories and identity (anatta/non-self), while avoiding pitfalls like “idiot compassion” (over-giving without boundaries/dignity) or spiritual bypassing.
• Paradoxes in practice (conventional vs. ultimate reality; restriction vs. freedom; empathy vs. action).
• Practical applications: ethical precepts for merit/wishes fulfilled, spatial/situational awareness, breath-focused meditation (e.g., resting in natural awareness at breath pauses), middle way balance (avoid extremes), contentment/freedom from distractions (including digital ones), compassion even for flawed leaders/politicians by separating person from defilements.
• Modern concerns: AI/delusion risks, generational tech shifts, accelerating change, need for lineage verification, open inquiry (ehipassiko: come and see for yourself), and preserving authentic Dharma amid impermanence.
• Inspirations: Bodhgaya as unifying pilgrimage site across traditions; merit of hearing Dharma; freedom from (vs. freedom to); contentment with little.