Right-Wing Dharma Squads

Aura, Kagyu, and Storm King have a laid back discussion and take audience questions

California "Dharma" is a catch-all term for the mealy-mouthed, feel-good "mindfulness practice" (or whatever nonsense) that gets sold as Buddhism in the West today. To a large degree, part of our motivation in starting this podcast was to provide for Westerners an alternative to this soul-sucking faux dharma, and a true investigation of what the Buddha and the great masters really teach. In this episode, we are joined by special friend of the show, Rhinestone Mahārāja (@gesarofbling), and finally tackle the California Dharma beast, addressing what it is, exactly, and what's so bad about it. Along the way we discuss teaching "mindfulness" at Google Corporate; Gwyneth Paltrow's jade egg for your lady parts; and "spirituality" as another line on #TheGraph; along with some very encouraging thoughts for the future.

Gregory Schopen - "Archaeology and Protestant Presuppositions in the Study of Indian Buddhism"

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1062872?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Friedrich Schleiermacher

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Schleiermacher

"The Graph"

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D_hQm8YXYAAaOO6?format=jpg&name=small …

Adrian Kreutz - "Marxism and Buddhism"

https://aeon.co/essays/how-marxism-and-buddhism-complement-each-other

Monsanto's Rainbow Pride Logo

https://monsanto.com/app/uploads/2017/08/Rainbow-Monsanto-sign.jpg

Tara Brach

https://www.tarabrach.com/ 

Jon Kabat-Zinn

https://www.mindfulnesscds.com/pages/about-the-author …

Michael Taft "Deconstructing Yourself"

https://deconstructingyourself.com/ 

Mahāmudrā: The Four Seals https://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced-studies/vajrayana/mahamudra-advanced/a-discourse-on-autocommentary-to-a-root-text-for-mahamudra-the-dalai-lama/mahamudra-the-four-seals-mahamudra-dzogchen

"Mindful Sex Series", by Jessica Graham

https://deconstructingyourself.com/mindful-sex 

Patrul Rinpoche "Words of my Perfect Teacher"

http://padmasambhavagururinpoche.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Patrul-Rinpoche-Words-Of-My-Perfect-Teacher.pdf

Right Mindfulness in the Pali Canon

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sacca/sacca4/samma-sati/index.html 

Robert Thurman

https://bobthurman.com/

Dharmakirti, Kagyu, and Aura discuss the concept of having a teacher in Buddhism, with a special focus on a few teachers in particular: the disgraced Sogyal Rinpoche; the wild and influential Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche; and the austere-yet-mirthful Thai forest Masters, Ajaan Mun and Ajaan Lee. Also discussed: long summer days, taking refuge, "Lama-ism", past vs present karma, "The King and I", dirty feet, healing wounds, making amulets, Theosophy, and Silicon Valley "Buddhism". Note: Aura misspoke about Ajaan Mun. He did not study with Prince Mungkut. He studied with a Master of the school founded by the Prince, named Ajaan Sao.

 

The Buddha explains how there are two kinds of karma: past karma and present karma. "Karma" means "action" (NOT "retribution/reward"). In any given moment you have past karma and present karma.

Thanissaro Bhikkhu https://www.dhammatalks.org/ 

Taking refuge https://www.samyeling.org/buddhism-and-meditation/teaching-archive-2/choje-akong-tulku-rinpoche/the-meaning-of-taking-refuge/ …

Sogyal Rinpoche http://sogyalrinpoche.org/ 

The Dhammapada https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.intro.budd.html …

List of qualities of a dharma teacher https://samyeinstitute.org/philosophy/qualities-dharma-teacher/ …

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche https://shambhala.org/teachers/chogyam-trungpa/ …

Naropa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naropa 

Milarepa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milarepa 

"Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism" https://www.amazon.ca/Cutting-Through-Spiritual-Materialism-Chogyam/dp/1570629579 …

Ajaan Mun and the founding of the Thai Forest Tradition https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/customs.html …

King Rama IV https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongkut 

Ajaan Lee https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/thai/lee/index.html …

Madame Blavatsky https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_Blavatsky …

Kleshas ("hindrances" or "defilements") https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleshas_(Buddhism) …

Kodhana Sutta: An Angry Person https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an07/an07.060.than.html …

Pathological Altruism https://www.amren.com/features/2012/07/pathological-altruism/ …

Dharmapalas ("Dharma Protectors" of Buddhism) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharmapala 

Bardo Thodol ("Tibetan Book of the Dead") http://padmasambhavagururinpoche.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/padmasambhava_tibetan-book-of-the-dead_4.pdf …

Yamantaka https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamantaka 

Four Enlightened Activities https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Four_activities …

Mainstream "discovers" MLK's character https://dailycaller.com/2019/05/30/fbi-surveillance-martin-luther-king-garrow/ …

Sohrab Ahmari -- "Against David French-ism" https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/05/against-david-french-ism …

RWDhS episode on Compassion https://rightwingdharmasquads.podbean.com/e/compassion-1557178688/ …

Langdarma (Tibetan king) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langdarma 

Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö https://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Jamyang-Khyentse-Chokyi-Lodro/9990 …

Akkosa Sutta ("To whom do these insults belong now?") https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn07/sn07.002.than.html …

Man cries over Star Wars trailer https://twitter.com/handovertheBR55/status/1117110255744319489/video/1 …

"Bugman" https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bugman …

Helios YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPq6uWgvpnuZtMhKYLNcNpw/videos …

9 week old fetus and demonic replies https://twitter.com/TheMedicalTalk/status/1129801815321505792 …

The Atlantic Monthly - "American Exorcism" https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/12/catholic-exorcisms-on-the-rise/573943/ …

Demons from the Ars Goetia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_demons_in_the_Ars_Goetia …

Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padmasambhava …

Helios Twitter threads https://twitter.com/helioslogos/status/1121507077044752384 …

"The Devil and Father Amorth" trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpjRQokeQNo …

"Hostage to the Devil" trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv78MiSxrLI …

Storm King's anti-irony mini-rant https://twitter.com/LuxuryFirearms/status/1131054129525252097 …

Rudolf Steiner - "Lucifer and Ahriman" https://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA191/English/SBC1976/LucAhr_index.html …

Desire Realms, Form Realms and Formless Realms in Buddhist cosmology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trailokya 

Indo-Iranian origins of the deva/asura distinction https://www.hinduwebsite.com/zoroastrianism/indoiranian.asp …

Gyalpo spirits https://info-buddhism.com/dorje_shugden_Choegyal_Namkhai_Norbu.html …

The Economist - Aztecs pioneer gender equality with "tower of human skulls" https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2017/07/06/archaeologists-discover-a-gruesome-tower-of-skulls-in-mexico-city …

Prajāpati and the creation of the world in Vedic myth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prajapati 

Westward on "Prometheus Bound" by Aeschylus https://westward.podbean.com/e/ep-11-aeschylus-prometheus-bound/ …

Westward on "Prometheus Unbound" by Percy Bysshe Shelley https://westward.podbean.com/e/ep-12-prometheus-unbound-percy-shelley/ …

Larry Page's (literal) dream of Google https://finance.yahoo.com/news/productive-while-youre-sleeping-125100995.html …

Bruce G. Charlton - "Addicted to Distraction" https://addictedtodistraction.blogspot.com/

Upaya "Skillful means" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upaya 

Five precepts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_precepts#Principles

Eight precepts for laypeople https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sila/atthasila.html

Vinaya Texts (Rhys Davids/Oldenberg) http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/sbe13/index.htm

Mantak Chia (Taoist) -- Cultivating Male Sexual Energy http://krishnamurti.abundanthope.org/index_htm_files/Taoist-Secrets-of-Love-Cultivating-Male-Sexual-Energy.pdf

Pranayama and Sexual Transmutation http://chicagognosis.org/transcriptions/pranayama-and-sexual-transmutation

Bliss, Clarity and Non-thought https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Three_experiences

Ten Non-Virtuous Actions http://buddhist-spirituality.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/TenNonVirtuousActions.pdf

Brahmaviharas: https://dhammawiki.com/index.php/4_Brahma_Viharas 

Captain Compassion and "Good Killing": https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/download/9284/3145 

Niger's population growth: https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/niger-population/ 

"Empire of Dust" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a-QpyF7rNc 

Burger King's new Unhappy Meals campaign https://mobile.twitter.com/burgerking/status/1123637774773575681 

Buddha's first teaching to Rahula https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.061.than.html 

Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5368208/ 

Life and Teaching of Ajahn Lee (including heart attack episode) https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/Five_Faculties/Section0016.html 

Remittances to Central America, overview https://www.thedialogue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Remittances-2017-1.pdf 

John Stuart Mill -- Utilitarianism https://www.utilitarianism.com/mill1.htm 

Scott Alexander "Cortical Neuron Number Matches Intuitive Perceptions Of Moral Value Across Animals" https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/03/26/cortical-neuron-number-matches-intuitive-perceptions-of-moral-value-across-animals/ …

Alan Watts on Rocks and Consciousness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzdkkg1561M …

Root Discourse on the Middle Way https://tinyurl.com/y4zp33l7

 

Sun of Wisdom https://tinyurl.com/yxdnfov7