Buddhist Geeks (Video)

Long-time American Zen practitioner Stuart Lachs has spent some 40 years practicing Zen. First with Suzuki Roshi at the Tassajara Monastery in California and then with Eido Shimano Roshi, Walter Nowick, and finally with Ch’an Master Sheng-yen. In all of these communities Stuart ran up against strange and unfortunate dynamics playing out between the Zen Master and their communities. After getting heavily involved with the academic and sociological study of Zen, Stuart began seeing some of the cultural (and invisible) reasons that these communities would falter, whether from sexual scandals, the intense vanity of the teacher, or worse.In this episode he shares with us some of the ways that the legitimacy, authority & power of the Zen Master are spread through the Zen institution, and how these sometimes ridiculous ideals are accepted without questions from many intelligent, well-meaning, people. If you’re a Buddhist practitioner of any sort, you won’t want to miss this conversation!This is part 1 of a two-p

"What the teacher really offers the student is literally living proof that all this talk and the seemingly impossible goals [of Zen] can be realized in this lifetime.” – Baker Roshi in the Introduction to Zen Mind, Begineer’s MindStuart Lachs, who for many decades has studied Zen from within and from without, challenges the legitimacy and authority of the Zen Master by deconstructing the structures and invisible institutional systems that grant this authority to the Zen Master. Listen in to find out how Noam Chomsky’s notion of “useful doctrinal fabrications” applies to Zen, how the story of an unbroken lineage of Zen masters going back to the Buddha himself is basically bogus, how all of the elements of Zen itself weave together to form a seamless web of nearly unquestionable power, and why it’s so hard to leave these communities even if you want to.This isn’t to say that the practice of Zen isn’t extremely powerful, and Stuart himself is a huge fan of the practices therein, but it is to say that many of us

Our conversation with Susan Piver continues this week as we wrap our discussion on the relationship between meditation and writing. We also also explore the role that intention plays in offering or marketing the dharma. Finally, we wrap up the conversation by touching in on personality theory and productivity. Find out which enneagram type the Buddha was, and why productivity systems can bring about more bliss than meditation, in one of our geekiest (and fun) conversations to date!This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, Susan Piver: The Fearless Writer.Episode Links:susanpiver.comGetting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity ( http://bit.ly/grQY1 )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at buddhistgeeks.substack.com/subscribe

When Susan Piver’s book, The Hard Questions, hit the top of the NY Times Bestsellers list (and stayed there) she decided that she needed to deepen her practice immediately. Listen in this week as speak with Susan about her journey as a popular author and Buddhist practitioner. And if you have an interest in writing, or the creative process, you won’t want to miss out on her description of the “meditation for writers” retreats that she leads, where writers of all backgrounds are able to combine their interest in writing with the power of the retreat environment. Are creativity and meditation really all that different?This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, Mind Like Space.Episode Links:How Not to be Afraid of Your Own Life ( http://bit.ly/UwJpP )Susan Piver ( http://www.susanpiver.com )The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity ( http://bit.ly/YX85s )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get fu

The Round Table Geeks continue their exploration of Whitney Joiner’s article, “Dive-bar Dharma”. In a flurry of paradox, perspectives, humor, and exploration they tackle questions of integrating dharma into life, the Buddhist secular movements, contemplative practices in other traditions, and the historical and sociological dimensions of Dharma’s spread to the West. We hope you enjoy this dynamic and fun conversation between fellow Buddhist geeks.This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, Dive-bar Dharma: Making it Fresh or Sensationalizing it?.Episode Links:Dive-bar Dharma ( http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/02/20/dharma_in_dive_bars/ )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at buddhistgeeks.substack.com/subscribe

Hokai Sobol and John Peacock continue their discussion about how the Buddha and Buddhism are described in the earliest Buddhist writings. By getting more accurate with translations of the earliest writings, Peacock believes modern Buddhism can free itself of the trappings of Religion, Humanism, and the need for consolation in the face of reality. They discuss the role and importance of critical inquiry in Buddhism’s future, and how all of this is leading to a secularization of Buddhism.This is part 2 of a 2 part series. Listen to part 1, Will the Real Buddha Please Stand Up?Episode Links:Oxford Mindfulness Center ( http://oxfordmindfulness.org )Hokai Sobol | 21st Century Dharma ( http://www.hokai.info )Sutta Nipata ( http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/index.html )Ariyapariyesana Sutta ( http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.026.than.html )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhi

Buddhist scholar and Chaplain Danny Fisher, joins us to explore various stories, or narratives, that run through the Buddhist world. There are a variety of different kind of stories in the Buddhist tradition, including those that are more traditional and those which are more modern. Included in those narratives are Buddhist hagiographies (traditional teaching stories about important figures), historical narratives, and more modern narratives. Listen in as we try and piece apart what some of these stories are, and find out how the stories that we believe in affect us as individuals and communities. Episode Links: www.DannyFisher.org University of the West ( http://www.uwest.edu ) A People’s History of the United States ( http://amzn.to/eytcyu ) How the Swans Came to the Lake ( http://amzn.to/gtQqvB ) Buddhism in America ( http://amzn.to/hu3UWV ) Luminous Passage ( http://amzn.to/fAWiDL ) After the Ecstasy, the Laundry ( http://amzn.to/dHxc2N )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Priva

We’re joined this week by Soto Zen teacher Zenkai Taiun Elliston. Along with the being the abbot of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center, Taiun is also a long-time professional designer, having trained and taught modern design. We ask him to share his perspective on the interplay and parallels between the two fields, which brings about a very interesting conversation about the aesthetic of simplicity, the importance of sensory engagement, and the nature of the medium we are exploring, whether it’s a physical medium, as in design, or the medium of consciousness itself, as in Zen. Episode Links: Silent Thunder Order ( http://silentthunderorder.org ) Atlanta Soto Zen Center ( http://www.aszc.org ) Bauhaus Design ( https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Bauhaus )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at buddhistgeeks.substack.com/subscribe

We’re joined this week by Rich Fernandez, who serves as the Head of Learning and Organization Development at eBay. Rich has a long history with meditation and eastern practices, and has been working to bring secular mindfulness practice into the workplace. He shares some striking early research into the experimental programs that he’s helping to implement at eBay and also explores a larger initiative that he’s working on, called the Wisdom 2.0 Architecture. Episode Links: Wisdom 2.0 ( http://wisdom2summit.com ) Taylorism ( http://www.answers.com/topic/taylorism ) Migration of Mindfulness: Cave to Corporate America ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbJZFb3ZTrY ) The Mindful Leader ( http://amzn.to/fAq35E ) Awake at Work ( http://amzn.to/fHxw2u ) George Mumford ( http://bit.ly/gXXzYx )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at buddhistgeeks.substack.com/subscribe

This week we have an intimate conversation with two young Buddhist practitioners. The first vignette is with Sophie McLaren, who practices in the Shambhala community and runs an organization dedicated to bringing Buddhism and mindful living to youth populations. The second vignette is with Wes Rosacker a Zen practitioner in the White Plum sangha and a training psychotherapist. We discuss how each of these young practitioners makes sense of their practice in terms of the rest of their lives, and how specifically they bring their practical understanding of Buddhism into their professions. Episode Links: Everybodhi : peace within, peace in the world ( http://every-bodhi.org ) Taizan Maezumi Roshi ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taizan_Maezumi ) Robert Kegan ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kegan )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at buddhistgeeks.substack.com/subscribe

We’re joined this week by mother, author, and Zen teacher Karen Maezen Miller. Maezen speaks directly to the need to see through the dualisms that we create in our lives, and speaks specifically about the dualism of being a parent and a practitioner. She shares advice on how to not make one part of our life battle with other parts, and explores an empowering understanding of what monastic forms have contributed to us. She also speaks about the misunderstandings that can plague our meditation practice, and where these originate from. Episode Links: www.KarenMaezenMiller.com Hand Wash Cold: Care Instructions for an Ordinary Life ( http://amzn.to/hwJwjh ) Momma Zen: Walking the Crooked Path of Motherhood ( http://amzn.to/gEA5Hc ) Hazy Moon Zen Center ( http://www.hazymoon.com )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at buddhistgeeks.substack.com/subscribe

We conclude our discussion with spiritual teacher Sally Kempton—who has her spiritual roots in the Hindu tantra tradition of Kashmir Shaivism—this time speaking about some of the crucial secrets that she has discovered about deepening in meditation. She begins by sharing how she overcame a period where she had been stopping short in her meditation. She shares how she used her spiritual heart and an intention to move into everything to arose in her practice to continue deepening on the path. She also speaks about how important it is to consider the relationship we have with experience, and connects this with the understanding of relationship being a facet of Spirit. She speaks about the type of relationship one can have with experience, and how that fundamentally changes the act of meditation. This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, The Tantric Cousins. Episode Links: www.SallyKempton.com Meditation for the Love of It: Enjoy Your Own Deepest Experience ( http://amzn.to/e1bp40 ) The Three Faces o

This week we speak with spiritual teacher Sally Kempton. Sally was a student of the influential Hindu guru Swami Muktananda and taught in his lineage for many years. She shares with us her journey of first being introduced to Swami Muktananda, how she became a teacher, and why she shifted from being a swami to teaching in a more secular capacity later on. During the 2nd half of the discussion Sally shares with us some of the history of the tantric non-dual system of Kashmir Shaivism, which is a close cousin to Indian Tantric Buddhism. She compares and contrasts the two systems, and also goes into detail concerning some of the crucial texts, practices, and philosophical tenets of the tradition. This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, Secrets of Meditation. Episode Links: www.SallyKempton.com Meditation for the Love of It: Enjoy Your Own Deepest Experience ( http://amzn.to/e1bp40 ) Kashmir Shaivism ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashmir_Shaivism ) Vasugupta ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasugupt

We’re joined this week Krista Tippett, host of the award-winning radio show “Being.” Krista begins the discussion by sharing how she went from being the chief aide to the US Ambassador in Germany, during the cold war era, to asking deep spiritual and ethical questions. This questioning led her to study theology at Yale, and then sometime after start her current show, which started off with the title, “Speaking of Faith.” She also shares how she first was introduced to meditation and contemplative practice, and where those practices has taken her since. Finally, we close the interview by exploring the “re-integration of our inner selves and outer lives.” Krista shares how she creates a space to bring out the wisdom of re-integration with her guests on Being, inviting them into “conversations of the soul.” Episode Links: Krista Tippett On Being Einstein’s God: Conversations About Science and the Human SpiritSpeaking of Faith: Why Religion Matters–and How to Talk About ItSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/p

Leading game designer Jane McGonigal joins guest host Rohan Gunatillake to explore the relationship between games and well-being, and see what clues they might hold for the future of Buddhist practice. Jane starts with a surprising disclose: she is a meditation practitioner and has been studying Buddhism for the last 5 years, since she was a grad student in Berkley. She explains how her work with game design and development ties in with her interest in meditation, explaining the strong overlap between the positive qualities cultivated through good games, and those cultivation through mental training. Rohan proposes that the Buddha’s own story could be likened to a type of epic video game, and building off of that discusses the likelihood of being able to design a game that actively cultivates the 7 factors of awakening—a classic Buddhist list on the qualities that lead to enlightenment. Jane speaks about enlightenment as an “epic win” and maintains that gaming has the very real potential to cultivate the fact

Senior Shambhala teacher David Nichtern joins us to geek out about some of the potential consequences of our rapidly developing technologies on the Vajrayana tradition. We speak extensively about the ramifications of greater degrees of virtual reality, how our sense experiences (what in Buddhism are referred to as the ayatanas) are already virtual, and how visualization practice, in particular, could be impacted by these developments. We also speak about the importance of “authentic presence”, or what David’s son Ethan calls “Keepin’ it Real”, as Buddhism moves forward into future generations. Episode Links: www.DavidNichtern.com Karma Choling ( http://www.karmecholing.org ) The Singularity is Near ( http://amzn.to/hj60E7 ) Tibetan Buddhism’s Insights Into Virtual Reality ( http://www.davidnichtern.com/?p=686 )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at buddhistgeeks.substack.com/subscribe

This week guest host Rohan Gunatillake of 21awake.com interviews spiritual entrepreneur Nick Jankel. They explore the notion of “enlightened entrepreneurship,” discussing why it is that spirituality and business often seem at such odds. Nick shares some of his own background and aim in business and speaks about the secular path of an entrepreneur as bodhisattva. The conversation winds down with a discussion of the “cult of the individual” and how egoic behavior is so often rewarded in business, the nature of unhealthy power in enterprise, and a call to a more peer-to-peer form of spirituality. Episode Links: www.NickJankel.com Wisdom 2.0 ( http://wisdom2summit.com )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at buddhistgeeks.substack.com/subscribe

For this 200th anniversary edition, the microphone is turned around on the regular host, Vincent Horn. Our guest host for this week’s episode is the UK-based blogger of 21awake.com, Rohan Gunatillake. Rohan asks Vincent about his personal practice history leading up to Buddhist Geeks, and also how the project affected his practice since then. They also explore some of the exciting trends in the development of Western Buddhism, as well as the more worrisome ones. Finally, we explore where Buddhist Geeks is going from here, how it’s mission is continuing to evolve, and what big projects are coming up to help us “Discover the Emerging Face of Buddhism.” In particular they talk about the vision behind the newly announced, Buddhist Geeks | The Conference, set to happen July 29th – 31st, 2011 in Los Angeles. Episode Links: www.VincentHorn.com Buddhist Geeks Conference ( www.buddhistgeeks.com/conference/ )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-no

We’re joined this week by Insight Meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg, to talk about her latest book, “Real Happiness” and also about meditation as an emerging part of secular culture. This interview was recorded during a conference at Emory University in which Dalai Lama spoke about secular ethics as the most relevant approach to humanity’s issues. He pointed out that much of the world isn’t interested in religious forms, and so the liberating message of Buddhism can be conveyed in more secular ways. In this discussion sharon shares her understanding of this trend toward secularization, and also shares some specific ways that she is participating in this broader movement. Episode Links: www.SharonSalzberg.com Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation ( http://amzn.to/hg4MDM )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at buddhistgeeks.substack.com/subscribe

Many Buddhist figures have things to say about wise engagement with technology, but many of these same figures are not technologists themselves, and so have a limited view, or understanding, of the full range of what technology is, and perhaps of what it means. This week, to explore these very questions, we speak again with leading technologist Kevin Kelly. He shares his unique view on how technology should be selectively minimized on the individual level, while simultaneously maximizing the pool of technologies in the world at large. We also explore the parallel philosophies of Buddhism—especially with regards to its emphases on interdependence and impermanence—with the cybernetic process philosophy that Kelly is familar with. This techno-geek-philosophy shares many overlapping views on the nature of reality, but is strikingly different in many ways. This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, The Technium. Episode Links: www.KK.org What Technology Wants ( http://amzn.to/9l5NqS ) “When the Mind Wa