Buddhist Geeks

We’re joined again by a regular contributor of Buddhist Geeks and blogger at 21awake.com, Rohan Gunatillake. Rohan joins us to explore three areas in which the aesthetic of meditation could be improved. Specifcally these areas are: 1) language, 2) look & feel, & 3) delivery models. We then explore various ideas on how to meet these design challenges with design-specific solutions. Rohan suggests that taking a co-design approach to these challenges, including the users more fully into the design process, is a great first step. In addition he shares details on a project that he’s currently working on, a mobile application called Buddhify, which is a specific example of improving the aesthetic of meditation through technological and design innovations. Episode Links: www.21awake.com Edinburgh Festivals Innovation Lab ( http://festivalslab.com ) Buddhify ( http://buddhify.com )

This week we’re joined by Susan Kaiser Greenland a leader in bringing mindful awareness to children and teens. We explore the differences between mindful based approaches and Buddhist approaches, seeing in what ways they are mutually supportive and in what ways tensions exist between them. Susan then shares some of the methods she uses for introducing mindfulness to children in a natural way, while highlighting the importance of that teaching being truly embodied. Episode Links: www.susankaisergreenland.com www.MindfulnessTogether.net

We’re joined this week by Buddhist teacher and scholar Hokai Sobol to explore the broad, but crucial topic of Emergent Buddhism. As a preface to the panel that Hokai will be leading at the upcoming Buddhist Geeks Conference on “The Emerging Face of Buddhism,” he explores the nature of emergence in the history of Buddhism, pointing out that “everything that we call traditional now was at one point emergent.” Hokai also explores some of the his deepest questions regarding “Emergent Buddhism,” namely 1) What has emerged thus far, that has worked?, 2) What is emerging right now?, and 3) What do the coming decades hold? He explores the importance of each of these questions, while at the same time tackling some complex issues regarding the massive cross-pollination and convergence of multiple religious and secular traditions with Buddhism. Episode Links: www.hokai.info

“Photography and Buddhism share essential interests: both are concerned with clear seeing.” – Andy Karr & Michael Wood We’re joined this week by Buddhist teacher and photography Andy Karr. We explore some of the principles and practices behind the practice of contemplative photography, a unique method developed by Michael Wood. We also look into the overlaps between Buddhism and photography, with a special emphasis on the distinction of perception vs. conception. Finally we discuss the broader topic of art and creativity, exploring some of the ways that Chogyam Trunpa taught on this subject, the differences between Western and Eastern art, and the way that “basic nature” serves as the very source of creativity. Episode Links: The Practice of Contemplative Photography: Seeing the World with Fresh Eyes ( http://amzn.to/fPJWQc ) Contemplating Reality for the 21st Century ( http://contemplatingreality.blogspot.com ) The Miksang Institute for Contemplative Photography ( http://www.miksang.com )

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 )

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 )

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 )

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 )

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 )

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 It

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 )

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 )

We finish up our discussion with meditation teacher Ken McLeod, touching on a number of fascinating and challenging topics. Ken speaks about the distinction between answering the questions that drive us, as opposed to simply understanding “what the Buddha taught.” He gets into where he thinks these questions originate from, and also what meaning evolution might have on our personal stories. Ken also explores the dichotomy of lay vs. monastic practice, and uses several analogies to illustrate the differences, including from both music and sports. Vincent and Ken get into a spirited and philosophical discussion as to how far one can take these analogies and how accurate they might be when applied to Buddhist theory and practice. This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, Pragmatic Buddhism. Episode Links: Unfettered Mind ( http://www.unfetteredmind.org ) Buddhism Without Beliefs ( http://amzn.to/ednqVh ) Malcolm Gladwell ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Gladwell ) Khyungpo Naljor ( http://www.

We’re joined this week by Buddhist teacher, Ken McLeod, to explore an approach he has coined “Pragmatic Buddhism.” We explore his early Buddhist training, which included 2 back-to-back 3-year retreats, completed under the guidance of Ven. Kalu Rinpoche. He describes this period as part boarding school, prison, and seminary. He shares why it was such a huge culture shock coming out of that traditional training, and ties that in with the way Buddhism has evolved in various cultures up to this point. Ken goes on to share 4 ways that he has adapted his own teaching style to reflect our culture, touching on issues of translation, power, questioning, and the meaning of practice itself. This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, Resolving the Questions that Drive Us. Episode Links: Unfettered Mind ( http://www.unfetteredmind.org ) Dr. James Carse ( http://www.jamescarse.com ) Kumbh Mela ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbh_Mela )

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 )

We’re joined this week by Ph.D Candidate and Buddhist blogger Brooke Schedneck, to explore her research into several emerging patterns in Western Buddhist communities. We begin with how, as a training academic, she got into Buddhism and how she ended up combining both 1st and 3rd person observation into her research. We also explore her current research at International meditation centers in Thailand, and how this research highlights larger trends in how Buddhism is interacting with modernity. She goes into several broad trends that she is tracking including 1) The ongoing relationship between lay and monastic forms 2) the pragmatic dharma movement 3) practitioners having a strong interest in the future of Western Buddhism & 4) an overall sense of a movement toward greater balance in Buddhist communities. Episode Links: Wandering Dhamma ( http://wanderingdhamma.wordpress.com/ ) Cambridge Insight Meditation Center ( http://www.cimc.info/ ) The Hardcore Dharma Movement ( http://wanderingdhamma.wordpress.com

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