Buddhist Geeks

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 )