Buddhist Geeks

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 of Spirit: Where is Awareness Locating Itself? ( http://bit.ly/1MsmyTT )

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/Vasugupta )

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 ( http://being.publicradio.org ) Einstein’s God: Conversations About Science and the Human Spirit ( http://amzn.to/eY9GqP ) Speaking of Faith: Why Religion Matters–and How to Talk About It ( http://amzn.to/gNZvl9 )

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 factors of awakening. Episode Links: www.JaneMcGonigal.com Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World ( http://amzn.to/hFADgH ) World Without Oil ( http://www.worldwithoutoil.org ) Superstruct ( http://bit.ly/1MslRdl ) Institute for the Future ( http://www.iftf.org ) www.21awake.com

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’ in 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.tibetanlineages.org/biographies/view/151/6285 )

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 )

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/ )

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/2010/07/16/the-hardcore-dharma-movement/ ) The Blogisattva Awards ( http://www.blogisattva.org ) Turning the Wheel of Truth: Commentary on the Buddha’s First Teaching ( http://amzn.to/hk7G65 )

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 Wanders, Happiness Also Strays” ( http://nyti.ms/eRisjo ) Cool Tools ( http://www.kk.org/cooltools/ ) What the Dormouse Said: How the Sixties Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry ( http://amzn.to/hNmiCo )

We’re joined this week by celebrated technologist and co-founder of Wired Magazine, Kevin Kelly. Kevin shares how he went from a back-to-the-lander hippie in his early youth, to becoming one of the most important technological thinkers alive today. We then explore one of the central ideas of Kelly’s technological philosophy, what he calls the technium. He shares how the technium can be dated all the way back to the beginning of the universe, and explains how the technium—a type of super-organism of interdependent technologies—can actually increase degrees of freedom and choice in the universe. Closing up the conversation we discuss whether the technium is a neutral force, or if it has some inherent goodness. This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, The Wise Use of Technology. Episode Links: www.KK.org What Technology Wants ( http://amzn.to/9l5NqS ) Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, & the Economic World ( http://amzn.to/csaSS0 ) Wired Magazine ( http://www.wired.com ) Ted Nelson ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Nelson ) The Technium ( http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/ )

Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche—a dynamic and engaging Gen X Tibetan Lama who has spent half of his life living in the West—joins us to explore several key points related to the development of a more contemporary Buddhism. We explore some ideas from his newest book, Rebel Buddha, including the idea that there is an essential aspect to Dharma that goes beyond culture, the ways that teachings on emptiness are often confused or misunderstood, and the nature of enlightenment and the possibility of awakening in the here and now. Episode Links: Rebel Buddha ( http://www.rebelbuddha.com )

We’re joined this week by Buddhist teacher Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel to explore some of the topics from her most recent book, The Power of an Open Question. Elizabeth speaks about the nature of questioning, and why questioning is one of the best ways to come in accordance with the way things are. She also explores the qualities of faith & doubt, how questioning fits in with both, and how skepticism and openness are related. We finish the discussion off by looking at how the quality of “not knowing,” that often gets developed through sincere questioning, might manifest in our human relationships. If you’re looking for answers, this may not be the episode for you! Episode Links: The Power of an Open Question ( http://amzn.to/cbeXst ) Madyamika Prasangika ( http://bit.ly/1CQJ4Ti )