Summary: This week's podcast features a lecture by Ethan Nichtern titled "Radical Buddhism and the Paradox of Acceptance." The lecture was given on November 10th 2011 in Portland Oregon. This is the first of a two part podcast. Buddhism is often misunderstood as a passive, even self-indulgent, discipline. Ethan Nichtern explains how the rigorous practice of mindfulness and self-acceptance can radically and practically transform ourselves and the world. By letting go of habits and assumptions, we begin to understand our true motivations and intentions, allowing us to create wise solutions to global problems such as consumerism, environmental damage, and societal inequity. This topic is of great importance in times of social upheaval and protest movements such as we are experiencing today. Shastri Ethan Nichtern is the founding director and Senior Teacher in Residence of the Interdependence Project. For the past eight years, Ethan has taught ongoing meditation and Buddhist psychology classes and retreats in New York City and around North America. He is on the part-time faculty at Eugene Lang College at New School University and lectures regularly at Brown, Wesleyan, and New York Universities. His new book "Your Emoticons Won't Save You" will be released in January 2012.
