Buddhist Geeks

Episode Description: This is an experimental dialogue called Geeks of the Round Table. In this session we speak with two young Buddhist practitioners in a round-table format about Brad Warner’s criticisms of the Big Mind process, in an article he wrote called, Big Mind™ is a Big Load™ of Horse Shit . We are joined […] The post BG 059: McZen: A Double Satori with Cheese appeared first on Buddhist Geeks.

Episode Description: Crazy Wisdom, a phrase coined by the late Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, is used to describe uncommon, unique, and even wild ways of sharing wisdom. Wes Nisker, insight meditation teacher, shares with us his connection to the crazy wisdom teachers of the past, including such spiritual teachers as Jesus, Rumi, Kabir, and Benkei as […] The post BG 058: Crazy Wisdom Saves the Day! appeared first on Buddhist Geeks.

Episode Description: “The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which he has attained to liberation from the self.” – Einstein One would think that the above quote would come from one of the East’s great sages, but instead it comes from one of the last […] The post BG 057: Science as the Western Wisdom Tradition appeared first on Buddhist Geeks.

Episode Description: What would it be like if we were able to extend the silence & clarity of the meditative mind into our relationships? Would this impact how we listen, what we say, and even how we perceive reality? Gregory Kramer, teacher of a unique interpersonal meditation called Insight Dialogue, claims that it does this […] The post BG 056: Insight Dialogue: Extending Meditation into Mutuality appeared first on Buddhist Geeks.

Episode Description: We speak to insight meditation teacher and comedian Wes Nisker about humor, enlightenment, and the way that the scientific vision has impacted and informed the teachings of the Buddha. Quoting Wavy Gravy, Wes comments that, “If you don’t have a sense of humor, it just isn’t that funny.” Wes, who also has a […] The post BG 055: Atto, Zepto, and Yacto: The Buddhist Marx Brothers appeared first on Buddhist Geeks.

Episode Description: Gregory Kramer, teacher of an interpersonal meditation practice called Insight Dialogue (and author of a book with the same title) joins us to explore the question of, “What is the path of awakening, when we realize that we are essentially relational beings?” We discuss his early path as a meditator and the later […] The post BG 054: Interpersonal Meditation: Awakening as Relational Beings appeared first on Buddhist Geeks.

Episode Description: Jundo Cohen, student of Gudo Wafu Nishijima Roshi, and abbot of the almost completely virtual Treeleaf Zendo joined us to discuss his virtual sangha. Jundo formed the community to meet the needs of those people who were living in highly isolated situations, or were too sick or elderly to continue to sit with […] The post BG 053: Virtual Zen: Dropping Here and There appeared first on Buddhist Geeks.

Episode Description: We continue our discussion with spiritual teacher and dharma punk Noah Levine, and cover several more areas of interest, including the traditional Theravada ideal of enlightenment. We also discuss what it looks like to live as a Spiritual Rebel, Revolutionary, and finally a Spiritual Radical. Finally, Noah shares some of his thoughts on […] The post BG 052: The Spiritual Radical appeared first on Buddhist Geeks.

Episode Description: Finishing up our discussion with scholar-practitioner, and Shambhala Acharaya, Judith Simmer-Brown we explore two very important issues for Western Buddhists: lineage and gender. Judith shares her take on the importance of lineage for new teachers, explaining the role of an Acharaya, and discussing the need to connect strongly to the roots of the […] The post BG 051: Becoming Whole: Lineage and Gender in American Buddhism appeared first on Buddhist Geeks.

Episode Description: Noah Levine, Buddhist teacher and dharma punk, shares the intimate details of his early lifestyle of punk rock, drugs, and jail and his climb out of a harmful way of living that was facilitated in part by meditation practice. For more details about his journey check out his spiritual memoir, Dharma Punx. He […] The post BG 050: Being Human and Suffering Less Along the Way appeared first on Buddhist Geeks.

Episode Description: Judith Simmer-Brown, a professor of Religious Studies at Naropa University and authorized teacher in the Shambhala tradition speaks with us about the coming together of theoretical study and meditation practice in the context of academia—what professor Charles Prebish calls the “scholar-practitioner”. She shares with us the historical precedents for this movement in America, […] The post BG 049: The Scholar-Practitioner: Joining Theory and Practice appeared first on Buddhist Geeks.

Episode Description: We continue our discussion with the Venerable Thubten Chodron, a long time Western Buddhist Nun, and founder of Sravasti Abbey in Washington State. In this dialogue she shares with us the vision behind Sravasti Abbey, discussing the benefits of living the monastic life and using community life as a means to continue to […] The post BG 048: Monasteries as the Conscience of Society appeared first on Buddhist Geeks.

Episode Description: In the second half of our conversation with Buddhist teacher Diana Winston we go on to discuss the various ways that Buddhism and more secular mindfulness practices are being marketed to youth. The mindfulness movement itself seems to be one of the most promising of these different methods, as does the promulgation of […] The post BG 047: Marketing Mindfulness to the Youth appeared first on Buddhist Geeks.

Episode Description: Thubten Chodron, a long time Western Buddhist Nun, and founder of Sravasti Abbey in Washington State, took time with us to discuss her work as a teacher, including all of the work she has done with students online. She shared with us the potential down-sides of having a purely digital relationship with a […] The post BG 046: Reformatting the Hard Disk of the Mind appeared first on Buddhist Geeks.

Episode Description: Diana Winston, insight meditation teacher and author, took a break from a busy day of work from the UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center to join us in a discussion on Buddhism and youth. After sharing some insight into what her most recent work at UCLA is aiming to accomplish, Diana explored the question […] The post BG 045: What Happens to the Dharma when the Boomers Die Out? appeared first on Buddhist Geeks.