Jay Forrest On Natural Buddhism

I am ending this podcast and starting a new one entitled 5 Minute Dharma. You can find it as 5MinuteDharma.com Again, this is the last episode of this podcast. To continue listening to me you have to subscribe to my new podcast at 5MinuteDharma.com

"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world" (Dhammapada 1 [tr. Thomas Byrom]). Our minds can be a help or a hindrance depending on whether it is in line we reality. Most of the time it is confused about reality. We need to stop thinking and start noticing. "People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them." - Epictetus "No one ever steps in the same river twice." - Heraclitu

Covid-19 has hit the United States. This pandemic is causing a lot of anxiety for people. Panic has hit even my local Walmart, with no toilet paper left in stock. What does Buddhism have to teach us in this time of real world suffering? Can we learn to find serenity in times of uncertainty?

Natural Buddhism is an approach to Buddhism without relying on supernatural explanations, such as rebirth. It is about awakening, transforming, and flourishing in this one life. As Thich Nhat Hanh said, “Buddhist systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth.” Natural Buddhism https://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/natural-buddhism/ Interbeing https://www.viewonbuddhism.org/resources/14_precepts.html Kalama Sutta http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/kalama1.htm

What is Secular Buddhism? Secular Buddhism is Buddhism without karma, rebirth, Nirvana, or other metaphysical claims. It is about awakening, transformation, and flourishing in this one life. Secular Buddhism accepts the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Noble Path, and the Three Marks of Existence.

I am going on a long sabbatical in order to write my next book. I am guessing it will take me a year or so. I need complete dedication and focus, so I am ending the podcast today. This is my last episode. But I give hints of what's to come. To stay connected, check back in June, or December 2020, and see if things have changed. Also bookmark Bodhidaoism.com. When I come back, fate willing, I will be using that domain. I need to decrease while Bodhidaoism increases. Thank you!

Being and Time by Martin Heidegger is, in the words of William Large, "probable one of the most important books written in the twentieth century" (1). It influenced not only existentialism, but the whole of contentential philosophy. One of Heidegger's main concepts is Dasein. Dasein is Heidegger's "word for human existence.... which describes the way in which human beings are rather than what they are" (Large 109-110). I would translated Dasein into English as "human beingness." Reference Large, William (2008) Heidegger's Being and Time. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Thomas Aquinas' idea of God being necessary is false. The Cosmos alone has no cause, needs no cause. The Cosmos alone exists, from within rather than from without, by its essence rather than a cause. This only the Cosmos as a whole is necessary, everything else is contingent might-not-have been. And only the cosmos is eternal, everything else within it has a beginning. Reference Kreeft, Peter (2014) Practical Theology: Spiritual Direction from saint Thomas Aquinas. San Francisco: Ignatius Press.

In this episode we talk to Jay Michaelson about Bodhidaoism and Point 6 of the Naksha, which reads: "The Cosmos is Divine, being all there is or was or ever will be. We call the Cosmos the Divine because it is our mother, our sustainer, and the source of awe, reverence, and wonder. The word Divine is simply the metaphor we use to speak of the mystery of existence and the deeper significance of our interdependence with the Cosmos. For us, Nature is sacred." Jay Michaelson is a Rabbi, meditation teacher, and author who writes on law, religion, Judaism, and LGBT issues. Michaelson is legal affairs and religion columnist at The Daily Beast. Links Enlightenment by Trial and Error Jay Michaelson's Website

In this episode we talk to Jay Michaelson about his new book Enlightenment by Trial and Error: Ten Years on the Slippery Slopes of Jewish Spirituality, Postmodern Buddhism, and other Heresies. Jay Michaelson is a Rabbi, meditation teacher, and author who writes on law, religion, Judaism, and LGBT issues. Michaelson is legal affairs and religion columnist at The Daily Beast. Links Enlightenment by Trial and Error Jay Michaelson's Website

"The Cosmos is Divine, being all there is or was or ever will be. We call the Cosmos the Divine because it is our mother, our sustainer, and the source of awe, reverence, and wonder. The word Divine is simply the metaphor we use to speak of the mystery of existence and the deeper significance of our interdependence with the Cosmos. For us, Nature is sacred" (Naksha 6).

In this interview I discuss Bodhidaoism and the meaning crisis with John Vervaeke. John Vervaek is a professor at University of Toronto, he holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy and a B.Sc. in Cognitive Science. His areas of specialty are Cognitive Science, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology, and Positive Psychology. He is best know for his YouTube series on the meaning crisis. Links John Vervaeke's Website John Vervaeke's YouTube Channel

Bodhidaoism is the way of awakening. It is a personal religion for the solitary practitioner that is based on scientific naturalism. Scientific naturalism is the view that, based on the evidence, the natural world is all there is, and science is the best means of knowing this world. A creator God, the supernatural, and a personal afterlife are all beliefs rejected by scientific naturalism, and hence, are not a part of Bodhidaoism. (Naksha, Point 1). Naksha http://bodhidaoism.com/Naksha/

Internationally recognized as the father of the Life Planning movement, the Harvard-educated George Kinder revolutionized financial advice for over 30 years by training over 3,000 professionals in 30 countries in the field of financial Life Planning. In his new book, A Golden Civilization and The Map of Mindfulness, Kinder draws on 50 years as a mindfulness practitioner, over 30 years as a mindfulness teacher, and his experience training financial advisors globally to challenge the basic concepts of economics, our understanding of democracy, of space-time, and our own hearts. His objective is to bring greater levels of freedom everywhere. Links The Kinder Institute of Life Planning A Golden Civilization and The Map of Mindfulness

The Summa Sophia said that a "vegetarian diet is required" for Bodhidaoists. But as of October 1, 2019, this is no longer the case. I would rather inspire people with my life than drive them by decree. I want people to become vegetarians because they believe it is right, not because I say so. Without this inner motivation nothing of lasting value will be accomplished. All this and more is in the new book: Secular Spirituality. Reference Naksha. http://bodhidaoism.com/Naksha/