Buddhist Geeks

Dr. Judson Brewer is an assistant professor at Yale in psychiatry and a contemplative scientist studying the effects of meditation on the brain. He and his colleagues believe they have found a way to use FMRI to give meditators real time feedback on their mindfulness practice. This feedback has led to increased efficacy and efficiency in mindfulness practice. Since making these discoveries, Brewer has joined the Contemplative Development Mapping Project in hopes of creating a common language between meditation traditions to more easily discern progress in meditation practice. In this episode, Brewer describes to Vincent Horn how his work in addiction treatment led to these discoveries. They discuss the difficulty in objectively marking progress on the path to awakening, how that led to his participation in the Contemplative Development Mapping Project, and how using FMRI to understand mindfulness practice may eventually affect Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. Episode Links: The Dark Night Project ( http://b

Keith Martin-Smith is an author, martial artist, and ordained Zen priest. His latest book is “A Heart Blown Open”, the biography of his teacher Jun Po Denis Kelly Roshi. In this episode, Vincent Horn talks with Keith about the book and Jun Po’s “Mondo Zen” approach, which aims to join the path of awakening with emotional maturity. Episode Links: www.keithmartinsmith.com A Heart Blown Open ( http://amzn.to/1gc7Ins ) Mondo Zen ( http://www.mondozen.org )

John Peacock is a scholar and Associate Director of The Oxford Mindfulness Centre. His studies of the earliest Buddhist writings have revealed to him a very human Buddha and a very different Buddhism than we know today. In a conversation with Hokai Sobol, Peacock describes the historical Buddha as a very practical teacher and a radical social reformer. He cites passages of the earliest writings that describe a very human and emotional Buddha that enjoyed satire. He calls the Buddha the “First Psychologist” and relates to him as a teacher who was more interested in practical psychology than philosophy. This is Part 1 of a 2 part series. Episode Links: Oxford Mindfulness Center ( http://oxfordmindfulness.org ) Hokai Sobol | 21st Century Dharma ( http://www.hokai.info ) Sutta Nipata ( http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/index.html ) Ariyapariyesana Sutta ( http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.026.than.html )

Jane McGonigal is an author and game designer who wants to change the world through gaming. In this second part of a presentation recorded during the 2011 Buddhist Geeks Conference, she shares the details about games where people are going into the world and using gamer virtues for real life good. From better community organizing, to solutions for regional famine, to possible treatments for cancer, McGonigal and her gamers are changing the world one epic win at a time. She concludes the presentation by inviting to the stage her twin sister Kelly McGonigal. Together they give the audience an inside look at the ongoing conversation the sisters have had about the possible convergence of gaming and Buddhist practice. This is part two of a two part series. Episode Links: www.janemcgonigal.com Awakening is an Epic Win [video] ( youtu.be/uI46wbjrVc0 ) Reality is Broken ( amzn.to/1gc7qgv ) Fold It ( http://fold.it/portal/ ) Ground Crew ( http://gameful.org/groups/groundcrew/forum/ ) Evoke ( http://www.urgentevoke.com

Jane McGonigal is an author and game designer who describes herself as “23% Buddhist, 77% geek.” She begins the presentation, originally given at the 2011 Buddhist Geeks Conference, by asking three questions: Do Buddhists and Game Designers share goals? Do Buddhists and Game Designers share methods? Could Buddhists and Game Designers share practices? She then shares some fascinating insights into the measured benefits of gaming, after which she has the audience join her in a game of “massive multiplayer thumb wrestling.” Jane closes her talk by drawing some striking parallels between the goals and benefits of gaming with the goals and benefits of Buddhist practice. This is part 1 of a 2 part series. Listen to part 2 (airing next week). Episode Links: www.janemcgonigal.com Awakening is an Epic Win [video] ( https://youtu.be/uI46wbjrVc0 ) Reality is Broken ( http://amzn.to/1gc7qgv )

Kelly Sosan Bearer speaks with Ed Halliwell, journalist, teacher, and author, about his new book The Mindful Manifesto and its themes of mindfulness, Buddhism, and Science. Ed describes his personal experience with stress and depression and his journey to Buddhism and mindfulness practice as a way to get healthy. He defines “mindfulness” and then leads the Geeks through a ”3 step breathing space practice” meant to reduce stress. Episode Links: The Mindful Manifesto: How Doing Less and Noticing More Can Help Us Thrive in a Stressed-Out World ( http://amzn.to/1gc7gWq ) The Guardian ( http://www.guardiannews.com ) Integral Chicks ( http://www.integralchicks.com )

In this episode Rohan Gunatillake speaks with Buddhist teacher Rob Burbea on the topic of Climate Change. Rob wonders why the Western Buddhist community is largely silent on the topic, and over the course of the discussion Rohan and Rob explore several questions, including: How does dharma practice relate to the topic of Climate Change? What is the consequence of Buddhists not addressing this issue? What example should Buddhist teachers and leaders show in relation to climate change? Episode Links: The Meditator as Revolutionary ( http://dharmaseed.org/talks/audio_player/210/13850.html ) Dharma and Climate Change ( http://sanghaseva.org/ongoing.html ) Gaia House ( http://gaiahouse.co.uk ) www.21awake.com

Ken McLeod and Vincent Horn continue their conversation about the student-teacher relationship by examining communication mediums. They begin by examining the value and limitations of video chat as well as the benefits and dangers of practice via social networking. Vincent and Ken explore why it’s important for students and teachers to meet in the middle of communication gaps, and what happens when they don’t. This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, Crossing the Generational Divide. Episode Links: Unfettered Mind ( http://www.unfetteredmind.org ) Pragmatic Buddhism ( http://bit.ly/1S1bMYw ) www.openpractice.me

Ken McLeod joins Vincent Horn for the start of a conversation examining some of the painful generational gaps that occur between students and teachers. They begin by exploring the question of how to skillfully deal with this gap, and in particular what kinds of gaps are most common. Vincent brings up some of the tensions he has felt and noticed, many of which are usually only discussed “behind closed doors”. This leads into one of the most pressing areas where tension is felt between the generations, with that of technology. This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, The Communication Gap. Episode Links: Pragmatic Buddhism ( http://bit.ly/1S1bMYw ) Philosophy as a Way of Life ( http://amzn.to/GQsNQ8 )

Rob McNamara is a psychology professor, zen practitioner, and strength trainer who works at the intersection of strength training and contemplative practice. In this episode McNamara explains how his experiences in the gym helped him understand the purpose of meditation, and how both inner and outer strength are deeply intertwined. He describes how strength training can stretch both the upper and lower boundaries of the ego, helping us learn how to not check out when things get uncomfortable, nor space out when we have an opportunity to relax deeply and let go. Episode Links: www.robmcnamara.com Strength to Awaken ( http://amzn.to/ysYV4H )

In this episode, taken from the Buddhist Geeks Conference in 2011, Diane Hamilton explores Enlightenment, not as a binary state, but from a developmental point of view, as ever-expanding identification. Hamilton explains, and then demonstrates through the Big Mind Process, the value of taking on the perspective of others to help resolve disputes and come to greater understanding of human development. Episode Links: www.dianemushohamilton.com The Most Fundamental Duality ( http://bit.ly/1S1brVD )

Rohan Gunatillake, in this presentation taken from the Buddhist Geeks Conference in 2011, explores how Buddhism can learn from the suffering of other established systems such as the music, publishing and journalism industries. Rohan outlines his presentation based on the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths, explains how he used the concepts presented to launch an iPhone app, and challenges other entrepreneurs to join in the quest to bring these values to other business initiatives. Episode Links: http://rohangunatillake.com buddhify ( http://buddhify.com )

In this episode, taken from the Buddhist Geeks Conference in 2011, Kelly McGonigal, PhD in Health Psychology, speaks on how the neuroscience of meditation can help us understand how practice shapes the mind and can also offer fresh insights into concepts like mindfulness and suffering. As Dr. McGonigal presents various scientific studies that show differences in the brain functioning between meditators and non-meditators, she highlights how meditation practice benefits the practitioner in various ways such as higher pain thresholds and reduced depression. Episode Links: www.kellymcgonigal.com

Ari Goldfield and Rose Taylor are Buddhist teachers and translators . Goldfield is a Buddhist translator and teacher who has studied and practiced under the close guidance of Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche since 1995. Taylor is a Buddhist translator and second-generation Buddhist teacher who teaches Buddhist meditation, philosophy, yogic exercise and dance, and classical Tibetan language to Westerners as well as to the nuns at Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche’s nunneries in Bhutan and Nepal. In this conversation with host Vincent Horn they recount how each discovered their paths and together they explain the “songs of yogic joy”, one of the unique aspects of the Kagyu path of Tibetan Buddhism. As a special treat Goldfield and Taylor end the episode with two examples of this type of singing meditation. Episode Links: Wisdom Sun ( http://www.wisdomsun.org ) Stars of Wisdom ( http://www.starsofwisdom.info )

Lodro Rinzler is a next generation Buddhist teacher in the Shambhala tradition and author of “The Buddha Walks Into a Bar.” In our discussion we focus primarily on the ways in which Generation Y is relating differently to dharma–from sex and relationships, to technological changes and instantaneous connection, to working with 1st generation Western teachers. We explore what differences are merely generational and which are more fundamental to our unique time and place. Episode Links: www.LodroRinzler.com The Buddha Walks Into a Bar: A Guide to Life for a New Generation ( http://amzn.to/zzexf6 ) Gampo Abbey ( http://www.gampoabbey.org ) Shambhala Meditation Center of New York ( http://ny.shambhala.org ) The Reciprocity Foundation ( http://www.reciprocityfoundation.org )

Martine Batchelor joins Buddhist Geeks again, this time to explore the way that the roles of teacher and student are changing in contemporary times. While acknowledging various teacher models in the Buddhist tradition, she lays out the reasons she prefers the good friend, or adviser model that you find in the Theravada and Korean traditions. She speaks about the dangers of priming students as well as the dangers in teachers not acknowledging their own limitations and shortcomings. She then lays out a way of teaching that focuses on the fundamentals of developing concentration and inquiry, instead of focusing on a particular technique of meditation. This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, Practicing at the Crossroads. Episode Links: www.MartineBatchelor.org The Buddhist Teachers Council ( http://bit.ly/1S1aJYr ) The Timeless Tradition of Spiritual Apprenticeship ( http://bit.ly/1S1aI6Z )

Martine Batchelor was a nun in a Korean Buddhist monastery for 10 years, where she followed a traditional path of practice and exploration. We speak about her journey in becoming a nun, what the rhythms of that life were like, what practices she undertook, and how she came to integrate, and deepen, the understanding she uncovered during her decade of training there. The episode concludes with a compelling conversation about the multi-perspectival nature of human beings, and how we’re constantly practicing at a crossroads between various aspects of our lives. This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, The Myth of the Teacher. Episode Links: www.MartineBatchelor.org Chinul and the Hwadu Meditation ( http://www.openbuddha.com/2010/09/09/chinul-and-the-hwadu-meditation/ ) Master Dahui ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahui_Zonggao )

Vincent Horn is a co-founder and director of Buddhist Geeks. In this talk, originally given at the Pacific Asia Art Museum, he explores the interdisciplinary insights to be gained by combining geek culture’s radical experimentation, facility with external technologies, and forward-thinking with Buddhism’s wisdom of the human condition, mind-training systems, and familiarity with the inner world. This talk, with slides, is also available to watch as a video here: http://bit.ly/vdwNtE Episode Links: Steve Jobs ( http://amzn.to/ufoZks ) Buddhify ( http://buddhify.com ) Shinzen Young: The Hybrid Teacher ( http://bit.ly/1S1a5dq )

David Chapman–writer and computer scientist–joins us again to finish our conversation about “consensus Buddhism” and the alternatives that he sees to the consensus. David speaks about some of the innovations that occurred in the last few decades within the world of Buddhist tantra, including such teachers as Chogyam Trunpa Rinpoche, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, and Reggie Ray. He also speaks about the challenges facing modern Buddhism, including fragmentation and atomization, and how these challenges are leading to a new approach, that might best be described as post-modern. This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, Consensus Buddhism and Mindful Mayo. Episode Links: Meaningness ( http://meaningness.wordpress.com ) The Making of Buddhist Modernism ( http://amzn.to/tpoDE9 ) Buddhism for Vampires ( http://buddhism-for-vampires.com )

David Chapman is a writer, computer scientist, engineer and Buddhist practitioner. He shares in this episode a description of what he calls consensus Buddhism. Chapman claims that up until recently this consensus group has crowded out the mindshare of alternative approaches to Buddhism, through focusing on universalizing and making absolute several principles, which are good in themselves, but become problematic when absolutized. Included among these principles are:1) inclusivity2) individualism3) egalitarianism4) niceness5) mindfulnessThis is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, Innovating New Forms of Buddhist Tantra. Episode Links: Meaningness ( http://meaningness.wordpress.com )Boomeritis Buddhism ( http://bit.ly/17mRK ) “Nice” Buddhism ( http://meaningness.wordpress.com/2011/06/10/nice-buddhism/ ) One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism ( http://amzn.to/vCeIu0 )