Shows / Buddhist Geeks
Episodes
Buddhist GeeksContributing to the Gross National Happiness
Richard Brown–a long time Buddhist and contemplative educator–joins us to share some of the details from his recent involvement in helping the small Buddhist…
Buddhist GeeksHappiness: There's an App For That
In this episode we’re joined by Soren Gordhamer, long time tech writer, and author of Wisdom 2.0: Ancient Secrets for the Creative and Constantly Connected…
Buddhist GeeksThe Jedi Mind Training of Concentration
In this episode we wrap up our discussion with meditation teachers Tina Rasmussen and Stephen Snyder, two of the only lay Western teachers authorized to teach…
Buddhist GeeksMastering the Jhanas
This week we speak with Theravada mediation teachers Tina Rasmussen and Stephen Snyder. In 2005, while on a 2-month retreat, they were the first Western lay…
Buddhist GeeksCan Dharma Help Us Turn the Corner?
This week we share a public talk given by Integral spirituality teacher Terry Patten and Vajrayana teacher Hokai Sobol, on the question of whether traditional…
Buddhist GeeksThe Zen of Zen History
James Zito is a Buddhist film-maker, and the director of a newly released documentary on the history of Zen Buddhism, Inquiry Into the Great Matter. James…
Buddhist GeeksUnifying Developmental Enlightenment with Timeless Realization
We’re joined again this week by Kenneth Folk, a long-time Theravada practitioner and meditation teacher. Kenneth completes his harrowing spiritual story, all…
Buddhist GeeksOrdinary People Can Get Enlightened
We’re joined this week by Kenneth Folk, a long-time Theravada practitioner and meditation teacher, who describes in exquisite detail his spiritual journey. It…
Buddhist GeeksThe Mountain of Spirit
This week we’re joined by Zen-inspired dharma teacher, Michael McAlister. Michael is the leader of the Infinite Smile sangha, just east of Berkeley, in what…
Buddhist GeeksFeminine Zen
Grace Schireson is a Zen master in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi and is the abbess of the Empty Nest Zendo in northern California. She joins us today to…
Buddhist GeeksReturning to the Marketplace
This week we speak with Zen Master, Genpo Roshi, about the relationship between money and spirituality. It’s a hot topic and one that he is incredibly…
Buddhist GeeksEddies in the Stream
We conclude our uber-geeky conversation with neuropsychologist and dharma teacher Rick Hanson this week, exploring what might be happening in the run-up to the…
Buddhist GeeksSelf is a Network Phenomenon
We’re joined again by Neuropsychologist and Theravada teacher, Rick Hanson. This time we explore the Buddhist proposition of anatta, or selflessness, from the…
Buddhist GeeksA Crash Course in Applied Neurodharma
This week, we’re joined by trained Neuropsychologist and Theravada Buddhist teacher, Rick Hanson, to explore what he calls “applied Neurodharma.” We begin by…
Buddhist GeeksWork, Sex, Money, Dharma
Martin Aylward continues his discussion with us how we can bring forth a more relevant, relational, and potent form of contemporary dharma practice. He begins…
Buddhist GeeksFreestyle Awakening
The theme of distinguishing between the Buddhist teachings and forms which lead to awakening, and those forms that are culturally inherited and perhaps…
Buddhist GeeksInvesting in the Future of American Buddhism
We continue our discussion with Shambhala acharya, Judith Simmer-Brown, about how we can strategically invest in American Buddhism so that it survives in the…
Buddhist GeeksThe Survival of American Buddhism
This week, we’re joined by Shambhala acharya and Naropa University professor, Judith Simmer-Brown. She joins us today to discuss four areas, which she learned…
Buddhist GeeksTurning Your Back to the Buddha
Insight Meditation teacher, Rodney Smith, joins us to explore the topic of “urban dharma”–seeing that the transformative potential of one’s life and…
Buddhist GeeksStepping out of Self-Deception
Rodney Smith, the founder of the Seattle Insight Meditation Society, joins us today to discuss several fascinating topics. We start with an exploration of how…
Buddhist GeeksBuddha in a Cup of Tea
This week, we’re joined by Kenneth Cohen, a well-known qi-gong master. Along with his training in the Taoist qi-gong and tai chi chuan, Kenneth has a strong…
Buddhist GeeksThe Mechanisms of Kensho
"A perception, sudden as blinking, that subject and object are one, will lead to a deeply mysterious wordless understanding; and by this understanding will you…
Buddhist GeeksThis is your Brain on Meditation
This week we speak with academic nuerologist and Zen practitioner James Austin. Austin, who wrote the well-known book, Zen and the Brain, joins us to explain…
Buddhist GeeksA Surfer's Quest to Find Zen on the Sea
This week with speak with the author of Saltwater Buddha, Jaimal Yogis. Jaimal, a Zen surfer and journalist, wrote Saltwater Buddha to chronicle his late teens…
Buddhist GeeksReflections on 21st Century Dharma
In this episode we have a round-table discussion, with members from the NYC-based Interdependence Project, on issues surrounding 21st century dharma in the…
Buddhist GeeksArtificial Wisdom
We’re back again with Artificial Intelligence researcher and Zen-dabbler, Ben Goertzel. We continue our exploration of some of the major themes in his…
Buddhist GeeksEnlightenment 2.0
This week we speak with Ben Goertzel, an artificial intelligence researcher and Zen-dabbling spiritual seeker. Ben shares with us his introduction to Zen and…
Buddhist GeeksMeditation is Good for Your Life
In this episode we speak with Karma Kagyu teacher, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. He starts off by telling us about how he got into formal Buddhist practice, at the…
Buddhist GeeksThe Erotic Embrace of Life and Meditation
We’re joined today by Vidyuddeva, a young Zen teacher who spent 5 years in monastic training with Zen Master Steve Hagen. Vid is now a teacher in his own…
Buddhist GeeksErik Curren: The Buddhist Politician
Erik Curren is a business leader, community activist, author, Buddhist meditator, and politician—who is running for state legislature in Virginia during the…
Buddhist GeeksBuddhist Chaplaincy, Buddhist Youth
This week we’re joined by Reverend Danny Fisher–a Buddhist Chaplain and author. Danny shares with us his reasons for becoming chaplain, where the notion of…
Buddhist GeeksBuddhist History 101
This week we speak with esteemed scholar, and the former professor of Buddhist Studies at UC Berkely, Dr. Lewis Lancaster. Lewis shares with us the important…
Buddhist GeeksBuddhism and the Evolution of Religion
Zen teacher Norman Fischer—a teacher in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi—joins us again to speak about the religion, evolution, and Buddhism’s unique role…
Buddhist GeeksBuddhism May Need a Plan B
As Buddhism transitions to the West, we see that it is doing so in a couple different ways. Some forms look more like their original Asian roots, while others…
Buddhist GeeksPeter Fenner on Entering into Natural Meditation
This week, I speak with non-dual teacher and former Tibetan monk, Peter Fenner. Peter was a monk for nearly a decade before he disrobed, realizing that the…
Buddhist GeeksNatural Wakefulness
This week we speak with Shambhala acharya and cultural anthropologist, Gaylon Ferguson. Gaylon speaks about the view of Natural Wakefulness, in short that…
Buddhist GeeksPop Buddhism & Satori Porn
This week we speak with Gen-X Zen teacher Brad Warner, author of the newly released Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate. We talk a little bit about his…
Buddhist GeeksInsights at the Edge
We’re joined again by Tami Simon–founder of the spiritual media company Sounds True and senior student of Vajrayana teacher Reggie Ray. This week we ask her…
Buddhist GeeksYou Will Get the Dharma You Need
In this episode we speak with Tami Simon–founder of the spiritual media company Sounds True and senior student of Vajrayana teacher Reggie Ray. Tami shares us…
Buddhist GeeksDharma Music Can Sound Like Anything
This week we speak to the Buddhist-inspired musician Ravenna Michalsen. She explains why dharma music need not sound the way we think it should (think monks…
Buddhist GeeksThe Evolution of the Mind and Life Dialogues
This week, Adam Engle, the business mastermind behind the Mind and Life Institute, joins us to discuss both the evolution of the project as well as its larger…
Buddhist GeeksThe Great Work of Western Magick
Alan Chapman is a Western magick practitioner, and the author of the newly released book, Advanced Magick for Beginners. Alan found his way into the field of…
Buddhist GeeksThe Mystery of the Mind: Ten Zen Questions
Dr. Susan Blackmore–a psychologist and long-time Zen practitioner–shares with us the discoveries that she made while writing her latest book, Ten Zen…
Buddhist GeeksThe Dharma Overground
Daniel Ingram, Theravada meditation teacher, joins us today to discuss the online community he and Buddhist Geeks host, Vince Horn helped create, The Dharma…
Buddhist GeeksAn Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book
Daniel Ingram, a Theravada meditation teacher and one of our most popular guests, joins us again to discuss his recently published book, Mastering the Core…
Buddhist GeeksWestern Buddhism: Megatrends & Scandals
Lama Sarah Harding, Tibetan translator and student of the late Kalu Rinpoche, joins us again to discuss some of the major trends in Western Buddhism. Having…
Buddhist GeeksThe Traditional 3-Year Retreat: Intensive Training for a Nonexistent Job
Lama Sarah Harding, Tibetan translator and student of the late Kalu Rinpoche, joins us to discuss the experience of doing a traditional 3-year retreat in the…
Buddhist GeeksThe Buddha Didn't Have a Credit Card
Insight Meditation teacher, Diana Winston, joins us to discuss an extremely relevant topic: Buddhism & Money. We explore whether or not spirituality and money…
Buddhist GeeksDifferent Types of Jhana: Sutta, Vishudimagga, & Vipassana
We continue our discussion with insight meditation teacher and author, Richard Shankman. In this episode we continue to dissect the different kinds of samadhi…
Buddhist GeeksThe Power of Samadhi
Richard Shankman, a teacher in the insight meditation tradition and the author of the recently released book The Experience of Samadhi, joins us to discuss the…
Buddhist GeeksVajrayana in Plain English
In this episode, we continue our dialogue with Shingon teacher Hokai Sobol. We begin our conversation by dropping a difficult question on Hokai, asking him how…
Buddhist GeeksJapanese Shingon: The True Word School
In this episode we are joined by one of our favorite Buddhist Geeks, Hokai Sobol. Hokai who is a teacher in the Shingon Buddhist tradition–a form of Vajrayana…
Buddhist GeeksEmbodied Zen
“Meditation is the royal road to the unconscious.” – Carl Jung Gerry Shishen Wick, Roshi joins us today to finish the discussion on koan training, Rinzai and…
Buddhist GeeksKoan Training and the Different Styles of Zen
Gerry Shishen Wick, Roshi is a dual-lineage holder of both the Soto and Rinzai schools of Zen. His teacher Maezumi Roshi passed along both lineages, and so we…
Buddhist GeeksJoseph Goldstein on The Science of Insight
Joseph Goldstein–one of the primary figures in the development of the Insight Meditation movement–finishes up his conversation with us by sharing his…
Buddhist GeeksJoseph Goldstein on the Benefits of Long Term Practice
Joseph Goldstein–one of the primary figures in the development of the Insight Meditation movement–joins us today to discuss the unique benefits of long-term…
Buddhist GeeksTibetan Buddhist Lineage in the West
Reginald Ray, Tibetan Buddhist scholar and teacher, is back with us this week to discuss some pretty big topics. We explore the break that he made, several…
Buddhist GeeksThe Forest Dwelling Yogi
“Enlightenment is found in the Body and nowhere else.” – famous Dzogchen saying We’re joined in this interview by Reginald Ray–author of numerous books on…
Buddhist GeeksEnlightenment for the Rest of Us
Shinzen Young joins us again to discuss the possibility of a new way to deliver classical enlightenment to the masses. He discusses the classic delivery…
Buddhist GeeksShinzen Young: The Hybrid Teacher
Shinzen Young, professional meditation instructor and geek-extraordinaire, joins us today to share his unique journey as a contemplative. From discontinuing…