Buddhist Geeks

Episode Description: 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 ...

The following video took place at the Buddhist Geeks Conference in 2011, and was one of the three keynotes of the event. Talk Description: The qualities of a good gamer and a bodhisattva have more in common than you think. Find out how video games--unexpectedly!--have trained today's young people to be more prepared for Buddhist practice than any previous generation.

Episode Description: 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
• The Guardian

Episode Description: 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
• Dharma and Climate

Episode Description: 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
• BG 201: Pragmatic

Part of the purpose of The Lab is to give you some behind-the-scenes info on what we’re doing here at Buddhist Geeks, as well as how we’re doing it. In this post we’ll share a little bit on how we’re incorporating user-centric design thinking into the development of the Buddhist Geeks Conference, and also invite you to help us in the design process. But first, what is user-centric design? Very simply, user-centric design is a way of designing that incorporates the end-user at every stage of the design process. In many instances, design happens behind-the-scenes, with ...

Episode Description: 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 ...

The following video took place at the Buddhist Geeks Conference in 2011, and was one of the two organized panels of the event. Panel Description: A panel exploring how we can support 21st century dharma by harnessing the wisdom of the ages. Panelists include, Trudy Goodman, Vincent Horn, Ethan Nichtern, Diana Winston, and Jack Kornfield.

The following video took place at the Buddhist Geeks Conference in 2011, and was part of a series of live talks, each 20 minutes in length. Talk Description: In this talk Ethan Nichtern explores the limitations of online dharma. Transcript: Ethan Nichtern: So the title of my talk is "The Internet Is Not Your Teacher" and there’s two iPads on the podium right now, which is kind of awesome. So, the first thing I’d like to say is obviously this entire gathering is a product of the internet and that’s great. On the way in here met six or seven people ...

Episode Description: 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: