Buddhist Geeks

Episode Description: We’re joined again on Buddhist Geeks by one of the most influential figures in the transpersonal psychology movement, Dr. Charley Tart. We cover a huge range of topics in this interview, covering many things related to what he refers to as a “broad scale approach to meditation.” Charley starts off by speaking about [...]

Episode Description: We’re joined this week by Dr. Kelly McGonigal, to discuss her work at Stanford University, where she is teaching compassion-based practices from the Buddhist tradition, taught in a way that pulls from scientific research and appeals to a secular sensibility. As part of her work with CCARE she shares some of her background [...]

Episode Description: We’re joined again this week by Brown University neuroscience researcher Willougbhy Britton. Willougbhy begins this episode by going into further depth into some of the typical experiences that have been reported during her research into the difficult stages of the contemplative path. She lists out typical changes in cognition, affect (emotion), perception, and [...]

Episode Description: We’re joined this week by Brown University neuroscience researcher Willougbhy Britton. In this episode Dr. Britton shares some of the details of a research project that she’s working on called, “The Difficult Stages of the Contemplative Path.” She goes into the purpose of the research project and also some of the research methods [...]

Episode Description: This week’s episode comes from the recent Buddhist Geeks conference where Ethan Nichtern, a Buddhist teacher in the Shambhala tradition, speaks about ways in which the internet falls as a an aid in dharma. He uses the Tibetan teaching on co-emergence to frame the simultaneous benefits and harms of the internet, while also [...]

Episode Description: “You can perform neurosurgery on yourself.” – Kenneth Folk This week’s episode comes from the recent Buddhist Geeks Conference, where meditation teacher Kenneth Folk spoke about his three pillars of pragmatic dharma: 1) awakening is possible, 2) I know because it happened to me, and 3) here’s how. Kenneth cycles through each of [...]

Episode Description: “Obstacles in your path should not be regarded as obstacles. They are simply features of the landscape which have to be negotiated.” – Ken McLeod This week’s episode is taken from the recent Buddhist Geeks Conference, where Ken McLeod–a well known Buddhist teacher and management consultant–spoke about moving beyond ‘us vs. them,’ embracing [...]

Episode Description: We’re joined this week by Comparative Religion scholar and Buddhist teacher Rita Gross. Rita shares how she got into Buddhist practice, first studying deeply in the Shambhala tradition and then in the last several years with the Tibetan Nun Jetün Khandro Rinpoche. Rita goes on to speak extensively on the value of studying [...]

Episode Description: We’re joined this week by vipassana teacher Martin Alyward to hear his perspective on the Buddhist Teachers Council, a recent gathering of Western teachers that was held at the Garrison Institute. Martin was part of the group of next generation teachers who met with pioneering teachers to explore how they might better support [...]

Episode Description: We’re joined again by Harvard trained social scientist Dr. Jeffery Martin. As a conclusion to our discussion on the initial findings on his research into “non-symbolic consciousness” Jeffery goes into the further reaches of his research participants. He speaks about the tendency for people on the higher range of his model to have [...]