Finding Nirvana in the Classics by Dharma Bums

2min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

It is a pleasure to be talking with you again. I don't remember when we talked the first time, but it's been several years at least. You have a new book out that the minute I saw the title, I was like, oh, I absolutely have to read this one. It's called the Dharma Bums Guide to Western Literature, Finding Nirvana in the Classics. We'll talk all about it here in a moment, but let's start like we always do with the parable. In the parable, there are two wolves inside of us that are always at battle. One is a good wolf, which represents things like kindness and bravery and love. The other is a

Dean Sluyter is an award-winning author who has taught meditation since 1970, from maximum security prisons to the Guatemalan rainforest. He’s a student of Eastern and Western sages from multiple traditions and has completed numerous pilgrimages and retreats in India, Tebet, Nepal, and the West.

In this episode, Eric and Dean discuss his latest book, The Dharma Bums Guide to Western Literature: Finding Nirvana in the Classics, which reflects his lifelong exploration of the awakening process as well as his years as a prep school English teacher.

Registration for The Well Trained Mind Program is now open! Learn the foundations of mindfulness and create a more fulfilling spiritual practice in Ginny’s live virtual program that starts on October 9. Visit oneyoufeed.net/mindfulness to learn more!

But wait, there’s more! The episode is not quite over!! We continue the conversation and you can access this exclusive content right in your podcast player feed. Head over to our Patreon page and pledge to donate just $10 a month. It’s that simple and we’ll give you good stuff as a thank you!

Dean Sluyter and I Discuss How to See the Dharma in Western Literary Classics and …

His book, The Dharma Bums Guide to Western Literature: Finding Nirvana in the Classics
The role (or lack thereof) of efforting in meditation
The difference between awareness and mind
What it means to “relax your grip” or “let it be” during meditation
The Dharma and the Infinite in The Cat and the Hat
That dualism is the way the world appears to us when viewed through the thinking mind
How to find the fragrant emptiness at the core of our minds, beyond all thoughts
That only the infinite can give us infinite joy, in the finite world – having can’t match our yearning.
The nature of desire is that it replicates itself
Kindness in Huckleberry Finn
That the kingdom of heaven is spread upon the earth, within and all around us