Exploring the Unity of Samsara and Nirvana in Zen Tradition

Psychology professor and cognitive scientist John Vervaeke (@johnvervaeke) joins me to talk about how Neoplatonism (which has provided the worldview "grammar" of Western mysticism) is being revisioned in light of contemporary advances in philosophy, cognitive science, and cross-cultural exchange.

0:00 Introduction

1:21 Updating the Perennial Tradition

6:19 A Post-Two-Worlds Neoplatonism

12:20 "The One" according to 4E Cognitive Science

20:16 Ascent and Descent

26:05 Complexification as Narrative? Creating a Psycho-Ontology

36:01 Nonduality, Meaning, and Nihilism

44:30 Death and (Re-)Incarnation

53:11 After Life