In this episode, I am once again joined by Dhammarato: a lineage teacher in the Thai Buddhist tradition who is known for his unique, 1-1 teaching style conducted over Skype.
Dhammarato challenges what he sees as the widespread misconceptions about meditation practice, focusing in particular on American Buddhism and the Goenka and Mahasi methods.
Dhammarato discusses issues such as the dangers of meditation retreats, the problems with sleep deprivation and other austerities, and recounts stories of men he has known who crippled themselves through obsessive meditation practice in damaging seated postures.
Dhammarato also calls for a return to the original teaching of the Buddha, advises on how to find and keep spiritual friends, and shares his perspective on how to meditate well.
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Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep241-myths-of-meditation-dhammarato
Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
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00:00 - Intro
00:53 - Challenging Western Buddhism
03:54 - Drawbacks of Goenka Vipassana retreats
04:14 - Buddha’s advice for meditation
06:21 - Common meditation mistakes
07:28 - How to see dukkah
08:16 - Coming out of victimhood
09:28 - Drawbacks of the Mahasi method
11:21 - The problem of pain on meditation retreats
13:48 - Following the Ānāpānasati Sutta and jhana practice
16:18 - Western practitioners who destroyed their knees and legs while meditating
17:47 - Sleep deprivation
18:38 - Take it easy and be gentle
19:18 - Dangers of meditation retreats
20:31 - Essence of Buddhism
22:01 - Misunderstandings about meditation posture
28:16 - Magical body postures and siddhi powers
32:29 - The Donald Trumps of Buddhism
33:56 - What attracts people to extreme asceticism and psychedelics?
35:23 - Does Dhammarato’s approach merely suppress suffering?
43:00 - The myth of life enhancing meditation
47:24 - Dhammarato’s advice for regular practice
50:22 - The value of noble friends
55:49 - The Open Sangha Foundation
59:23 - Getting out of magical thinking
01:01:08 - How to make Dhamma friends
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Dhammarato Episode Playlist
- https://www.guruviking.com/search?q=DHAMMARATO
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To find out more about Dhammarato, visit:
- https://dhammaratoblog.wordpress.com/
- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxg5GJFsRqnS-YLTzyrjLQ
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For more interviews, videos, and more visit:
- www.guruviking.com
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Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James
