Charlie Awbery, a meditation teacher and longtime Vajrayana practitioner, discusses the difference between sutric and tantric views in Buddhism, the challenges and benefits of meditating with eyes open, the concept of awakening and alignment in different Buddhist traditions, the distinctions between traditional and evolving Vajrayana, the practice of TREC-Chaud in Buddhism, transformative teaching and facilitation, exploring group dynamics in shared experiences, and creating contemporary Vajrayana in Buddhism.
Sutra Buddhism emphasizes detachment and renunciation, while Tantric Buddhism focuses on maintaining awareness and connection in everyday life.
Vajrayana offers a more integrated approach to meditation practice, valuing individuality, emotions, and personal autonomy.
Evolving Ground is a unique Vajrayana community that reimagines traditional practices to suit contemporary practitioners, providing a supportive and adaptable environment.
Deep dives
Exploring the Sutra-Verse Tantra Distinction
This podcast episode delves into the difference between Sutra and Tantric views. The guest speaker discusses their personal journey from Sutra Buddhism to Vajrayana and highlights the contrasting perspectives of renunciation versus engagement with the world. They explain how Sutra practice emphasizes detachment and letting go of individual identity, while Tantra focuses on maintaining awareness and connection in everyday life. The guest also touches on the importance of practicing with eyes open and the potential for disorientation and a different experience of emotions in Tantric Buddhism. Overall, the episode provides insights into the distinctions and benefits of adopting a Tantric view on meditation and life.
Reflecting on the Relationship between Sutra and Vajrayana
In this podcast episode, the conversation explores the relationship between Sutra and Vajrayana Buddhism. The guest and host discuss their personal experiences and how they came to recognize the unique contributions of each path. They emphasize the significance of understanding one's worldview and language in relation to meditation practice. The guest shares how they have discovered a more open and engaged perspective through Vajrayana, which values individuality, emotions, and personal autonomy. They also address the potential challenges of traditional sutric practices, such as detachment and dissociation, and highlight the benefits of a more integrated approach offered by Vajrayana. Overall, the episode provides valuable insights into the different approaches to meditation practice and the transformative possibilities of embracing a tantric worldview.
Evolving Ground: A Contemporary Vajrayana Community
This podcast episode introduces Evolving Ground, a unique Vajrayana community co-founded by the guest speaker. The community aims to provide a space for contemporary Vajrayana practice that deviates from traditional cultural forms to better suit modern practitioners. By exploring methods and practices from different traditions without committing to a single system, Evolving Ground allows participants to engage in a more open and exploratory approach to Vajrayana. The guest highlights a recent Chit retreat as an example of a transformative practice offered by the community, emphasizing how it reflects the essence of Chit while incorporating more contemporary elements. The episode sheds light on the community's commitment to creating a supportive and adaptable environment for those interested in a contemporary Vajrayana path.
Reimagining Traditional Vajrayana Practices
In this podcast episode, the guest speaker discusses the innovative approach of Evolving Ground towards traditional Vajrayana practices. They explain how the community aims to maintain the function of these practices while reimagining their form to suit contemporary practitioners. A specific example given is the Chit practice, where the traditional elements such as the Chit drum and bone trumpet are replaced with more accessible and engaging elements. The guest emphasizes the importance of preserving the transformative and challenging aspects of the practice, ensuring that practitioners still confront the reality of death. The conversation also touches on the inclusion of physical movement practices within the community. Overall, the episode highlights the innovative and adaptive nature of Evolving Ground in its offering of traditional Vajrayana practices reimagined for a modern audience.
Multidimensional Practices in Evolving Ground
In the podcast episode, the speaker discusses the multidimensionality of practices in Evolving Ground. Traditionally, engaging with a specific practice often requires embracing the entire tradition or identifying with a particular tradition. However, in Evolving Ground, practitioners have the flexibility to draw from different styles and traditions, experiencing the practices in relation to one another. The focus is on providing a distinct set of methods that can be accessed without the need for traditional cultural experiences. This approach allows practitioners to explore different practices and traditions while maintaining their own unique journey.
The Depth of Their Practice: Chaud Ritual and Opening Awareness
The episode delves into two specific practices: the Chaud ritual and opening awareness. The Chaud ritual, known as Trec-Chaud, is a transformative practice that involves cutting attachments to corporeal form and directly engaging with the experiences of death and mortality. On the other hand, opening awareness is a foundational practice in Evolving Ground, aiming to remain uninvolved and present in the moment. This practice is challenging but essential for maintaining clarity and preventing a loss of presence. The speaker highlights the importance of alternating between emptiness-related practices like opening awareness and form-related practices to further one's understanding and experience of different states of awareness.
Charlie Awbery is a meditation teacher and a longtime Vajrayana practitioner. In 2002 they were ordained in the non-monastic Aro gTer lineage. Informed mostly by traditional Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism their practice consisted of yidam, yogic song, chod, psycho-physical yogas, and solitary retreats. Aside from Buddhist practice they have trained in Gestalt psychotherapy and have worked in mental health services and international human rights organizations. After twenty-five years in traditional Vajrayana, they decided to co-found Evolving Ground - a community for contemporary Vajrayana practice. In this episode we speak about the difference between Sutric & Tantric view, the vehicles of Buddhism & their different endpoints, why the Sutric view can be problematic for householders, different perspectives on awakening, the Evolving Ground meditation community, integrating emptiness & form practices, and learning from transmission.
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