Stephen Snyder, a meditation teacher and author, explores the profound practices of the Brahma Viharas in his new book, 'Buddha's Heart.' He shares his journey of awakening, revealing how heart practices helped him overcome early deficiencies in meditation. With a critical view of the American Zen community, he discusses the risks of awakening without a developed heart. Snyder emphasizes the transformative power of forgiveness and how combining deep jhana with heart practices can lead to spiritual insight and improved relationships.
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insights INSIGHT
What The Brahma Viharas Actually Are
The Brahma Viharas are ancient heart practices cultivating loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity.
They work by directing phrases toward categories of beings to soften the heart and stabilize vulnerability.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Shrink Phrases As Concentration Deepens
Use short supportive phrases to orient your attention while cultivating each heart-quality and reduce them as concentration deepens.
Let phrases shrink to one word and then release them once the absorption carries the practice.
question_answer ANECDOTE
From Head And Belly To Heart
Stephen describes being a 'head and belly' practitioner with an inaccessible heart early on.
He read many Zen books and felt understanding and belly-level energy but lacked heart translation into behavior.
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In this episode I am once again joined by Stephen Snyder, a meditation teacher, author, and the first non-monastic Western man to master the virtuoso-level shamata meditation system of Pa Auk Sayadaw.
In this interview we discuss Stephen’s new book ‘Buddha’s Heart’ a modern presentation of the Brahma Viharas, Buddhist heart meditations, from the perspective of Absolute Reality/ Awake Awareness.
Stephen reveals how deficiencies in his early practice and the inaccessibility of his heart saw him engage these powerful heart practices derived from early Buddhism.
Stephen discusses the damage done in the Americn Zen community by deeply enlightened masters with undeveloped hearts who abused students, embezzled money, and more.
Stephen lays out the two routes to awakening, and how combining the brahma viharas with deep jhanic absorption can lead to profound spiritual insight.
Stephen also talks about the counter-intuitive power of forgiveness, and his own journey in awakening the heart.
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Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/ep70-stephen-snyder-buddhas-heart/
Audio version of this podcast also available on iTunes and Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
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Topics include:
0:00 - Intro
1:05 - Writing two books at once and other writing projects
2:49 - What are the brahma viharas?
4:20 - How to do brahma vihara meditation
6:28 - Head, heart, and belly centres of spiritual practice
8:02 - The deficiencies of Stephen’s early practice
9:42 - Do heart practices translate to improved relationship skill?
10:55 - How the heart practices transformed Stephen’s behaviour
12:40 - The disaster of deeply enlightened masters with no heart
14:36 - Witnessing cruelty in the Zen world
15:42 - Stephen’s mastery of deep jhanic practice
17:16 - Combining super-concentration with brahma vihara practice
20:20 - The two routes to First Awakening
24:37 - Kensho vs Satori in the Zen tradition
25:57 - Common resistances to the brahma viharas
28:56 - How to work with resistances in heart meditation
32:41 - The power of heart practice to reveal and release negative emotion
35:02 - Stephen’s journey with forgiveness
39:23 - The counter-intuitive power of forgiveness
41:37 - Are heart practices relevant to awakening?
45:02 - Stephen’s 12 month mentorship program
47:01 - Stephen’s legacy
Check out my previous interviews with Stephen:
- https://www.guruviking.com/ep24-stephen-snyder-a-stroke-of-realisation-guru-viking-interviews/
- https://www.guruviking.com/ep33-stephen-snyder-pandemic-edition-guru-viking-podcast/
Purchase 'Buddha's Heart’:
- https://www.amazon.com/Buddhas-Heart-Meditation-Developing-Well-being/dp/1734781025/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=buddha%27s+heart+snyder&qid=1606403777&sr=8-2
To contact Stephen Snyder, please email:
- stephendharma108@yahoo.com
For more interviews, videos, and more visit:
- https://www.guruviking.com/
Music 'Deva Dasi' by Steve James
Guru Viking Podcast 