Stephen Snyder discusses the importance of working with personality material post-awakening and the blindspots in Buddhism. He shares insights on fear and anger, healing core wounds, and converting the superego. Stephen reflects on leading meditation retreats, the impact of electronics on concentration, and the subtle power of taking a dharma name.
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volunteer_activism ADVICE
Run Flexible, Adult-Focused Retreats
Treat retreatants like adults and offer flexible schedules so they can integrate practice into their lived needs.
Attend most sittings as a teacher to sense the group's field and support integration.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Cooking Retreat Meals To Build Intimacy
Stephen cooks and freezes retreat meals himself to create a homely, intimate environment.
He ends retreats with a shared celebratory meal to strengthen community bonds.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Protect Concentration: Silence And Minimal Electronics
Enforce noble silence and discourage electronics to preserve concentration power on retreat.
Give everyone interviews regularly and limit extraneous talk to sustain meditative energy.
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In this episode I am once again joined by Stephen Snyder, Buddhist meditation teacher and author of several books including ‘Buddha’s Heart’, ‘Trust in Awakening’, and his up-coming release ‘Soothing the Longing Heart’.
Stephen talks about the importance of working with one’s personality material especially after awakening. He points to an idealisation of the Buddha and other blindspots in Buddhism that he believes have led to the various behavioural scandals that have surrounded so many famous Zen masters.
Stephen discusses how to work with fear and anger, how to heal one’s core wound, how to convert the superego into Absolute guidance, and reflects on the pros and cons of American culture’s interaction with the Buddhist religion.
Stephen also reflects on how he approaches leading meditation retreats, why he does not enforce strict Zen schedules, the deleterious effect of electronics on concentration power, and the subtle power of taking a dharma name.
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Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep242-soothing-the-longing-heart-stephen-snyder
Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
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Topics include:
00:00 - Intro
01:07 - Stephen teaching in-person retreats in 2024 in Europe and the US
03:53 - Relaxed vs rigorous retreat approaches
06:10 - Treating students like adults
08:23 - Why Stephen cooks for his retreats
10:00 - Reworking the precepts
11:40 - The damaging effect of electronics on concentration power
13:03 - Stephen’s interview schedule on retreat
13:37 - Receiving full Zen dharma transmission to be recognised as a sensei
17:00 - Combing Zen with Theravada practice
18:10 - Post-awakening problems with personality issues
19:06 - Examples of post-awakening triggered behaviour and the core wound
23:08 - Working with anger and fear
27:42 - Quickly resolving karma
29:09 - Do meditation peak experiences heal the personality?
29:30 - Blindspots and scandals in Zen Buddhism
31:41 - Going beyond cultural bias
33:52 - How much cultural transfer is necessary in Buddhist practice?
35:36 - Stephen’s experimental teaching approach
38:00 - America’s contribution to Buddhism
40:57 - British class system
42:23 - Indian caste system
43:53 - How Buddhism assimilates indigenous cultural and religious forms
45:28 - Gregorian style Zen chanting
46:50 - The importance of your dharma name
47:49 - Working vs wallowing in emotional material
52:16 - What is your core wound?
54:52 -The personality as a shield
56:44 - The tyranny of the superego
01:00:39 - Transforming the superego into Absolute guidance
01:02:07 - True vs false
01:04:32 - Common compassion misunderstanding
01:06:12 Parenting mistakes around compassion
01:08:08 - Should we tell stories of awakening?
01:09:47 - The importance of doubt and trust
01:11:59 - Stephen’s advice to practitioners
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Previous episode with Stephen Snyder:
- https://www.guruviking.com/search?q=Stephen%20Snyder
To find our more about Stephen Snyder, visit:
- https://awakeningdharma.org/
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For more interviews, videos, and more visit:
- www.guruviking.com
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Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James
Guru Viking Podcast