European Buddha

Thanks to her retreats in Asia, Sara was inspired by Buddhism and discovered qualities and insights that have helped her as a parent. Meditation has proven to be a powerful tool for her to work with strong emotions and to see meditation - practice in a new light. We spoke about the everyday life of parents and the wisdom and curiosity of children. Together with the EBU, Sara has formed a group called „Dharma - Parenting“. Interested people can access and share resources about Dharma and children on her blog and attend one of the online meetings held throughout the year. Sara Manzi: dharmaparenting@europeanbuddhistunion.org Dharma Parenting Blog: https://dharmaparenting.wordpress.com Recommended Readings:  Siddharta by Herman Hesse  How to meditate - Kathleen McDonald  Bringing Home the Dharma - Jack Kornfield The Colour Monster  - Anna Llenas

In this episode we met Prof. Dr. Antonino Raffone. He holds a position of Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology of Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. As Prof. Raffone stated in the episode: "The Buddha is the greatest psychologist of all time!" Buddhism can offer insights to science in many ways - for example offering  very refined investigations on how our self & our consciousness are  constructed.  Representatives of Neurophenomenology such as Francisco Varela emphasize the complex dynamics of the brain-network.  With the help of buddhism / science we can discover insights such as the important difference between pleasure and happiness - a difference that can help us to lead a more compassionate and content life. Further Readings: Buddha´s´s Brain. The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love & Wisdom by Rick Hanson & Richard Mendius The Phenomenological Mind: An Introduction to Philosophy of Mind and Cognitive Science by Shaun Gallagher The Quantum and the Lotus: A Journey to the Frontiers Where Science and Buddhism meet by Matthieu Ricard & Trinh Xuan Thuan More about Prof. Dr. Antonino Raffone See also the shownotes to this episode on the new EBU-website 

The Ukraine crisis raises many questions about our quest for peace and unity. How is dialogue possible and how can we help to prevent extreme conflicts such as war? We invited Gabriela Frey to reflect on these issues with us. She represents all European Buddhists in the Council of Europe and is the representative of the European Buddhist Union in the EU. She is also co-founder of the European Network of Buddhist Women where she supports and stands up for the rights of buddhist woman. With her extensive experience in parliaments and institutions she was the perfect candidate to speak about these issues and show us what good initiatives the EU is doing for a better future.  The Conference of INGOs in the Council of Europe: https://www.coe.int/en/web/ingo The Committee Interreligious & Interconvictional Dialogue" : https://www.coe.int/en/web/ingo/interreligious-and-interconvictional-dialogue A French Radio-Interview with Gabriela Frey: "Un bouddhisme européen et féminin" : https://rcf.fr/actualite/place-de-leurope?episode=253701 An article on "Buddhism in Europe" by Gabriela Frey: https://www.buddhistwomen.eu/EN/index.php/Sakyadhita/BuddhismInEurope

In this episode we spoke about a topic that is very much related to the buddhist teachings: Animal Welfare.  Our guest for this topic was Carlo Luyckx - who has many years of experience working in Brussels as a representative of the EBU. We talked about the impact we have as human beings on the suffering of animals on this planet. With the EBU group Carlo provides a lobby for animal welfare in Brussels to get EU laws changed to reduce suffering of animals in the food industry and to create a powerful base of supporters for the cause. He got into Buddhism in Scotland in the 1970s where he got into contact with Tibetan Buddhism and learned the fantastic art of Thangka painting.  Link for the «Ecocide» Documentary. It has undertitles in English and other languages. Recommended reading: Ogyen Trinley Dorje Karmapa - Interconnected: Embracing Life in Our Global Society Contact Carlo Luyckx: luyckx@europeanbuddhism.org http://www.carloluyckx.be

"Buddhism in Europe - Unity in Diversity". This is the title of the upcoming EBU-Conference that is going to take place (live/online) in Nantes from the 22nd until the 25th of April. We invited Dharmacharini Vassika to our podcast who is one of the speakers to contemplate about the meaning of unity and diversity in the buddhist teachings. Vassika was born in the UK and discovered the Dharma whilst at university, through a group run by members of the Triratna Buddhist Order. Rapidly convinced by the power of meditation and the truth of the Buddha’s teaching, she committed herself to practising the Dharma within the Triratna Community. She is passionate about sharing the Buddha’s message of liberation and derives joy and satisfaction from witnessing people transforming themselves and their lives through committing themselves to the Buddhist path.  Registration-Link for the conference (online/live - Event)

In this episode we have invited two inspiring buddhists who are involved in the EBU with the topic of ECO-Dharma. We talked about the connection between Dharma and nature, the challenge of the environmental crisis, and how hope for the future comes outside of the decision-making processes. The Eco-Dharma group will be offering retreats, meetings and trainings this year to provide tools and discussion to deal with anxiety and find ways to appropriately respond to the ecological crisis. Silvia Francescon is responsible for the Ecological Agenda of the Italian Buddhist Union and has a Masters in International Environmental Law. Jake Lyne is the coordinator of the ECO Dharma group and is a past Chair of the Western Chan Fellowship and an experienced Buddhist teacher. Both of them are parents and love to climb mountains. More about the ECO-Dharma Initiative:  www.ubi-ecologia.it (online soon) Jake Lyne (kjlyne@gmail.com) Silvia Francescon (ambiente@buddhismo.it)

In this episode we caught up with Stefano Bettera to talk to him about engaged Buddhism. How can we engage and create a different way of life that allows us to flourish as human beings? Dedicated and compassionate Buddhism is about real concrete experience was Stefanos answer. One of his responsibility in the EBU is the new SASCE project -  a network of people taking care of crisis management and security for their communities. Stefano Bettera is vice president of the EBU and Italian Buddhist Union. He works as an author and journalist. With his philosophical background his writings concern wisdom of east and west, and political questions like migration and climate change.  About Stefano Davide Bettera: https://www.stefanobettera.com Contact about SASCE: s.bettera@europeanbuddhism.org

In the end of the year episode, the two hosts Emilia Raunio and Martin Landschein talk about the guests from this year and what a gift good company and friendship are. They also give an outlook on 2022 and what exciting topics we can expect in the European Buddha Podcast next year.   Write to us via: europeanbuddha@icloud.com Check the EBU Magazine: http://www.ebumagazine.org Spread the word, subscribe and leave a comment!  Engage in the various ways in the EBU-Network!  Make a Donation 

In this episode we connected with Amalée Rycroft to talk about the future from a youth perspective. Amalée follows the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, is half French, half British, and grew up in a buddhist family. She is the EBU contact for the European Buddhist Youth Network, a network of young Buddhists of all traditions. Amalée has a deep love and appreciation for education, the planet, and Buddhist wisdom. Among other things, she spoke about how, for her, the Buddhist idea of interdependence contains both the empowerment to act and kindness for ourselves when we don’t know what to do. Get in touch with the European Buddhist Youth Network at youthnetwork@europeanbuddhistunion.org And sign up to the European Buddhist Union's newsletter (https://europeanbuddhistunion.org/newsletter) to be updated on when the youth page and newsletter is up and running.

In this episode we connected with Munisha, Catherine Hopper who connected with us from Sweden. We spoke about "Karma" and talked about its meaning and misunderstandings. Since Munisha is a Safeguarding Officer professionally, we found examples and challenges in our conversation that also dealt with how Buddhism is practiced in the West.