The Imperfect Buddha Podcast

Today’s guest is Dr Thomas Sutherland, author of the Bloomsbury title, Speaking Philosophically: Communication at the Limits of Discursive Reason (Bloombury, 2024), lecturer in digital media at the University of Southampton, and researcher into digital culture and the humanities, the history of philosophy and contemporary continental philosophy, and technologies of the self.We discuss three areas that concern the odd character that is Peter Sloterdijk; namely, spheres, the practising life and his rehabilitation of philosophy as wisdom.Dr Thomas Sutherland is a deep dabbler in Sloterdijk’s thought, having written various papers on his work, including Peter Sloterdijk and the ‘security architecture of existence’: immunity, autochthony, and ontological nativism, and Ontological co-belonging in Peter Sloterdijk's spherological philosophy of mediation. He is also familiar with a regular mention here on the podcast, François Laruelle and his non-philosophy.We touch on; Sloterdijk’s original work on Cynicism and why it is still relevant today Spheres, co-existence & interdependence The Practising Life & why ‘You Must Change your Life’ The Art of Philosophy as Wisdom The strengths and weaknesses of Sloterdijk’s insights Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Glenn’s latest, Non Buddhist Mysticism: Performing Irreducible and Primitive Presence (Eyecorner Press, 2022), presents a radical reorientation to “spiritual” practice.Drawing from François Laruelle’s concept of future mysticism and the author’s own previous work on non-buddhism, Glenn Wallis galvanizes a materialist spirituality for the twenty-first century.Liberated from the punctilious gaze of the masters, delivered into the hands (and hearts) of the reader, this is a spirituality “born in the spirit of heresy rather than sanctity.”The intended outcome is a subject “fit for the clash with Hell” – a person equipped, lovingly and compassionately, to confront the injustices of the world.We also look at the great work taking place at INCITE Seminars, a place of practice which all listeners are invited to.Order at EyeCorner Press Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this conversation, Shodhin Geiman, a Sensei and Abbot at the Chicago Zen Center, shares deep insights from his books on Dharma and activism. He discusses the challenges of mixing Buddhism with activism and the importance of patience and forbearance in practice. Geiman emphasizes the need for a reflective approach rather than reactionary politics, relating personal growth to societal change. His critiques of the desire to 'fix' both the world and ourselves shed light on American Buddhism's complexities, urging a focused understanding of liberation.

Nietzsche Now! Now? Really, you might ask. Isn’t he dead already? The Great Immoralist on the vital issues of our time. Hmm, how is that you might ask. Find out in this conversation with Glenn Wallis, returning guest and author of Nietzsche Now! We discuss the role Nietzsche might play today in helping all of us exit the culture war bubble and start to think again. For regular listeners, don’t worry, we do touch on Buddhism too!The Press Release does much of the work in explaining the appeal of this book.‘For readers both acquainted with and new to the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche, Nietzsche NOW! (Warbler Press, 2024) frames and explains Nietzsche’s thinking on topics of immediate contemporary concern and relevance. Wallis unpacks Nietzsche’s complex philosophy with a deft, empathetic, and brilliantly subtle analysis of the views of the Great Immoralist on democracy, identity, civilization, consciousness, religion, and other momentous topics.Throughout, Wallis includes ample extracts from Nietzsche himself. Rather than skirting what is controversial or editing for easy consumption, Wallis invites readers to exercise a courageous curiosity that yields a rich, nuanced understanding of Nietzsche. He takes readers on a sometimes counterintuitive, always revelatory journey to grasp the relevance of Nietzsche for our contentious times.“Clearly written, relevant accounts are rare in the world of Nietzsche scholarship. Nietzsche NOW! is immensely readable. Our ‘now’ is as pessimistic as Nietzsche’s ‘now’ but Wallis guides us, through Nietzsche's writings, towards coping with the same problems Nietzsche tackled, including truth, democracy, morality, and identity. The same problems but not the same. All now wear modern dress. Wallis’s deep knowledge of Buddhism feeds into the transfigurative nature of the Übermensch, the radical figure who realizes the possibility for personal and social change, the figure whom we can all—why not?—strive to become.”—Sue Prideaux Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guest Jundo Cohen, a Zen Buddhist teacher, discusses the intersection of Buddhism, ethics, and future technologies in this captivating podcast. Topics include the impact of AI, genetics, virtual reality, and medical advancements on the future of Buddhism. The conversation delves into utopian ideas and ethical concerns, offering a thought-provoking exploration of the evolving nature of the ancient tradition.

Professor William Waldron discusses Yogacara Buddhism, highlighting its constructivist nature and emphasis on interdependence. He explains the liberational concepts of the three natures, storehouse consciousness, and mere perception. Waldron challenges misconceptions about Yogacara and explores how its insights can aid in understanding liberation in modern times.

Christian Coseru, a professor of philosophy, discusses perceiving reality in Buddhist philosophy, debates on consciousness, the role of mediation, and the relationship between panpsychism and Buddhism. The podcast explores the reliability of perception, the intersection of Buddhist and contemporary philosophical approaches, and the active nature of perception. It also touches on personalizing Buddhist principles, alternative practices in coaching, and the complexity of perception in the Buddhist perspective.

In this podcast, David McMahan, a professor of religion, discusses his book 'Rethinking Meditation,' which uncovers the history and context behind popular ideas about meditation. The conversation explores the variety of meditation practices, the concept of social imaginary, the purpose of meditation in the world, different approaches to practice, and the freedom to follow personal interests in academic studies.

The technological revolution we are facing today is artificial intelligence. At least this is what we are told. Those doing the telling include tech experts such as Elon Musk, linguist Noam Chomsky, as well as philosophers, politicians and intellectuals of all stripes.What are to make of all this and how are we to manage a world experiencing such rapid change as practitioners?We explore the role of A.I. and its place in a line of societal change that has serious consequences for all of us. We discuss practice, and thinkers including Guy Debord, Jean Baudrillard, Noam Chomsky and a bunch of contemporary commentators and their thoughts. We look at the big picture of society in turmoil and ask what practices might help us navigate this moment of intense change and disruption. We look at what it means to remain human despite the push to merge ourselves with the spectacle of social media and the calls to become more than human by tech dudes and the emergent forms of Capitalism and their need for us all to discard ever more of our humanity.My companion in this episode is the co-founder of the podcast, Stuart Baldwin, who came back for this one off episode. The topic of tech and A.I. is close to his heart and the conversation both captures past glories of earlier episodes and signals a new maturation in our relationship in what we hope will be a stimulating conversation for serious practitioners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wake up! Antidote to stupidity in three parts. This is part 3.What follows is a three-part series on waking up to non-buddhism as an antidote to stupidity. This is an ambitious project designed to look at a curriculum of items that might be useful to contemporary Buddhist practitioners in order to wake up from some of the traps that have been diagnosed by non-buddhism over the last few years. It constitutes a kind of educational possibility. Combining reflection on key topics and contemplative questions that may be useful for practitioners in thinking a bit deeper and beyond Buddhism about who they are as practitioners.The text which can be found over at the non-buddhism and Imperfect Buddha site.It has been divided into three parts for this audio version. The first two parts explore the introduction, overview and orientation to practice. The third looks at the series of curriculum items; providing questions for people to play around with.The third episode is the longest and if you get something out of the first two, I suggest you listen to it in stages. The contemplative questions are serious ones and can be very fruitful for the curious, intelligently aware practitioner, but need to time to sit with and marinade in.There are moments of creativity woven in through the three episodes, and I hope you appreciate them to some degree. And if they bother you that you practice some patience, like the good Buddhist you are!Thank you for listening.PS. Tricycle Magazine has finally accepted that non-buddhism exists and that it's not going anywhere and publish my introduction to it. Here's the link.Matthew O'Connell is a life coach and the host of the The Imperfect Buddha podcast. You can find The Imperfect Buddha on Facebook and Twitter (@imperfectbuddha). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices