Buddhist Geeks

Shinzen Young is a Vipassana meditation teacher and was ordained in Japan as a monk in the Shingon tradition. He has studied and practiced extensively in other traditions, including Zen and Lakota Sioux Shamanism. Shinzen leads meditation retreats throughout North America and has helped establish numerous mindfulness centers and programs. He also consults widely on meditation-related research, in both the clinical and the basic science domains. In this talk from the 2013 Buddhist Geeks Conference, Shinzen describes strategies for working with questions like “What does Life mean?” and how to enact a successful model for spiritual growth. He begins by examining the general framework of questions and why humans ask questions at all. This leads to a presentation of three fundamental goals for Life and how a spiritual practice can help reach those goals, how to recognize when a spiritual practice goes off course, and what results to expect from a successful spiritual practice. Episode Links: www.Shinzen.org See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kate Johnson is a yogi and meditation teacher in NYC where she teaches yoga and mindfulness meditation to high school students in public schools. A student in the Vipassana meditation tradition, Kate completed the year-long Training Immersion Program at The Interdependence Project, graduated from the Mindfulness Yoga and Meditation teacher training at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, and returned from a three-month retreat at Insight Meditation Society in 2013. In this episode taken from the 2013 Buddhist Geeks Conference, Kate speaks about how Buddhist practice can help us wake up to unconscious patterns of power and privilege in our communities and ourselves. Beginning with a synopsis of the COLORLINES article “Rinku Sen: The Racist Mind”, she explains the pervasiveness of implicit bias in our thinking and actions. As she describes her experience and shame when realizing her own implicit racial bias, Kate describes how her meditation practice helped wake her up to those problem areas. She concludes by explaining how racial injustice and lack of diversity affects Buddhist communities, and she issues a call to wake up to these unconscious patterns of power and privilege for the benefit of ourselves and our communities. Episode Links: “Rinku Sen: The Racist Mind” ( http://colorlines.com/archives/2013/07/rinku_sen_thinking_through_racism.html ) The Interdependence Project ( http://theidproject.org ) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lisa Ernst is an artist and meditation teacher in the Zen and Vipassana traditions. She leads the One Dharma Nashville Community that draws from the wisdom traditions of Zen, Vipassana, and Tibetan Buddhism. In this conversation with host Vincent Horn, Lisa discusses the various facets of working with spiritual questions as part of a contemplative path. She describes her own experience first working with koans in the Rinzai Zen tradition, and then applying that questioning process in her Vipassana practice. The discussion then turns towards how questions can help develop “not knowing”, and how Lisa helps her students learn skillful questioning. Episode Links: www.lisaernst.com One Dharma Nashville ( http://www.onedharmanashville.com ) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Rohan Gunatillake is the creator of buddhify, the mobile mindfulness app for modern life, and the co-producer of Sync, a program that’s helping cultural organizations in Scotland have a more progressive relationship with technology, technologists, design and designers. In 2013 he was appointed a trustee of the British Council, a large scale NGO which promotes Britain internationally through work in the arts, education, and English language training. In this episode Rohan joins host Vincent Horn to talk about the newly released app buddhify2, as well as the world of “Indie Buddhism”. He begins by describing the updates from the original buddhify app, the general reception the new app has received, and the significance of the project’s success. The conversation then moves to Rohan’s personal experience leading the project and his perception that still more innovation is needed in mindfulness technology. Episode Links: www.rohangunatillake.com buddhify 2 ( http://buddhify.com ) We Need More Buddhist Startups ( https://youtu.be/pLiKHjAyw4M ) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Megan Miller is a technology researcher and entrepreneur from the San Francisco Bay area. After working in editorial and digital roles at National Geographic Adventure, New York Magazine and Popular Science, Megan became regarded as an expert in digital media innovation, appearing frequently as a TV talking head and speaker at events like CES and SXSW Interactive. In this episode taken from the 2013 Buddhist Geeks Conference, she speaks about digital distraction and how it affects human behavior. She begins by pointing out the many emerging technologies that contribute to digital distraction such as multi-tasking smart phones, link baiting websites, and instant gratification fueled social media. Then she concludes the talk by highlighting the increased efforts made by some people in the media and tech industries to bring less distraction and greater depth to digital technology. Episode Links: Megan Miller on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/missmilla2u ) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Diane Musho Hamilton is a Zen teacher and conflict mediator. In this episode she joins host Vincent Horn to explore some of the themes from her first book Everything is Workable: A Zen Approach to Conflict Resolution. Starting with a description of her early life and education, Diane talks about her introduction to the practice of conflict resolution and how she became the first Director of the Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution for the Utah Judiciary. The conversation then turns to the connections Diane has made between conflict resolution insights and the Buddhist teachings of The Three Poisons. This leads to an exploration of whether contemplatives are naturally conflict averse, what it means to actually practice conflict resolution, and why “everything is workable” doesn’t necessarily mean everything always works out the way we want. Episode Links: Diane Musho Hamilton ( http://www.dianemushohamilton.com ) Everything is Workable: A Zen Approach to Conflict Resolution ( http://www.shambhala.com/everything-is-workable.html ) The Hidden Lamp: Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women ( http://www.wisdompubs.org/book/hidden-lamp ) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mikey Siegel is a meditator & technologist known for his work in projects like BrainBot & HeartSync. He is a pioneer in a field that he calls “Enlightenment Engineering”—the science and technology of facilitating the heightened states of consciousness long described by contemplative and spiritual traditions. In this episode taken from a recent BG TV episode of Contemplative Technology, hosts Vincent Horn and Mike Redmer speak with Mikey about the current state of contemplative technology. Mikey describes his goal of bringing more legitimacy to the space in academia and business so that more professionals will enter the field. The group then discusses developments in the contemplative technology DIY crowd, a project to create mental activity soundtracks, and the potential inherent to applying contemplative technology in group settings. Episode Links: www.MikeySiegel.com Biofluent ( http://www.biofluent.com ) HeartSync ( http://www.biofluent.com/heartsync/ ) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lodro Rinzler is a meditation practitioner and teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage. His latest book is Walk Like a Buddha: Even if Your Boss Sucks, Your Ex Is Torturing You, and You’re Hungover Again. In this conversation with host Vincent Horn, Lodro talks about the book and his new project The Institute for Compassionate Leadership, a leadership training and job placement organization that utilizes mentoring, meditation, traditional leadership skills training, and Obama style community organizing to produce compassionate, self-aware leaders. The interview starts with the inspiration for starting the Institute and what Lodro hopes to accomplish with it and his writing. This leads to a wider conversation about the usefulness of ancient teachings in the contemporary world and the value of fostering global conversation. Episode Links: Walk Like a Buddha: Even if Your Boss Sucks, Your Ex Is Torturing You, and You’re Hungover Again ( http://amzn.to/1g9Z7yU ) The Institute for Compassionate Leadership ( http://instituteforcompassionateleadership.org ) www.LodroRinzler.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mark Oppenheimer is an essayist, reporter, critic, and one of the United States’ leading investigators of religion. His new book, The Zen Predator of the Upper East Side, is an investigation of the decades of sexual scandal surrounding Japanese Zen teacher Eido Shimano. Mark joins host Vincent Horn to discuss the book and the impact his writing has had on the Zen community. Mark reports a brief history of the situation, they discuss the conditions that led to the problems, and they examine why the problem of sexual misconduct is not as common in other Western Buddhist traditions. Episode Links: The Zen Predator of the Upper East Side ( http://amzn.to/1as7Uak ) www.MarkOppenheimer.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Jay Michaelson is the author of five books and two hundred articles on religion, sexuality, law, and contemplative practice. His new book is Evolving Dharma: Meditation, Buddhism, and the Next Generation of Enlightenment, published in October, 2013. In this episode, Jay joins host Vincent Horn to discuss his new book, which explores the evolution of Buddhism. Jay describes his personal interests in writing Evolving Dharma, as well as the value of the topic to wider academia. The conversation includes Jay’s observations on new kinds of Buddhist communities, the trends away from the traditional guru model, and the possible future being created by the further integration of mindfulness with the Western mainstream. Episode Links: www.JayMichaelson.net Evolving Dharma: Meditation, Buddhism, and the Next Generation of Enlightenment ( http://amzn.to/1851v57%EF%BB%BF ) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.