Buddhist Geeks

Alexander Bard is a cyber philosopher and the co-founder of the Syntheist Movement. He is the co-author of The Futurica Trilogy, a series of books concerning Internet philosophy and futurist studies.In this episode, Alexander joins host Vincent Horn to discuss the origins and concepts of the Syntheist Movement and it’s intersection with Buddhist practice & thought. Using the setting of the annual Burning Man event to illustrate humanity’s sometimes unconscious desire to gather and practice religion, Alexander describes the Syntheist philosophy, its core concepts of multiple Gods, and its philosophical origins. From there the conversation touches on the concepts of God and Self, Quantum Physics and Religion, and Alexander’s utopic vision for the future.Episode Links:Alexander Bard on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/Bardissimo )The Syntheist Movement ( http://syntheism.org )The Futurica Trilogy ( http://amzn.to/1JMKxHe )What if the Internet is God? ( https://youtu.be/tXA7TewF53w )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscribe

David Chapman is a writer, computer scientist, engineer and Buddhist practitioner. He blogs on several sites including Meaningness, Approaching Aro, and Buddhism for Vampires.In this episode, David joins host Vincent Horn for the second part of their discussion on the challenges facing the reinvention of Buddhist Tantra. David first compares “zombie ritual” with “living ritual”, pointing out the ideal characteristics of useful ritual practices. David and Vincent then examine the importance of participatory ritual in communities, the rate of innovation in contemporary ritual, and how lineage relates to the forming and maintaining of ritual.This is part two of a two part series. Listen to part one BG 313: Reinventing Buddhist Tantra.Episode Links:Meaningness ( http://meaningness.wordpress.com )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscribe

David Chapman is a writer, computer scientist, engineer and Buddhist practitioner. He blogs on several sites including Meaningness, Approaching Aro, and Buddhism for Vampires.In this episode, David joins host Vincent Horn for a discussion on the topic of Buddhist Tantra. Beginning by stating his interest and intentions with recent writing on Buddhist Tantra, David gives a quick definition of Tantra and begins to unpack that definition and how it relates to Buddhism. Vincent and David then discuss whether or not Buddhism is in some ways opposed to passion, where and when Tantric elements are apparent in various traditions, and what modern Buddhist Tantra may look like and why it may have been suppressed in Western Buddhism.This is part one of a two part series. Listen to part two BG 314: Creating Living Ritual.Episode Links:Meaningness ( http://meaningness.wordpress.com )Consensus Buddhism and Mindful Mayo ( http://bit.ly/1JMITFN )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscribe

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.orgSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscribe

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. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscribe

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.comOne 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. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscribe

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.combuddhify 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. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscribe

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. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscribe

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. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscribe

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.comBiofluent ( 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. Get full access to Buddhist Geeks at www.buddhistgeeks.org/subscribe