Buddhist Geeks

Dr. Reggie Ray is an author, teacher, and the Spiritual Director for the Dharma Ocean Community in Crestone, Colorado. He has forty years of study and intensive meditation practice within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in the lineage of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Recently, Dr. Ray published an audio training series through Sounds True titled Mahamudra in the Modern World.In this episode Dr. Reggie Ray and host Vincent Horn discuss the basics of the Mahamudra tradition and Reggie’s approach to teaching it. He shares his insight into how his personal practice has changed and deepened through teaching, and he answers questions such as: Is a personal relationship with a teacher necessary? And, how does one know when it’s time to start teaching?This is part one of a two part series.Listen to part two – BG 282: Specializing in Letting GoEpisode Links:The Forest Dwelling Yogi ( http://bit.ly/1MRDNuI )Dharma Ocean ( http://www.dharmaocean.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

Stephen Schettini is an author and blogger at TheNakedMonk.com, and a teacher of Mindful Reflection. He was a Tibetan Buddhist monk for 8 years before he left the monastic path and began referring to himself as an ex-Buddhist.In this episode Stephen talks with host Vincent Horn about why he left his monastic order and what he learned from the experience. They discuss why people are drawn to formal religious orders and guru-disciple relationships, and Stephen describes possible alternatives to the guru-disciple dynamic that might be more appropriate for the modern world. Finally, after questioning the very existence of the historical Buddha, they discuss why the myth might be more important than the story of the historical man.Episode Links:The Naked Monk ( http://www.thenakedmonk.com )“Sick Love” ( http://www.thenakedmonk.com/2013/01/14/sick-love/ )“Zen Buddhists Distressed by Accusations Against Teacher” ( http://nyti.ms/12MlZgW )The Novice ( http://amzn.to/12MlVxs )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

Ted Meissner is the host of The Secular Buddhist podcast and the Executive Director of the Secular Buddhist Association. In this episode host Vincent Horn concludes his conversation with Ted by exploring the role of Tradition in secular Buddhism. They consider the question of spiritual authority in secular Buddhism and whether it’s possible to see through the filter of culture and tradition.This is part two of a two part series. Listen to part 1: Secular Buddhism.Episode Links:Secular Buddhism ( http://bit.ly/1MRDsbA )The Secular Buddhist Association ( secularbuddhism.org )The Secular Buddhist Podcast ( secularbuddhism.org/the-secular-buddhist-podcasts/ )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

Ted Meissner is the host of The Secular Buddhist podcast and the Executive Director of the Secular Buddhist Association. In this episode with host Vincent Horn, Ted shares examples of secular Buddhism, why he is skeptical but not cynical about religion, and he stresses what he thinks is the importance of right speech in the modern world.This is part one of a two part series.Episode Links:The Secular Buddhist Association ( http://secularbuddhism.org )The Secular Buddhist Podcast ( http://secularbuddhism.org/the-secular-buddhist-podcasts/ )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

Lawrence Levy is a student of Segyu Rinpoche and a former CFO and board member at Pixar Animation Studios. He left his role as an executive at Pixar in 2000 to pursue a study of religion and philosophy, which led him to Buddhism.In this episode, Lawrence speaks with host Rohan Gunatillake about working at Pixar, the lessons he learned at the company, and how he has applied those lessons to building the Buddhist organization the Juniper Foundation.Episode Links:Juniper Foundation ( http://www.juniperpath.org )Awakening the Mind ( http://www.juniperpath.org/works/A7614E/Awakening+the+Mind/ )Pixar ( http://www.pixar.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

John F. Simon is a visual artist and software programmer whose work can be found in prominent museum collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He was also one of the app designers on the world’s first app album, from Björk, called Biophilia.In this episode we speak with John about his long-standing search for the source of creativity, and how that search has led him to explore a contemplative Buddhist practice. During the discussion with host Vincent Horn, John describes the strategy he uses to search for the source of his creativity and the parallels his strategy shares with meditation teacher Daniel Ingram’s progress of insight map.Episode Links:www.iclock.comJohn’s profile at the Gering & Lopez Gallery ( http://www.geringlopez.com/artists/john-f-simon-jr )Björk’s Biophilia ( http://bjork.com/#/past/discography/biophilia )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

Buddhist Geeks Vincent Horn and Rohan Gunatillake conclude their interview for the KGNU public radio program Sacred Lines by further discussing the intersections between Buddhism and Technology. From the efficacy of mindfulness apps to the ubiquitous question of duality, the Geeks explore what it means to be Buddhist in a technologically advanced world.This is part two of a two part series.Episode Links:CU’s Center for Media, Religion, and Culture ( cmrc.colorado.edu/about )KGNU ( www.kgnu.org )buddhify ( buddhify.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

In a recent interview for the KGNU public radio program Sacred Lines, Buddhist Geeks Vincent Horn and Rohan Gunatillake have a discussion about what it means to be a modern Buddhist practitioner, how technology can complement Buddhist practice, and how geekery and meditation meld. They use the Buddhist Geeks project and buddhify mobile app as illustrations of how they’re experimenting with these various topics.This is part one of a two part series.Episode Links:CU’s Center for Media, Religion, and Culture ( http://cmrc.colorado.edu/about )KGNU ( http://www.kgnu.org )buddhify ( http://buddhify.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

Jonathan Blow is an indie game designer most well known for his time-bending game Braid. In this episode we conclude our conversation with Jonathan by exploring his upcoming game, The Witness, as well as his in-depth exploration of non-duality.This is part 2 of a two part series. Listen to part 1, Quantum Gaming.Episode Links:The Witness ( http://the-witness.net )Myst ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myst )Nondualism ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nondualism )On Being ( http://www.onbeing.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

Jonathan Blow is an indie game designer most well known for his time-bending game Braid. In this episode Jonathan describes his journey from a kid fascinated with playing video games in arcades to a game developer concerned with game design as a spiritual practice.This is part one of a two part series.Episode Links:Braid ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braid_(video_game) )The Witness ( http://the-witness.net )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