This week we have an intimate conversation with two young Buddhist practitioners. The first vignette is with Sophie McLaren, who practices in the Shambhala community and runs an organization dedicated to bringing Buddhism and mindful living to youth populations. The second vignette is with Wes Rosacker a Zen practitioner in the White Plum sangha and a training psychotherapist. We discuss how each of these young practitioners makes sense of their practice in terms of the rest of their lives, and how specifically they bring their practical understanding of Buddhism into their professions. Episode Links: Everybodhi : peace within, peace in the world ( http://every-bodhi.org ) Taizan Maezumi Roshi ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taizan_Maezumi ) Robert Kegan ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kegan )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’re joined this week by mother, author, and Zen teacher Karen Maezen Miller. Maezen speaks directly to the need to see through the dualisms that we create in our lives, and speaks specifically about the dualism of being a parent and a practitioner. She shares advice on how to not make one part of our life battle with other parts, and explores an empowering understanding of what monastic forms have contributed to us. She also speaks about the misunderstandings that can plague our meditation practice, and where these originate from. Episode Links: www.KarenMaezenMiller.com Hand Wash Cold: Care Instructions for an Ordinary Life ( http://amzn.to/hwJwjh ) Momma Zen: Walking the Crooked Path of Motherhood ( http://amzn.to/gEA5Hc ) Hazy Moon Zen Center ( http://www.hazymoon.com )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We conclude our discussion with spiritual teacher Sally Kempton—who has her spiritual roots in the Hindu tantra tradition of Kashmir Shaivism—this time speaking about some of the crucial secrets that she has discovered about deepening in meditation. She begins by sharing how she overcame a period where she had been stopping short in her meditation. She shares how she used her spiritual heart and an intention to move into everything to arose in her practice to continue deepening on the path. She also speaks about how important it is to consider the relationship we have with experience, and connects this with the understanding of relationship being a facet of Spirit. She speaks about the type of relationship one can have with experience, and how that fundamentally changes the act of meditation. This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to part 1, The Tantric Cousins. Episode Links: www.SallyKempton.com Meditation for the Love of It: Enjoy Your Own Deepest Experience ( http://amzn.to/e1bp40 ) The Three Faces of Spirit: Where is Awareness Locating Itself? ( http://bit.ly/1MsmyTT )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week we speak with spiritual teacher Sally Kempton. Sally was a student of the influential Hindu guru Swami Muktananda and taught in his lineage for many years. She shares with us her journey of first being introduced to Swami Muktananda, how she became a teacher, and why she shifted from being a swami to teaching in a more secular capacity later on. During the 2nd half of the discussion Sally shares with us some of the history of the tantric non-dual system of Kashmir Shaivism, which is a close cousin to Indian Tantric Buddhism. She compares and contrasts the two systems, and also goes into detail concerning some of the crucial texts, practices, and philosophical tenets of the tradition. This is part 1 of a two-part series. Listen to part 2, Secrets of Meditation. Episode Links: www.SallyKempton.com Meditation for the Love of It: Enjoy Your Own Deepest Experience ( http://amzn.to/e1bp40 ) Kashmir Shaivism ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashmir_Shaivism ) Vasugupta ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasugupta )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’re joined this week Krista Tippett, host of the award-winning radio show “Being.” Krista begins the discussion by sharing how she went from being the chief aide to the US Ambassador in Germany, during the cold war era, to asking deep spiritual and ethical questions. This questioning led her to study theology at Yale, and then sometime after start her current show, which started off with the title, “Speaking of Faith.” She also shares how she first was introduced to meditation and contemplative practice, and where those practices has taken her since. Finally, we close the interview by exploring the “re-integration of our inner selves and outer lives.” Krista shares how she creates a space to bring out the wisdom of re-integration with her guests on Being, inviting them into “conversations of the soul.” Episode Links: Krista Tippett On Being Einstein’s God: Conversations About Science and the Human SpiritSpeaking of Faith: Why Religion Matters–and How to Talk About ItSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Leading game designer Jane McGonigal joins guest host Rohan Gunatillake to explore the relationship between games and well-being, and see what clues they might hold for the future of Buddhist practice. Jane starts with a surprising disclose: she is a meditation practitioner and has been studying Buddhism for the last 5 years, since she was a grad student in Berkley. She explains how her work with game design and development ties in with her interest in meditation, explaining the strong overlap between the positive qualities cultivated through good games, and those cultivation through mental training. Rohan proposes that the Buddha’s own story could be likened to a type of epic video game, and building off of that discusses the likelihood of being able to design a game that actively cultivates the 7 factors of awakening—a classic Buddhist list on the qualities that lead to enlightenment. Jane speaks about enlightenment as an “epic win” and maintains that gaming has the very real potential to cultivate the factors of awakening. Episode Links: www.JaneMcGonigal.com Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World ( http://amzn.to/hFADgH ) World Without Oil ( http://www.worldwithoutoil.org ) Superstruct ( http://bit.ly/1MslRdl ) Institute for the Future ( http://www.iftf.org ) www.21awake.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Senior Shambhala teacher David Nichtern joins us to geek out about some of the potential consequences of our rapidly developing technologies on the Vajrayana tradition. We speak extensively about the ramifications of greater degrees of virtual reality, how our sense experiences (what in Buddhism are referred to as the ayatanas) are already virtual, and how visualization practice, in particular, could be impacted by these developments. We also speak about the importance of “authentic presence”, or what David’s son Ethan calls “Keepin’ it Real”, as Buddhism moves forward into future generations. Episode Links: www.DavidNichtern.com Karma Choling ( http://www.karmecholing.org ) The Singularity is Near ( http://amzn.to/hj60E7 ) Tibetan Buddhism’s Insights Into Virtual Reality ( http://www.davidnichtern.com/?p=686 )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week guest host Rohan Gunatillake of 21awake.com interviews spiritual entrepreneur Nick Jankel. They explore the notion of “enlightened entrepreneurship,” discussing why it is that spirituality and business often seem at such odds. Nick shares some of his own background and aim in business and speaks about the secular path of an entrepreneur as bodhisattva. The conversation winds down with a discussion of the “cult of the individual” and how egoic behavior is so often rewarded in business, the nature of unhealthy power in enterprise, and a call to a more peer-to-peer form of spirituality. Episode Links: www.NickJankel.com Wisdom 2.0 ( http://wisdom2summit.com )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For this 200th anniversary edition, the microphone is turned around on the regular host, Vincent Horn. Our guest host for this week’s episode is the UK-based blogger of 21awake.com, Rohan Gunatillake. Rohan asks Vincent about his personal practice history leading up to Buddhist Geeks, and also how the project affected his practice since then. They also explore some of the exciting trends in the development of Western Buddhism, as well as the more worrisome ones. Finally, we explore where Buddhist Geeks is going from here, how it’s mission is continuing to evolve, and what big projects are coming up to help us “Discover the Emerging Face of Buddhism.” In particular they talk about the vision behind the newly announced, Buddhist Geeks | The Conference, set to happen July 29th – 31st, 2011 in Los Angeles. Episode Links: www.VincentHorn.com Buddhist Geeks Conference ( www.buddhistgeeks.com/conference/ )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’re joined this week by Insight Meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg, to talk about her latest book, “Real Happiness” and also about meditation as an emerging part of secular culture. This interview was recorded during a conference at Emory University in which Dalai Lama spoke about secular ethics as the most relevant approach to humanity’s issues. He pointed out that much of the world isn’t interested in religious forms, and so the liberating message of Buddhism can be conveyed in more secular ways. In this discussion sharon shares her understanding of this trend toward secularization, and also shares some specific ways that she is participating in this broader movement. Episode Links: www.SharonSalzberg.com Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation ( http://amzn.to/hg4MDM )See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.