Archive for July 2012
The Practice of Buddhist Meditation is Not for the Fainthearted
We’re hearing about studies that boast meditation reduces stress, lowers high blood pressure, and calms the mind. These all sound great, and perhaps over the course of time, meditation has that effect, but that is not the purpose of Buddhist meditation. In fact, if your meditations are relaxing and cozy, I’m going to be bold…
Read MoreEpisode 128 :: Gert de Boer, Brennen McKenzie, Doug Smith :: Scientific Skepticism and Buddhism
Gert de Boer, Brennen McKenzie, and Doug Smith join us to talk about scientific skepticism and Buddhism. We’ve found that there is a wonderful alignment between scientific naturalism, and secular Buddhism. Attitudes about Gotama’s presence as a human and the constraints of that embodiment, the veracity of first person experiences, and how we value the…
Read MoreWho Is The Ultimate Authority?
The concept of authority in Buddhism shouldn’t be complicated — yet it is. Many of us are already familiar with the Kalama Sutta‘s talk about how we shouldn’t rely on outside authorities but weigh what we’re told against our own experience. For many here this was one of the first reasons we became interested in…
Read MoreEpisode 127 :: Richard Winter :: Power, Freedom, Compassion
Richard Winter Richard Winter speaks with us about the alignment of Buddhism and Marxism in his book, Power, Freedom, Compassion: Transformations For A Better World. How to we transform a society? Do we start off with our view about the best way to run a government, and dive right into sweeping changes, or have we…
Read MoreSBA: Why We Are The Way We Are
A couple of years ago, a friend was encouraging me to do a podcast about… something. Their idea was for a podcast about critical thinking, and though that had some appeal, it wasn’t something about which I had any particular experience. So it went for awhile, back and forth, what kinds of topics might be…
Read MoreEpisode 126 :: Gary Watts :: Buddhist Police Support Network
Gary Watts Gary Watts speaks with us about the Buddhist Police Support Network. Preconceived notions. We all have them. Sometimes this mental shorthand provides a bit of efficiency in navigating the hectic waters of our day. But if we allow these notions to always determine our actions, and don’t question whether they are accurate, our…
Read MoreIf Not-Self Then What?
The Buddha’s teachings on not-self truly are impressive, especially when you consider those were times in which people were immersed in beliefs about the supernatural, an essence of self that is everlasting, and a multitude of gods. For Buddha to point out the parts of the body as not self, the emotions as not self,…
Read MoreWhat is a Secular Buddhist, and What Do They Believe?
A few months back I addressed the question we were receiving frequently What is Secular Buddhist Practice? Now, we are seeing stereotypes of secular Buddhists cropping up, and some assumptions about the beliefs or lack thereof regarding secular Buddhists. I’d like to address both those questions in one article, because they tend to roll into each in online conversations.
Read MoreEpisode 125 :: Gregory Kramer :: Insight Dialogue
Gregory Kramer Gregory Kramer speaks with us about his book Insight Dialogue: The Interpersonal Path to Freedom, and his work at Metta.org. The wonderful thing about our practice is that it isn’t dependent on a particular ideological point of view. One can do the practice within or without the context of a religous setting. We’re…
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