Archive for August 2013
Episode 181 :: Myoan Grace Schireson :: Guidance and Therapy
Myoan Grace Schireson Myoan Grace Schireson joins us to speak about the distinguishing characteristics of providing guidance in meditation, and how to avoid becoming a student’s therapist. One of the many challenges a meditation teacher can face, is that sometimes our role as teachers becomes tangled with providing therapy. It’s a very common occurrence, but…
Read MoreAn Anecdote of Mettā and Pain
I’ve been doing mettā (lovingkindness) practice this last month. Day to day it involves spending meditation periods slowly repeating well-meaning hopes and wishes towards myself and others. It started off interesting, since I had to come up with some new formulae for my wishes, but it quickly became rote, much akin to breathing or repeating…
Read MorePresent Moment: Mindfulness Practice and Science
What Is Present Moment? If you spend time on the FaceBook page for The Secular Buddhist, you may have noticed links to podcast episodes that look a great deal like TSB, but are a little different. These are posts about a new podcast we’ve started, similar topically to Secular Buddhism, but taking the next evolutionary…
Read MoreEpisode 180 :: Sarah Barker, Amy Boyle, Ian Dodd :: Sunday Assembly
Sarah Barker, Amy Boyle, and Ian Dodd join us to speak about bringing a secular Sunday Assembly to the City of Angels. Why do we congregate? Why is it we seem to have this human interest to come together in groups? It’s more than just loneliness, of course. There’s an affirmation of belonging, of identity,…
Read MoreFrom Both Sides: Secular Buddhism and the “McMindfulness” Question
The debate over the relationship between Buddhism and the mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) has heated up recently to a red hot glow. On July 1, Ron Purser and David Loy published an attack on the mindfulness movement in the Huffington Post under the title, “Beyond McMindfulness.” As I write this, a Google search on “McMindfulness” generates…
Read MoreCan a Layperson Attain Nibbāna?
A recent discussion on the SBA Forum started by Arijit Mitra dealt with the question of how far a householder or layperson could proceed along the Buddhist path. This is a question that deserves extended treatment. While we could begin with discussions of modern-day theory and practice, my preference is to begin with the original…
Read MoreEpisode 179 :: Jason Siff :: Teaching Meditation
Jason Siff Meditation teacher and author Jason Siff returns to speak with us about teaching meditation. Many of us have an ongoing meditation practice, but a few have taken on the challenge of teaching. What does that mean, and how might it impact your own practice as you find yourself in a role with different…
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