Posts by Ted Meissner

Charles Carstens Charles Carstens joins us to speak about his experiences living in Burma, in a time of religious and ethnic turmoil. We may shake our heads in sadness or perhaps disgust when we read in the news about some act of violence against one group of people, by another group of people. Sometimes religion…

Richard Gentei Diedrichs If you’ve ever tried teaching a group of children not your own, you know that it can be something of a challenge. Now think about how your own learning of the dhamma may have taken some time, and how you may have experienced some twists and turns and dead ends on the…

Loch Kelly Imagine you’ve been through a pretty rough time in your life, with a series of tragic losses and changes, all in a short amount of time. Sound familiar? Many people have had that unfortunate experience, and sometimes there’s another experience which profoundly shifts our state of mind to something more equanimous. But what…

Gregory Lopez Gregory Lopez joins us to speak about how early Buddhist views of mindfulness compare and contrast with Stoic mindfulness. Hi, everyone. Before we begin today’s episode, I would like to mention that this podcast and the supporting website, discussion forums, our live, online Practice Circle and other services provided by the Secular Buddhist…

Jay Forrest Jay Forrest returns to talk about his new book, Secular Buddhism: An Introduction There are many books out today that are touching on a secular approach to the tradition. Some are very pragmatic and deeply rooted in practice, others are more scholarly conjecture. But few have taken the step of using the term…

Sara Eckel Sara Eckel joins us to talk about how Buddhist insights can inform our dating experience. Though the Buddha really didn’t date, per se, he was at one time married, and his wife and son were part of the rest of his life, even though that relationship changed. Whether you’re single, in a relationship,…

Lama Tsomo Lama Tsomo joins us to speak about her book, Why Is the Dalai Lama Always Smiling: A Westerner’s Introduction and Guide to Tibetan Buddhist Practice. We have such a wide range of learning and practice opportunities with Buddhism in contemporary Western culture. It may even be a bit bewildering, having so much to…

Paul Fuller Dr. Paul Fuller joins us to speak about ditthi, or views, in Buddhism. Hi, everyone. Before we get started with today’s episode, I want to remind the listeners that we’ve started a new podcast which may also interest you. It’s called Present Moment: Mindfulness Practice and Science, and appears every other week, alternating…

Marlowe Sand Marlowe Sand joins us in this unplugged episode to discuss experiences with living in a cult. Have you ever seen a news item exposing what seems to be extraordinary abuses in a cult? I have, and unfortunately you probably have, too. I think, how does this happen, what is the process by which…