Posts by Ted Meissner
Episode 105 :: Shyalpa Tenzin Rinpoche :: Living Fully: Finding Joy in Every Breath
Shyalpa Tenzin Rinpoche joins us to speak about his new book, Living Fully: Finding Joy in Every Breath.
Hi, everyone. I’m recording this introduction while attending the Wisdom 2.0 conference in California. This is the second of the “W20” conferences, next month is the tenth annual International Scientific Conference, April is the inaugural International Symposia for Contemplative Studies, and then of course we’re looking forward to attending the second Buddhist Geeks conference in August. All of these are linked on the calendar on the SecularBuddhism.org website of course, but the point is our practice is growing. It’s finding new and vital ways to change people’s lives outside of traditional settings, opening the door for others who may otherwise not find the same wonder of this practice, that we do.
Read MoreEpisode 104 :: Rick Heller :: The New Humanism
Rick Heller speaks with us about the intersection of Secular Humanism with mindfulness practice.
Hi, everyone. There’s been a great deal of discussion online recently about how Secular Humanism has very strong alignment with what we’re calling Secular Buddhism. We see very little difference in the ideological propositions about social interaction, and one of the few outlying differences seems to be in the realm of practice. That is, we agree that improving our interactions with others is a positive thing, but what can we do to get better at that on a personal level?
Read MoreEpisode 103 :: Gay Hendricks :: Tinker Lindsay :: The First Rule of Ten
Authors Gay Hendricks and Tinker Lindsay join us to talk about their new Buddhist-themed detective novel, The First Rule of Ten.
Hi, everyone. We’ve had some deep episodes lately, delving into our practice and ideals of Buddhism, to the growing of secular community. So today I’d like to take a step over to more lighthearted fare, and talk about something we don’t get to talk about very often: a fiction detective novel with a Buddhist lead character, Tenzin.
Of course, we sneak in some practice components, too, especially around collaboration and how we work with others in our lives.
Read MoreEpisode 102 :: Martine Batchelor :: Let Go: A Buddhist Guide to Breaking Free of Habits
Martine Batchelor speaks with us about her book, Let Go: A Buddhist Guide to Breaking Free of Habits.
Habits. We all have them, most insidiously if we aren’t even aware of them. Fortunately, we’re not stuck with habits, and every moment is an opportunity to have a new and fresh beginning at redirecting our minds, so we can break that cycle of habit formation and continuation.
Read MoreEpisode 101 :: Julian Adkins, Anantacitta Tunnell, Dana Nourie :: Secular Buddhism U.K.
Julian Adkins, Anantacitta Tunnell, and Dana Nourie join us to talk about a new website dedicated to growing the Secular Buddhist community in the U.K.
Every week, I get email from listeners to the podcast, and from people who’ve found the Secular Buddhist Association site. Take this one from Michael R. just the other day: “I would like to take a moment to thank you for developing and establishing your website. It fulfills a need I’ve long attempted to satisfy. My interest and practice of Buddhism is strongly oriented along the same lines of what I perceive to be those of John Peacock’s, Stephen Batchelor’s and Steve Hagen’s. However, it was not until I encountered your site that I realized there was a community that appeared to resonate for me. Anyway, I wish merely to express my gratitude and look forward to the SBA’s continued growth.”
Read MoreEpisode 100 :: Stephen Batchelor :: The Awakening of the West
Today we speak with Stephen Batchelor about his book The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture.
Hi, everyone. Welcome to this milestone in The Secular Buddhist podcast, as we expand into our third digit of Episode 100. We would not have reached this point without you, our growing listener community. And it is growing, as of this recording each episode is getting over 1200 downloads with over 142,000 total. The Secular Buddhist is usually if not always listed in the top 36 on iTunes for Buddhist podcasts, the FaceBook page has over 2000 Likes, and even our Twitter feed is seeing a constant stream of new Followers. We have a new website for the Secular Buddhist Association, designed for the development of community, with new sites springing up in other countries (more on that next week!). And our sincerest thanks to the many wonderful guests it has been a great joy to speak with. If not for you, this podcast would not have gained the attention it has.
Read MoreEpisode 99 :: Dr. Rick Hanson :: Just One Thing
Dr. Rick Hanson Dr. Rick Hanson speaks with us about his new book, Just One Thing: Developing A Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time. It’s a daunting task, changing our minds. Not the simple, “I wanted a mocha, but maybe a latte would be better” kind of changing our minds, that’s pretty easy.…
Read MoreEpisode 98 :: John Peacock :: Buddha the Radical to Creeping Brahmanism
Scholar and Associate Director of The Oxford Mindfulness Centre John Peacock joins us to speak about secular views of early Buddhism.
It’s strange, thinking from our current vantage point, that the religious edifice we call Buddhism might not have been intended by the Buddha to become such an edifice. But, unless we take a closer look, unless we allow ourselves to think outside what the traditions are telling us, we might miss that potential fact of this pragmatic and beneficial practice.
Read MoreEpisode 97 :: Adam Tebbe :: Sweeping Zen
Sweeping Zen founder Adam Tebbe joins us to speak about contemporary issues in Buddhism.
Many of you have heard me say in the past, “Question with confidence.” That is, we should foster the development of an environment to have open and free inquiry into our beliefs, even those deeply cherished. That idea, question with confidence, was put very well long ago by Thomas Jefferson, who said, “Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear.”
Read MoreEpisode 96 :: Tim Gard :: Pain Attenuation Through Mindfulness
Tim Gard speaks with us about a new study just released on pain attenuation through mindfulness.
Hi, everyone. As we mentioned in last week’s episode, we’re fortunate this week in having the author of a new study just released. This study helps shed some light on what happens in the brain when we feel pain, what happens in the brain when we feel pain while in a mindfulness state, and how this is different than what we see in placebo responses to pain. We also examine some of the subtle differences between studies of this kind, and why these distinctions matter.
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