Book Reviews
Episode 62 :: Peter Harvey :: An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics
Peter Harvey Professor Peter Harvey speaks with us about his book An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics: Foundations, Values and Issues. Hi, everyone. In our practice of the eightfold path, sila, or morality, plays a large part. Our ethical words, actions, and livelihood are the outward manifestation of our internal mental processes. But even with a…
Read MoreEpisode 56 :: Kevin Griffin :: A Burning Desire
Kevin Griffin Kevin Griffin speaks with us about his book A Burning Desire: Dharma God and the Path of Recovery. Hi, everyone, thanks for being here. We’ve had guests on the podcast before who’ve spoken about how Buddhist teaching and practice have impacted addiction recovery programs, and often the subject of the classic Twelve Step…
Read MoreEpisode 54 :: Toni Bernhard :: How to Be Sick
Raise your hand if you’ve ever gotten a cold. Felt run down. Had no energy. You’ve got the crud that’s been going around the office. Of course, we’ve all been sick in this way at some time in our lives. But even in that place of Nyquil-besotted sniffling and drowsiness, we’ve never really questioned whether or not we’d get better. We know we will, it just doesn’t typically come up as something to think about, and this confidence is one of the unsung heroes of making our illness tolerable.
Read MoreEpisode 53 :: Tom Clark :: Encountering Naturalism
Tom Clark Tom Clark speaks with us about his book Encountering Naturalism: A Worldview and Its Uses. How do we as secular Buddhists clarify that line between what we experience in the “real world”, and what we may tend to discount as mysticism? Secular practice does have that inclination away from the supernatural. We may…
Read MoreEpisode 52 :: Matteo Pistono :: In the Shadow of the Buddha
Matteo Pistono Our guest today Matteo Pistono speaks with us about his very new book, In the Shadow of the Buddha — Secret Journeys, Sacred Histories, and Spiritual Discovery in Tibet. Many of us have an oblique understanding of alleged human rights abuses against the Tibetan people by the Chinese government. We know the Dalai…
Read MoreEpisode 51 :: Chris McKenna :: Paradigms
Chris McKenna Author Chris McKenna speaks with us today about his post-apocalyptic Buddhist themed book, Paradigms. I think it’s fair to say that Buddhism is becoming something of a culturally iconic practice, even in the West. Just about everyone would recognize the Dalai Lama, the once utterly foreign idea of “contemplating your navel” is no…
Read MoreEpisode 49 :: Tim Ward :: What The Buddha Never Taught
Today’s guest is Tim Ward, author of What The Buddha Never Taught, about his experiences as a Theravadin monk in Thailand.
Read MoreEpisode 48 :: Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche :: Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche Today we’re joined by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, who speaks with us about breaking free of cultural accretions in his book Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom. Being a rebel. A rebel Buddha, no less. These are not words we expect to see together. We think of the word rebel, and images…
Read MoreEpisode 45 :: Brad Warner :: Sex, Sin, and Zen
Brad Warner Brad Warner speaks with us about his new book, Sex, Sin, and Zen. Kamesu micchacara veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami. I undertake the training rule to abstain from sexual misconduct. This is the third training precept out of the five precepts one undertakes in Buddhist training. But, what does it mean? And how does our…
Read MoreEpisode 44 :: Chris Mitchell :: Asperger's Syndrome and Mindfulness
Chris Mitchell Chris Mitchell speaks with us about his book, Asperger’s Syndrome and Mindfulness. According to the Asperger’s Disorder website, “… affected individuals are characterized by social isolation and eccentric behavior in childhood. There are impairments in two-sided social interaction and non-verbal communication.” Think about that. When you’re growing up, you not only have the…
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