The Secular Buddhist Podcast
Episode 167 :: Bhikkhu Sujato :: Bhikkhuni Sangha and The Authenticity Project
Bhikkhu Sujato Bhikkhu Sujato joins us to speak about the ordination of women in the Theravada tradition, and his work with canonical veracity in The Authenticity Project. How do we know for sure what Gotama said? We probably can’t, and we can further muddy the waters with unsupportable assertions about the perfection of the Pali…
Read MoreEpisode 166 :: David Webster :: Dispirited: How Contemporary Spirituality Makes Us Stupid, Selfish and Unhappy
David Webster Author and teacher David Webster joins us to speak about his book, Dispirited: How Contemporary Spirituality Makes Us Stupid, Selfish and Unhappy. What happens when we have the ability to pick and choose components from various religious traditions, and try to integrate them into our practice? This cafeteria spirituality as it’s sometimes called,…
Read MoreEpisode 165 :: Leigh Brasington :: Sutta Jhanas
Leigh Brasington Leigh Brasington joins us to speak about what the Pali canon suttas have to say about practicing the jhanas. In traditional Theravadin Buddhism, there’s this thing called the Eightfold Path. It is the process by which we abandon the fetters, those pesky things that lead us to regular encounters with dissatisfaction in life.…
Read MoreEpisode 164 :: Sebene Selassie :: New York Insight Meditation Center
Sebene Selassie Sebene Selassie, Executive Director of New York Insight Meditation Center, joins us to speak about organizational models in contemporary Western sanghas. Times change. We’re not in Deer Park or Vulture’s Peak two and a half thousand years ago, we’re in Central Park and Pike’s Peak in the twenty-first century. What people do, what…
Read MoreEpisode 163 :: Tuere Sala :: People of Color Sanghas
Tuere Sala Meditation teacher and community leader Tuere Sala speaks with us about moving from a monotheistic tradition to Buddhism, and supporting the growth of diversity in our sanghas. Our race is more than simply the color of our skins. There are subtle but profound cultural templates, and ways of thinking, that permeate and motivate…
Read MoreEpisode 162 :: Vince Horn :: Buddhist Geeks
Vince Horn Vince Horn joins us to talk about his work on Buddhist Geeks. Buddhism is being impacted by a lot lately. Not only is it faced with the selective pressures of modernity, but the digital revolution is creating new evolutionary opportunities. These two forces are squishing Buddhism and other traditions into radically new shapes,…
Read MoreEpisode 161 :: Sarah Barab :: Naked Mind
Sarah Barab Film maker Sarah Barab joins us to speak about her film project, Naked Mind. Many of us are fairly isolated in our practice of Buddhism. Our direct, face to face sessions may be local, or at least within our own country. And, as such, how our fellow Buddhists in other countries practice, and…
Read MoreEpisode 160 :: Brad Fullmer :: Insight Timer
Insight Timer Meditator and mobile application developer Brad Fullmer joins us to speak about his application, Insight Timer. Meditating is not always easy bliss, it can be challenging in a variety of ways. We struggle to step off the powerful locomotive that is our train of thoughts, and bring our attention to the present moment.…
Read MoreEpisode 159 :: Dr. Cathy Kerr :: Somatosensory Attention and Alpha Rhythms
Cathy Kerr Dr. Cathy Kerr joins us again to speak about her new paper, “Mindfulness starts with the body: somatosensory attention and top-down modulation of cortical alpha rhythms in mindfulness meditation.” What is it that happens when we meditate? We know what some of the effects are, we know how it makes us feel, but…
Read MoreEpisode 158 :: Phie Ambo, Sigrid Dyekjaer, Richard Davidson :: Free The Mind
Phie Ambo Today we have a round table discussion with film producer Sigrid Dyekjaer, director Phie Ambo, and researcher Dr. Richard Davidson about the new film Free The Mind. We live in a very exciting time, especially as meditators. It is likely that we’ve experienced the benefits of a regular practice, we see how it…
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