Episode 143 :: Gary Gach :: Finding the New in the Mix
Gary Gach
Gary Gach speaks with us today about finding newness in the mix of contemporary Buddhist practices.
With so many different ways of engaging with Buddhism in the West, it’s hard to not only find what resonates most for us, but to even tell what’s what. Is contemporary Western Buddhism a messy goulash, or wonderfully colorful and tangy salad? Are we really doing Rinzai, or is this particular practice Soto Zen? And frankly, does it matter as tradition evolves?
We see practices under various names like mindfulness finding their way into our culture. We see children being taught to rest their mind in the breath in public classrooms, and their parents benefitting from it in the workplace. This ever changing landscape provides a freshness to the practice that interests those who would otherwise not find it, but also opens up the doors to the social change that our traditional forms can help create.
Gary Gach is an American author, translator, editor, teacher and poet living on Russian Hill, San Francisco. His work has been translated into several languages, and has appeared in several anthologies and numerous periodicals. He serves on the International Advisory Panel of the Buddhist Channel, a Malaysian Buddhist news website. A member of the Order of Interbeing, he teaches mindfulness in the tradition of Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh, at the Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples. He currently hosts Haiku Corner for Tricycle: The Buddhist Review.
So, sit back, relax, and have a nice Evening in Missoula.
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Music for This Episode Courtesy of Rodrigo Rodriguez
The music heard in the middle of the podcast is from Rodrigo Rodriguez. The track used in this episode is “Traces of Truth” from his CD, Traces of Truth.