Buddhist Geeks

In this episode, Vince Horn is joined in dialogue, once again, by Diane Musho Hamilton–Zen teacher, professional meditator, and Integral facilitator. The conversation begins with Vince's reflections on an Integral Facilitator Training that he attended with Diane, where a bulk of the training centered around facilitating small group conversations around issues related to differences of identity. After discussing a number of topics that are often taken up in the Social Justice movement, and an Integral perspective on these topics, the conversation turned toward the role of the Teacher, and on transmission, hierarchy, embodiment, feedback, and projection. Memorable Quotes:“I found that rather than trying to teach stage models to groups, that I like to invoke them into models.” - Diane Musho Hamilton“We don’t challenge basketball coaches the way we challenge spiritual teachers.” - Diane Musho Hamilton“Every moment of adulation is followed by a great disappointment.” - Diane Musho HamiltonEpisode Links:

In this episode, Vince Horn is joined in conversation by long-time mentor and friend, David Loy, to explore his latest on, "EcoDharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis." Their discussion centers around how this EcoDharma work relates to our current exploration of Metadharma, which we describe as any approach to dharma practice that intentionally seeks to respond to the overlapping crises that humanity now faces. Quotes:"The real problem of humanity is the following: we have paleolithic emotions; medieval institutions; and god-like technology." - E.O. Wilson"I see social evolution as a continuation of biological evolution." - David Loy"The Ecological Crisis is Earth’s way of telling us, 'Grow up or get out of the way.'" - David Loy Links:

In this episode, Emily Horn speaks with Insight meditation teacher and co-founder of the newly established Meditation Coalition of Los Angeles, JoAnna Hardy. In their conversation, they explore the origins, values, & current activities of this new experiment in community.Here at Buddhist Geeks we see the Meditation Coalition as part of larger emerging trend of decentralizing dharma communities. Check out our episode on the SF Dharma Collective to hear another example of a sangha that is seeking to decentralize traditional power structures.Quotes:“What is this Dharma?” - Emily Horn“Everybody we come into contact with, if we’re awake enough and really paying attention, whether we agree with them or not, we’re going to learn something from them.” - JoAnna Hardy Links:

What practice(s) should I do? When should I switch-up my practice? How do I practice well, with so many choices available? Recorded during a week-long Buddhist Geeks Retreat, Vince Horn addresses these super-common questions by introducing Six Ways to Meditate. The purpose of this meditative meta-model is to give freelance meditators and DIY practitioners a way to orient to the vast diversity of techniques available in the Buddhist wisdom tradition.Memorable Quotes:"The untrained mind has a hard time gathering and collecting its full potential in one place.” - @VincentHorn"If we can see what the elements of meditation are, then perhaps we can recombine those elements in new ways." - @VincentHorn Episode Links:

In this episode originally recorded in 2018 at the "Waking Up with Psychedelics" event in Los Angeles, Trudy Goodman spoke with one of the pioneers of Western spirituality and psychedelics, Ram Dass.  We're sharing this now to honor the recent passing of Baba Ram Dass, and appreciate his tremendous impact on popular, spiritual, & psychedelic culture. We hope you enjoy this love bomb! ❤️

In this latest addition to the Metadharma series, Ryan Oelke is joined by philosopher Ken Wilber to explore what a fourth turning of Buddhism looks like, what it includes, and why it’s needed. "The new Buddha is not going to be the Sangha, but the unification of the Buddha, Sangha, and Dharma in a single ongoing nondual Awareness and Awakening.” - Ken WilberIn Part 1, Ken discusses the evolution of Buddhism through the three turnings, what each turning included and was missing, and what each subsequent turning provided. In a fourth turning, Ken speaks to the need of two main additions to the practice of Buddhism: growing up and cleaning up (waking up already being long present in the Buddhist tradition). In Part 2, Ken responds to how a fourth turning of Buddhism can more effectively respond to the meta-crises of the world and how practice can evolve as a response to the complexity and challenges of the world. 

In this latest addition to the Metadharma series, Ryan Oelke is joined by philosopher Ken Wilber to explore what a fourth turning of Buddhism looks like, what it includes, and why it’s needed. "The new Buddha is not going to be the Sangha, but the unification of the Buddha, Sangha, and Dharma in a single ongoing nondual Awareness and Awakening.” - Ken WilberIn Part 1, Ken discusses the evolution of Buddhism through the three turnings, what each turning included and was missing, and what each subsequent turning provided. In a fourth turning, Ken speaks to the need of two main additions to the practice of Buddhism: growing up and cleaning up (waking up already being long present in the Buddhist tradition). In Part 2, Ken responds to how a fourth turning of Buddhism can more effectively respond to the meta-crises of the world and how practice can evolve as a response to the complexity and challenges of the world. Episode Links

In this latest addition to the Metadharma series, Vince Horn is joined by Michael W. Taft to explore the (meta)reasoning around Metadharma. Why do we need another Dharma? What does Metadharma respond to that Modern and Postmodern forms of Dharma haven’t? What do we need to jettison in order for a genuine Metadharma to emerge? And how does Metadharma relate to the very real social crises we face, including the ecological emergency, runaway capitalism, an over-dependence on rationality, growing racial resentments, and systems of oppression?This is part 1 of a 2-part podcast series. Continue listening to the 2nd half of this discussion on Michael’s podcast Deconstructing Yourself: 

"Climate change", as a term, no longer captures the real danger that climate scientists say that we as a species, along with our fellow creatures, face today. Already the impacts of climate change have turned into a genuine ecological crisis. A growing group of people are asking out loud, if the recent string of dire government-backed climate reports are too conservative to accurately describe the real dangers ahead of us. What if, in fact, we are on the fast track toward both an ecological & civilizational collapse, and it's already too late? What would it mean to practice dharma in "the spectre of collapse?"Vince Horn is joined in this episode by a former team member of Buddhist Geeks, current monastic resident at the Monastic Academy, and host of the Emerge podcast, Daniel Thorson to discuss the dharma of collapse.Memorable Quotes:“It’s collapsing into certainty, in any case, that’s the real danger here, because then we foreclose on all kinds of possibilities and opportunities that we won’t see because

In this deep dive into the emerging territory of American Dharma, scholar-practitioner Ann Gleig joins with Buddhist Geeks host Vince Horn to explore a plurality of perspectives, some overlooked and marginalized, some debated for millennia. Over 2 hours of deep dialogical podcasting, Ann & Vince explore the larger territory of postmodernism in relation to American Dharma from multiple philosophical vantages, including the ‘post secular’, the ‘postcolonial’, and also in this conversation the ‘metamodern.’Favorite Quotes:"It can be challenging to mediate closeness with critique.” - Ann Gleig“Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is Evolving.” - David Loy“In a way there’s no way around it, you kind of have to do the hard confrontational work of practice.” - Ann Gleig Episode Links:

In this episode Vince Horn kicks-off a new series on Buddhist Geeks on "Metadharma." Sharing his journey from working with integral philosopher Ken Wilber in the early aughts, to deconstructing grand metanarratives with inquiry meditation and developmental psychology, to returning back to a metaphilosophical orientation in recent years.This series, on Metadharma, will explore the ways that the three jewels of the Buddhist contemplative tradition, the Buddha, Dharma, & Sangha, may be understood in light of the emergence of a Integral/Metamodern orientation.Memorable Quotes:"It's totally within the history of this Buddhist dharma tradition to transcend Buddhist dharma, to go meta on it." - Vince Horn"Yet, we do we need to adapt, we do need to change, we can't just pull something out from the past and assume that we can make Buddhism great again." - Vince Horn"What can happen if we make ourselves the middle way? What bridge might we become? And what does the world need from us right now?"

In this episode, Vince Horn is joined by Kathryn "Kati" Devaney, one of the founders of the newly formed student-led sangha, SF Dharma Collective.  In addition to being practitioner, and community organizer, Kati is also a neuroscience researcher who has specialized on studying human visual attention.  In this discussion Kati describes the origin story of the SF Dharma Collective and talks about what makes it an entirely new kind of sangha-experiment.A short note from Vince: After visiting the SF Dharma Collective in October 2018, where I met Kati, and offering a short teaching in their beautiful space in the Mission District, I knew it'd be fun to explore this new community-led model.  It feels like an emergent form of community, and I love how their groping with questions about how to self-organize, and create healthier forms of community.  I hope you enjoy learning more about this nascent project!A note from the members of the collective: The SF Dharma Collective seeks to build a studen

In this episode Ryan Oelke speaks with Judith Blackstone, a teacher in the contemporary fields of nondual realization and spiritual, relational, and somatic psychotherapy, about her new book, “Trauma and the Unbound Body: The Healing Power of Fundamental Consciousness”.  They chat about the connection between embodiment, nondual realization, and healing, and how all three help deepen one other. Ryan & Judith also discuss what fundamental consciousness is, how to attune to it in, the difference between being aware of our bodies and living in and as our bodies, and what it’s like shift from a top-down experience of ourselves, to living directly within the space of our bodies.  They also explore how to heal and release patterns of constriction held in the body, so that we can allow ourselves to more deeply inhabit our physical experience, release the grip on ourselves, so that we have a more fluid experience of life.Memorable Quotes“The more we let go of the protective constrictions throughout

I had the great delight of speaking with Oren Jay Sofer, just as he was fresh off a month-long silent retreat.  The timing couldn't be better, as the bulk of what we discussed relates to silent retreat culture, both its strengths and limitations.  We ended up discussing communication and social practice quite a bit as well, including touching on some of the practices that he teaches in his new book, "Say What you Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication."  I've known Oren now for a several years, through my wife Emily, and my respect for him as a teacher and human being continues to grow.  I hope you enjoy our conversation on the limits of retreat culture.

What is the future of consciousness hacking? Organic molecules, blinky machines, good old fashioned meditation, or some combination of them all? In this episode, recorded live in San Francisco on October 24th 2018, Michael Taft of Deconstructing Yourself, Vincent Horn of Buddhist Geeks, and host Mikey Siegel of Consciousness Hacking discuss the possibilities, the challenges, and the many ways forward in the transformation of human consciousness. Audience dialogue and questions took center stage in this event, so you'll hear plenty of back-and-forth between the presenters and the audience on psychedelics, technology, and the future of meditation.Watch the full video version here: https://youtu.be/4oE6UxGmQog

In this episode I'm joined in dialogue by David Gold to explore the path of Love. David shares the story of meeting his beloved, Juli Reeves, and how their meeting kicked off a process of being disrupted by Love. Listen in as we inquiry into Love, Life, Trust, Emergence, & Evolution.This is part 2 of a two-part series.Memorable Quotes:“Whatever stands in the way of me loving her more, may it be removed.” - David Gold“I will not have another God before Love. I don’t know what Gods will appear in Love, or reappear through Love, but I am not going to sacrifice Love.” - David Gold“You can’t force yourself to trust life, but you can embrace life.” - David Gold“The truth of life’s trustworthiness is revealing itself.” - David Gold"If samsaric logic is 'if this than that' nirvanic logic is 'just this'." - Vincent Horn“The practices arise from primordial wisdom rather than leading to it.” - Vincent Horn"The vipassana master whose just sitting there noticing what is, is also loving what is." - Vincent HornEpiso

During this episode I'm joined by an old friend and mentor, David Gold, to discuss, as he puts it, his "evolution from a non-teacher to a non-teacher." We talk about our shared history, going back to my time as college student at NC State, where he was a facilitator of the Self-Knowledge Symposium. He also shares his history with American mystic, Richard Rose, and with the fallen guru, Andrew Cohen. He shares the learnings that were borne out of working with those teachers, and the way that his path has opened into "a love unimaginable."This is part 1 of a 2-part series.Memorable Quotes:“I decided I was going to stick around until I figured out how this man [Richard Rose] did what he did, and I was going to learn his tricks and go take it out into the world and make a lot of money with it, or whatever. Instead, I feel in love with the truth.” - David Gold“The radical equality of unimaginable love is so intrinsic, so natural, and so liberating.” - David Gold“When the truth and you and your

In this episode I'm joined by my old friend and colleague, Rohan Gunatillake. Rohan is the founder of Mindfulness Everywhere, a creative studio combining meditation, technology, & design. Mindfulness Everywhere is perhaps best known for it's popular meditation app buddhify, and for it's innovative-indie approach to developing digital mindfulness products. In this conversation we talk about the importance of making mindfulness accessible, about the discontinuous changes that have happened to mindfulness as it enters a capitalist-based system, two different ways to scale mindfulness, Rohan's Designing Mindfulness manifesto, buddhify's new social meditation feature Transmission, and "the missing middle" of mindfulness between the for- and non-profit sectors. Memorable Quotes:“Meditation, mindfulness, Buddhism has always changed. It’s a history of innovation, from the Buddha’s awakening onward.” - Rohan Gunatillake“Mindfulness & meditation has become a content business, as opposed

I discovered Christoper Vitale's writing after doing a google search on the "philosophy of networks." At the time I had recently started doing the Buddhist Geeks podcast again and had formulated a new tagline for the project: Dharma in the Age of the Network. I wanted to dive deeper into what networks are, not in a specific sense (of say a "computer network"), but in more general & philosophical terms. What I discovered in Chris' writing was a clear philosophy of networks, and a generalized way to under what is common among all networks. I was also somewhat shocked to find that he had studied Buddhist philosophy in Nepal and had several articles on his personal site about dharma & networks!  In this episode, which was originally a prep call, we explore the very interesting relationship between Buddhist philosophy & networks, and discuss some of the topics related to his Networkologies project. Look for more from Christopher on Buddhist Geeks soon!Memorable Quotes:“All

In this episode I was joined by my dharma friend Lama Karma. During our time together we explored his time in Peru, using the native plant medicine ayahuasca. He said he couldn't help but relate to his experience through the lens of his vajrayana training, and shares some of how he makes sense of the experiences he had while using ayahuasca ceremonially.We also get into a heart-felt conversation about Lama Karma's teacher, Lama Norlha, who recently passed away and who at the very end of his life was embroiled in a controversial storm with his community regarding widespread allegations of sexual misconduct. Karma shares his experience of being at the center of that storm, torn by paradox.memorable quotes:"For me it was this simultaneity of insanity and openness.” - Lama Karmaepisode links:Milarepa Retreat CenterShanghai KagyuAyahuasca Lama Norlha Rinpoche, founding abbot of Kagyu Thubten Chöling, dies at age 79