Podcasts about buddhism plain

"Buddhism is not a belief system. It's not about accepting certain tenets or believing a set of claims or principles. In fact, it's quite the opposite. It's about examining the world clearly and carefully, about testing everything and every idea. Buddhism is about seeing. It's about knowing rather than believing or hoping or wishing. It's also about not being afraid to examine anything and everything, including our own personal agendas . . . The message is always to examine and see for yourself. When you see for yourself what is true—and that's really the only way that you can genuinely know anything—then embrace it. Until then, just suspend judgment and criticism. The point of Buddhism is to just see. That's all . . . An ordinary person is simply one who is not awake in the moment; a buddha is a person who is. That's all." —Steve Hagan, author of Buddhism Plain and Simple: The practice of Being Aware, Right Now, Every Day To be fully human and see the humanity in all others. To have compassion for all sentient beings, understanding that they too experience all of the senses and are capable of emotions. This way of walking through life, engaging with it subtly, yet powerfully, infusing both our daily life and others, with the ability to be and express our full and most capable selves, is to live with awareness. To see and engage fully without expectation or harm. For example, one of the ladybird's gifts is their appetite for many pests in the garden, effectively being a natural pest deterrent; the talent of bees is to disperse pollen which plays a crucial role in the entire food production chain; and as we consider any human on earth throughout history who gives of their talents that further contributed positively to the world. These brave and determined souls, without each one, the world would not be as we know it today. When we celebrate the humanity of one another, we set each other free to discover the treasures we each uniquely have within us. Then it is each individual's job, at times daunting, but most primarily exhilarating, to share with the world what we have realized is our dharma - what we can uniquely share with the world that also energizes us while we engage in the giving. There is much confusion about what Buddhism is, and unlike what many Google searches will retrieve when we try to figure it out, it is not a religion. The Dalai Lama himself states it most directly, “Buddhist teachings are not a religion, they are a science of the mind.” In other words, it is an approach to understanding our own mind, NOT being told what to think nor HOW to live concretely. Rather the concepts of Mindfulness, Awareness, Compassion, Appreciation and Courage are many of the fundamental skills, which are also the core concepts of cultivating a life of contentment, a simply luxurious life. Tune in to discover more about how Buddhist psychology cultivates an everyday life of contentment.   Find the Show Notes on The Simply Luxurious Life blog - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/podcast403 

"The Practice of Being Aware, Right Now, Every Day"

Our way of knowing seems seduced into seeing things – including ourselves as the self as the knower – as substantial. We believe and take for granted that the world is a myriad of things and objects, that the passage of time is real, and that we can rely on science to tell us how to live and what has meaning and value. Whether it's our fascination with neuroscience or whether we are perpetual spiritual seekers, it seems the answers we find never seem to fully satisfy us.  And that's because we suffer from a fundamental and deeply rooted belief and set of assumptions that there is a substantial external world ‘out there' and a substantially existing internal world ‘in here' in its givenness as “I-me-mind-mind and my-self”.  This is what Zen Priest Steve Hagen calls "The Grand Delusion" – and it's the topic of our conversation based on his book of the same title. Steve Hagen has been contemplating these deep existential questions and this great matter of liberation from delusion for nearly sixty years.  Now semi-retired, Steve Hagen is founder of the Dharma Field Learning and Meditation Center in Minneapolis, and author not only of The Grand Delusion: What We Know But Don't Believe (Wisdom, 2020) – but many other books, such as Buddhism Plain and Simple, Meditation Now or Never, Buddhism Is Not What You Think. We cover a lot a difficult themes in this conversation, from how our modern worldview operates from unwarranted assumptions that perpetuates our belief in substantiality, to why our reliance on neuroscience to reveal the mysteries of the mind is a dead-end, to the challenge of using language to point out what cannot be grasped conceptually – and much more.   Roshi Steve Hagen continues to teach occasional courses at Dharma Field. Although Steve trained and received Dharma transmission in Soto Zen, he has no formal ties to any Zen or Buddhist hierarchy. 

Steve Hagen was ordained a Zen priest in 1979 and in 1989 he received Dharma Transmission (formal endorsement to teach) from Jikai Dainin Katagiri Roshi. He is the author of several books on Buddhism, science, and philosophy. These include Buddhism Plain and Simple, his most popular book. In his most recent book, The Grand Delusion, he applies breakthrough Eastern insights to seemingly indelible problems in Western science and philosophy. In 1997, he founded Dharma Field Meditation and Learning Center in Minneapolis, where he continues to serve as senior teacher.In this episode, Eric and Steve Hagen discuss his book, The Grand Delusion: What We Know But Don't BelieveBut wait – there's more! The episode is not quite over!! We continue the conversation and you can access this exclusive content right in your podcast player feed. Head over to our Patreon page and pledge to donate just $10 a month. It's that simple and we'll give you good stuff as a thank you!Steve Hagen and I Discuss What We Know but Don't Believe…His book, The Grand Delusion: What We Know But Don't BelieveDefining grand delusion: our belief in non-emptiness or substantialityThe dichotomy of understanding that if there is something, there must not be nothingHow there are two truths that coexistUnderstanding that it's in the mind where reality occursRealizing that we can't actually hold anything is the beginning of awakeningWhy understanding this concept is important in our day to day lifePeace and present mind comes by seeing that the questions are misunderstanding the experience of lifeHow we can't resolve or answer the question of what's the meaning of lifeWe don't need to answer the questions to bring freedomTrying to find a logical answer to meaning of life isn't possibleHow we are acting and seeing things in terms of wholenessPerception is what we process through our sensesConception is the meaning we give to what we perceiveOur suffering is tied up in the way we conceptualize the worldThe freedom of knowing that what we are grasping for isn't possibleConceptualizing things isn't bad, but it can also bring sufferingSudden and gradual awakeningHis work and practice with koansGreat doubt comes with the question of why is there something rather than nothingSteve Hagen Links:Steve's WebsiteJohann's WebsiteWhen you purchase products and/or services from the sponsors of this episode, you help support The One You Feed. Your support is greatly appreciated, thank you!If you enjoyed this conversation with Steve Hagen you might also enjoy these other episodes:Steve Hagen on Perception and Conception (2018)Original Buddhist Psychology with Beth JacobsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Steve was ordained a Zen priest in 1979 by Katagiri Roshi.  In 1989, he received formal endorsement to teach (Dharma transmission).  He has been an instructor in Buddhism at St. Olaf College and in 1997 founded Dharma Field Meditation and Learning Center in Minneapolis, where he continued to serve as head teacher until recently.  He is the author of Buddhism Plain and Simple as well as several other books on religion, science, and philosophy.

Steve Hagen is the founder and teacher of the Dharma Field Zen Center in Minneapolis, MN and the author of several books on Buddhism, including Buddhism Plain and Simple which is one of the top five best selling books on Buddhism in the United States. In this episode, Steve teaches us about several Buddhist concepts that are often misunderstood: Wholeness vs Unwholesomeness, Perception vs Conception and Belief vs Knowledge. Knowing the true meaning of these ideas will give you great freedom as you seek the enlightenment that is your true nature.This episode is sponsored by Health IQ and CasperPlease Support The Show with a DonationIn This Interview, Steve Hagen and I Discuss...The Wolf ParableHis book, Buddhism Plain and SimpleThe Horse and the Farmer parableWholeness vs UnwholesomeConsider the welfare of other beings in all you doAwarenessPerception (the immediate, direct experience) vs Conception (our construct of things)Belief vs KnowledgeThat we can't arrive at truth through conceptionThat enlightenment is with us all of the time, we're just not aware of itThat enlightenment is our natural stateThe idea of "stream" as self, the Buddha saidThat the way things appear to be is more of a construct than a realityHow picking and choosing is the mind's worst diseaseNoticing how the mind leans a certain wayThat a Buddha is a person who is awakeThe power of simply observing something about ourselves rather than trying to put a stop to it or judging itThe Story about the 84 Problems Please Support The Show with a Donation

This is a selected talk given at Dharma Field Zen Center, founded by Steve Hagen (author of Buddhism Plain & Simple) on three essential aspects of meditation practice. Dharma Field talks focus on mindfulness—being awake, aware, alert, and in touch with what is actually happening. In a practical and down-to-Earth manner, they unpack the Buddha's teaching on seeing directly into the nature of experience. Feel free to subscribe to our channel. A selection of free talks, classes, and commentaries can be found on our website, dharmafield.org. Most audio items are available both as mp3 downloads and via online streaming.

This is a selected talk given at Dharma Field Zen Center, founded by Steve Hagen (author of Buddhism Plain & Simple) on three essential aspects of meditation practice. Dharma Field talks focus on mindfulness—being awake, aware, alert, and in touch with what is actually happening. In a practical and down-to-Earth manner, they unpack the Buddha's teaching on seeing directly into the nature of experience. Feel free to subscribe to our channel. A selection of free talks, classes, and commentaries can be found on our website, dharmafield.org. Most audio items are available both as mp3 downloads and via online streaming.

This is a selected talk given at Dharma Field Zen Center, founded by Steve Hagen (author of Buddhism Plain & Simple) on some basics of meditation. Dharma Field talks focus on mindfulness—being awake, aware, alert, and in touch with what is actually happening. In a practical and down-to-Earth manner, they unpack the Buddha's teaching on seeing directly into the nature of experience. Feel free to subscribe to our channel. A selection of free talks, classes, and commentaries can be found on our website, dharmafield.org. Most audio items are available both as mp3 downloads and via online streaming.

We’re joined today by Vidyuddeva, a young Zen teacher who spent 5 years in monastic training with Zen Master Steve Hagen. Vid is now a teacher in his own right, and teaches with both the iEvolve Practice Community as well as with the Integral Spiritual Center (founded by Ken Wilber). In this episode, Vid shares with us how he came to the dharma, and how it eventually led to his time as a Zen monastic. He also turns the table on the Geeks and begins questioning us as to what the significance is between meditation and life. Listen in to hear more from this young & dynamic voice of wisdom. Episode Links: Dharma Field Zen Center ( http://www.dharmafield.org ) Buddhism Plain and Simple ( http://bit.ly/ZjJFK ) iEvolve: Global Practice Community ( http://www.ievolve.org )