Podcasts about mind life institute

In this edition, we welcome renowned Buddhist scholar and teacher, Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D., as he answers audience questions following a recent talk at the Sacred Stream. An excerpt from this compelling conversation can be heard in Episode 125: Thupten Jinpa: Part 1: Making Friends with our Minds. In this thoughtful Q&A session, Jinpa shares deep insights on parenting, cultivating compassion amidst adversity, navigating difficult emotions, and facing death with clarity and courage. Drawing on decades of experience, he also recounts a powerful and personal story of his childhood escape from Tibet and the hardships he faced growing up in exile in India. Since 1985, Jinpa has served as the principal English translator for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, translating and editing more than ten of the Dalai Lama's books, along with several acclaimed works of his own. He is the Board Chair of the Mind & Life Institute, founder and president of the Compassion Institute, and a visiting research scholar at the Stanford Institute for Neuro-Innovation and Translational Neurosciences.

On this episode, we are sharing an excerpt from a recent talk at the Sacred Stream by esteemed author, former Tibetan Buddhist monk, and renowned Buddhist teacher, Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D. Jinpa has been the principal English translator for the Dalai Lama since 1985 and has translated and edited more than ten of his books, along with writing several of his own. He serves as the Board Chair of the Mind & Life Institute, is the founder and president of the Compassion Institute, and is a visiting research scholar at the Stanford Institute for Neuro-Innovation and Translational Neurosciences. In this insightful talk, Jinpa explores the importance of befriending our minds—an essential practice for navigating challenges and fostering a more joyful, fulfilling life. He has written and lectured extensively on Lojong, the Tibetan practice of Mind Training, and offers wisdom that is both practical and deeply transformative.

In this episode, Wendy speaks with clinical psychologist and contemplative Amy Cohen Varela. In addition to her work as a psychoanalytic therapist, Amy is also the widow of Francisco Varela (co-founder of the Mind & Life Institute), and continues to share his vision and work through the offerings of Mind & Life Europe. This conversation covers many topics, including: her dual interest in biology and literature; the contemplative aspects of psychoanalysis; skills learned from listening deeply to yourself and to others; how she met Francisco Varela; enaction, meaning, and participatory sense-making; links between Francisco's ideas and Buddhist philosophy; subjective and objective viewpoints, and how we oversimplify Buddhism and science in that dynamic; how more than a decade with Francisco has changed her; the power of curiosity and openness; doing and undoing the self in psychoanalysis; Francisco's reflections on the Chilean civil war, and implications for polarization; the need for systems to be able to "undo" themselves; and Mind & Life Europe's latest offerings. Full show notes and resources

Welcome to another episode of Outrage + Optimism! In this episode, co-host Christiana Figueres is joined by an all-female cast. You'll hear from climate activist Abigael (Abbie) Kima from Kenya about her recent visit with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, and Isabel Cavelier, Colombian climate activist and recent recipient of the prestigious Climate Breakthrough Award, an initiative of the Climate Breakthrough Project.  We also feature music from the British indie rock duo, Penelope Isles. First, Abbie Kima brings Christiana up to date with her podcast, the Hali Hewa Podcast一“Hali ya Hewa” is Swahili for “climate”一covering indigenous people, women, and climate emergencies from the African perspective. Kima also recounts her extraordinary (collective) meeting with the Dalai Lama at the Mind & Life Institute in Dharamsala. She discusses his teachings about how oneness across all people is innately linked to global climate action. Next, Christiana chats with Isabel Cavelier about her fascinating climate journey. Isabel touches on her early work helping develop the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs一the United Nations framework for global peace and prosperity一her climate action organization Transforma, and her work in the climate movement today. They also touch on Cavelier's Climate Breakthrough Award, one of the field's most distinguished honors.  Finally, we close the episode with indie rock band Penelope Isles's new release, “Underwater Record Store.”   See you next week!   NOTES AND RESOURCES    To learn more about our planet's climate emergency and how you can transform outrage into optimistic action subscribe to the podcast here. Shoutout to our very own Freya Newman on her research being published in Nature Communications!   Want to participate in the COP27 Civic Imagination Lab? REGISTER HERE   -   GUESTS   Abigael Kima LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook| YouTube | Instagram Listen to Abbie's Hali Hewa Podcast   Isabel Cavelier Adarve LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook Learn more about Isabel's award from Climate Breakthrough   Transforma LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram   -   MUSIC   Penelope Isles Twitter | Facebook | Instagram Clay's Recommendation: Check out their LIVE KEXP and AudioTree Performances!

Susan Bauer-Wu shares a guided mindfulness practice to help you cultivate the patience to ride the waves of change. Susan Bauer-Wu, a researcher, scholar, teacher, and trained nurse, turned to meditation to help her develop both a peaceful mind and heart. Now, as president of the Mind & Life Institute, she integrates her scientific and clinical background with the wisdom of mindfulness to better understand the mind and help heal the world in its current divisive state.

Susan Bauer-Wu shares a guided mindfulness practice to help you cultivate the patience to ride the waves of change. Susan Bauer-Wu, a researcher, scholar, teacher, and trained nurse, turned to meditation to help her develop both a peaceful mind and heart. Now, as president of the Mind & Life Institute, she integrates her scientific and clinical background with the wisdom of mindfulness to better understand the mind and help heal the world in its current divisive state.

Born and raised in Australia, Rav Doniel abandoned his award-winning film and theatre career in his mid-twenties after a year of intensive spiritual awakening.  Since then, he has spent nearly two decades immersed in the world of Torah and Kabbalistic teachings, learning from some of the world's great rabbis and spiritual masters. He is the founder of The Elevation Project which brings together Jews and seekers from all walks of life to explore the Torah's definitive map of human psychology and consciousness on an experiential level, synthesizing the most profound teachings of 4,000 years of wisdom into a unified system that makes these high-level spiritual teachings accessible to seekers of all backgrounds. Rav Doniel has lectured extensively around the world including at the Mind & Life Institute in Massachusetts; the Sinai Indaba conference in South Africa, and the Wisdom 2.0 conference in Tel Aviv. His mission is to reveal the unity among different paths of Torah — to allow all people, everywhere, to experience its spiritual depth, beauty, and transformative power. In this episode we speak about achieving higher consciousness, meditation, the power of the mind, the law of attraction, manifesting, and so much more.  And, on the subject of transformation... My new book, "The Four Elements of an Empowered Life" is now available which focuses on transforming your life by discovering our inner spiritual elements of fire, wind, water, and earth! You can order it on Amazon, MosaicaPress.com or our website: https://levx.org/four-elements/ or wherever books are sold! Lastly, if you are interested in more podcasts about meditation, here is a link to two previous classes that were posted on this podcast about this topic: Jewish Meditation Techniques (Part 1)| Jewish Meditation Techniques (Part 2)| Poetry of Prayer (Part 2): Belief and the Law of Attraction If you are enjoying these podcasts, please support out efforts by donating at Levx.org/donate. And don't forget to reach our to me on any of the social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram.

Steven Kotler’s new book, The Art of Impossible, is out. It’s $27.99 everywhere books are sold BUT you can only get the book and a battle-tested set of Free Peak Performance Tools and Trainings at

  Patricia A. Jennings talks with me about her book - Teacher Burnout Turnaround: Strategies for Empowered Educators. This is episode 343 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Patricia (Tish) Jennings is an internationally recognized leader in the fields of social and emotional learning and mindfulness in education and Professor of Education at the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia. Her research places a specific emphasis on teacher stress and how it impacts the social and emotional context of the classroom, as articulated in her highly cited theoretical article "The Prosocial Classroom." Jennings led the team that developed CARE, a mindfulness-based professional development program shown to significantly improve teacher well-being, classroom interactions and student engagement in the largest randomized controlled trial of a mindfulness-based intervention designed specifically to address teacher occupational stress. She is a co-author of Flourish: The Compassionate Schools Project curriculum, an integrated health and physical education program and is co-Investigator on a large randomized controlled trial to evaluate the curriculum’s efficacy. She is currently the Principal Investigator of Project CATALYZE, a study that will examine whether CARE enhances the effectiveness of a social and emotional learning curriculum funded by an Education Innovation Research grant from the US Department of Education to conduct. A member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Fostering Healthy Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Development among Children and Youth, she was awarded the Cathy Kerr Award for Courageous and Compassionate Science by the Mind & Life Institute in 2018 and recently recognized by Mindful Magazine as one of "Ten Mindfulness Researchers You Should Know." Earlier in her career, Jennings spent more than 22 years as a teacher, school director and teacher educator. She is the author numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and chapters and several books: Mindfulness for Teachers: Simple Skills for Peace and Productivity in the Classroom, The Trauma-Sensitive School: Building Resilience with Compassionate Teaching, Mindfulness in the Pre-K-5 Classroom: Helping Students Stress Less and Learn More, part of Social and Emotional Learning Solutions, a book series by WW Norton of which she is editor. Today we will focus on her latest book, Teacher Burnout Turnaround: Strategies for Empowered Teachers. Lots to learn today. Thanks for listening. Please share, review, and subscribe. Enjoy! Connect and Learn More: https://curry.virginia.edu/patricia-jennings https://www.amazon.com/Teacher-Burnout-Turnaround-Strategies-Empowered-dp-039371425X/dp/039371425X/ref=mt_other?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid= https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393714258 https://www.amazon.com/Patricia-A-Jennings/e/B00LLRZGIC/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1 https://www.facebook.com/tish.jennings https://www.linkedin.com/in/tishjennings/    Length - 52:20

Shankari Goldstein is a Program Manager at the Mind & Life Institute. Trained in the lineage of Integral Yoga, Shankari has spent years connecting to breath, body, strength, movement, and energy. She is a Certified Yoga of Recovery Instructor, an Accessible Yoga Ambassador, Activist and a founder of The State of Union (Yoga) Address series, Shensara Yoga Festival, The Black Female Farmers Network, and the Black Yogis of Virginia group. An avid Social Justice activist for over a decade, she continues to find ways to help propel the voices of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) forward and share their embodied practices. Shankari lives on a regenerative farm, with her husband and more than 60 animals and livestock.

When she was eight years old, Nisha decided to seek the truth. She never changed her mind. A native of Kenya, Nisha's humble background propelled her to transcend limitations: gender, ethnic, and financial. She started her rheumatology career at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Nisha is an internally recognized leader in the field of integrative medicine. But she didn't stop there. Nisha partnered with one of the world's most innovative physicists: Emeritus professor, William A. Tiller of Stanford University and pushed the boundaries of what is possible in the physics lab. As part of her tenure with Professor Tiller, Nisha achieved an astonishing confirmation of Tiller physics by testing the sacred relics of the historical Buddha. One of her proudest moments was moderating HH the 14th Dalai Lama during a Mind-Life Institute conference at the Mayo clinic. With storytelling as a core skill, she has authored a one-of-a-kind book: Bridging Science and Spirit, closing the gap between two seemingly separate areas of knowledge. She is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom. Her website: https://nishamanekmd.com/

How many times have you heard people claim that Buddhism isn’t really a religion, that it’s a philosophy, a way of life, that its spiritual but not religious, or even that it’s a “science of mind”? These familiar tropes are a legacy of Buddhist Modernism, what Evan Thompson aptly has coined “Buddhist exceptionalism.” In this episode we explore these common claims, especially how they have been taken up by Secular Buddhists, mindfulness teachers and even scientists.  We explore in this interview the historical reasons for why Buddhism has received special treatment, with its modernist claim that it is fundamentally different than Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism.  We dive into the confused understandings of mindfulness meditation which has been portrayed as a privatized “inner telescope” to objectively view our interior minds (brains), along with the misguided attempt to map meditative experiences onto brain states and neural correlates (Neural Buddhism).  Evan challenges the popular view that Buddhism is compatible with science, and that science can validate Buddhist insights. Drawing on his intimate friendship and collaboration with the late Francisco Varela (a key founder of the Mind & Life Institute) he takes aim at how the so-called Buddhism – Science “dialogue” has been one-sided and stifling of mutual learning. Evan Thompson is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He writes about the mind, life, consciousness, and the self, from the perspectives of cognitive science, philosophy of mind, phenomenology, and cross-cultural philosophy (especially Buddhism and other Indian philosophical traditions). As a teenager, Evan was home-schooled in Southampton, NY and Manhattan at the Lindisfarne Association, an educational and contemplative community founded by his parents, William Irwin Thompson and Gail Thompson. He received his A.B. in Asian Studies from Amherst College (1983) studying with Robert Thurman, and his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Toronto (1990). Evan has been actively involved as one of the leading researchers and advisers for the Mind & Life Institute. We spoke today with Evan about his new book, Why I Am Not A Buddhist, published by Yale University Press in 2020. He is the author of Waking, Dreaming, Being: Self and Consciousness in Neuroscience, Meditation, and Philosophy (Columbia University Press, 2015); He is also the co-author with Francisco J. Varela and Eleanor Rosch, of The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience (MIT Press, 1991, revised edition 2016).  

In this extended recording with Krishna Das and his band, Professor Thurman leads a discussion of the Hindu and Buddhist perspectives on the soul, sin and greed using stories from their early years in India. Archive session includes a group recitation of the “Heart Sutra”, a discussion of non-duality as it relates to bliss, an extended dialog on the connections between Hindu and Buddhist self transformation technologies and several chant and response sessions led by Nina Rao and Krishna Das. This podcast includes stories from Robert A.F. Thurman and Krishna Das’ time in India and reading of Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol’s poetry. “In these three sessions, we will chant together, mantra together, teach and discuss wisdom and love and compassion in the tradition of Krishna Das’ Guru, Neem Karoli Baba, and H.H. the Dalai Lama, and have a great time, invoking Noble Tara, Shri Devi, Krishna/Radha and Manjushri/Sarasvati, covering the Guru-disciple relationship and its permutations, all kinds of mental and physical yogas, mind-concentration and heart transformation, bhakti and Tantra, etc., and basically enjoy the beautiful Dharmas of India and Tibet.” This talk was recorded during the Force For Good Class “Hindu Buddhist Paths of Devotion: Cherishing Divine Wisdom and Compassion Through Chanting and Mantra” at Tibet House US in New York City in 2019 with Krishna Das & Robert A.F. Thurman & is apart of the THUS Member Archive. To learn more about the work + music of Krishna Das please visit: www.krishnadas.com. To watch the full recordings from this + other past events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. Learn about joining the Tibet House US Membership Community with a monthly tax-deductible donation by visiting: www.tibethouse.us. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility). This on-going series was inspired by Daniel Goleman’s ‘A Force For Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World‘. To learn more about this year’s Force For Good Series please click the image above or visit: www.tibethouse.us. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved.

In this special podcast with Krishna Das, Professor Thurman leads a discussion of the Buddhist perspective on the soul, sin and greed using stories from their early years in India. Opening with a group recitation of the “Heart Sutra” Robert A.F. Thurman uses this seminal text of all Buddhist traditions as a jumping off point for a discussion of non-duality, bliss and the connections between Hindu and Buddhist self transformation technologies. This week’s poetry segment Krishna Das reads the work of Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol. “Chanting breaks down the difference between the inside and the outside. It’s about having a heart that never shuts down, that nothing can shut down.” Krishna Das My Early Years : Buddhist Soul with Krishna Das- Ep. 216 of the Bob Thurman Podcast Image via “Illumination, Meditation and Bodhisattvas – འོད་སྣང་། སྒོམ། བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ།” Co-organized by Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation. To learn more about the work + music of Krishna Das please visit: www.krishnadas.com. This talk was recorded during the Final #ForceForGood Class at Tibet House US in New York City in 2016 with Krishna Das & Robert A.F. Thurman & is apart of the THUS Member Archive. To watch the full recordings from this + other past events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. Learn about joining the Tibet House US Membership Community with a monthly tax-deductible donation by visiting: www.tibethouse.us. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility). This on-going series was inspired by Daniel Goleman’s ‘A Force For Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World‘. To learn more about this year’s Force For Good Series please click the image above or visit: www.tibethouse.us. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved.

In this extended archive recording Robert A.F. Thurman and Dr. Tom Yarnall explore the “Guhyasamāja Tantra King of Tantras – The Glorious Esoteric Community” by Tsongkhapa giving an introduction to Buddhist tantra and the practice of creation stage deity yoga. Includes an exploration of Buddhist Sand or powder mandalas and the chakra system used in the visualizations used in creation stage tantra meditations and self transformation practices by Robert A.F. Thurman. Podcast includes a discussion of the role of gods in visualization, the need to study and develop critical wisdom and selfless compassion before engaging in advanced self-transformation and the historical place of initiation in Indian and Vedic communities.   Force For Good : Creation Stage Tantra Podcast Bonus Image via Lotus Within. This week’s episode’s of the Bob Thurman Podcast was brought to you in part through the monthly support of the Tibet House US Membership Community and Menla Retreat and Dewa Spa in Phoenicia, New York. “Force For Good : Creation Stage Tantra Podcast Bonus″ of the Bob Thurman podcast was recorded at the 2017 Force for Good Class Series. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility). This on-going series was inspired by Daniel Goleman’s ‘A Force For Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World‘. To learn more about this year’s Force For Good Series please click the image above or visit: www.tibethouse.us. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved. Listen to more archive recordings from from past Robert A.F. Thurman teachings + public events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. To learn about the benefits of Tibet House US Membership please visit: www.tibethouse.us. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved.

In this extended archive recording of the Tibet House US Force For Good class Buddhist Sciences : Vajrayana II Robert A.F. Thurman gives an overview of the esoteric teachings of Buddhism. Using the “Esoteric Community” (Guhyasamāja) by Tsongkhapa, Professor Thurman discusses how with proper study and meditation anyone can understand the full meaning of the Buddha’s esoteric teachings. Podcast includes: an overview of the Buddhist Inner Sciences, an explanation of the different lineages, orders and sects of Tibetan Buddhism, a short discussion of the distinctions between Mother, Father and Non-Dual Tantra, definitions of Professor Thurman’s “Tantric Abidharma”, Mind Objective, Speech Isolation, Clear Light and the Central Channel system used in Buddhist Medicine and Inner Sciences. Buddhist Sciences Vajrayana Podcast Bonus RAFT Archives Image of Medicine Buddha and Tsongkhapa via www.welcomecollection.org “Buddhist Sciences Vajrayana Podcast Bonus RAFT Archives″ of the Bob Thurman podcast was recorded at the 2016 Force for Good Class “Vajrayana II”. This archive was originally excerpted as the episodes: “Mother and Father Tantras” and “Buddhist Opening Verses” and the full video version can be viewed on the Tibet House US Menla Retreat and Dewa Spa YouTube Channel. This week’s episode’s of the Bob Thurman Podcast was brought to you in part through the monthly support of the Tibet House US Membership Community and Menla Retreat and Dewa Spa in Phoenicia, New York. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility). This on-going series was inspired by Daniel Goleman’s ‘A Force For Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World‘. To learn more about this on-going series please visit: www.tibethouse.us. Listen to more archive recordings from from past Robert A.F. Thurman teachings + public events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. To learn about the benefits of Tibet House US Membership please visit: www.tibethouse.us. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved.

In this two part podcast Robert A.F. Thurman uses stories and lessons learned from his time studying with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama to explain the Buddhist perspective on God, gods, goddesses and theism. Joined by Dr. Tom Yarnall in a discussion of "Guhyasamāja Tantra King of Tantras - The Glorious Esoteric Community" by Tsongkhapa Professor gives an introduction to Buddhist tantra and the practice of deity yoga. Podcast includes a discussion of the role of gods in visualization, the need to study and develop critical wisdom and selfless compassion before engaging in advanced self-transformation and the historical place of initiation in Indian and Vedic communities. This week’s poetry segment Gary Gach reads Lew Welch's poem "Lichen". Deity Yoga : Buddhism and Theism - Episode 214 Image via www.namgyalmonastery.org This week’s episode’s of the Bob Thurman Podcast was brought to you in part through the monthly support of the Tibet House US Membership Community and Menla Retreat and Dewa Spa in Phoenicia, New York. Gary Gregory Gach is an author, translator, and editor living in San Francisco. A dynamic speaker and teacher in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism his works include the anthology “What Book!? Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop” and the forthcoming “Pause Breathe Smile – Awakening Mindfulness When Meditation is Not Enough”. “Deity Yoga : Buddhism and Theism - Episode 214″ of the Bob Thurman podcast was recorded at the 2017 Force for Good Class Series. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility). This on-going series was inspired by Daniel Goleman’s ‘A Force For Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World‘. To learn more about this year’s Force For Good Series please click the image above or visit: www.tibethouse.us. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved. Listen to more archive recordings from from past Robert A.F. Thurman teachings + public events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. To learn about the benefits of Tibet House US Membership please visit: www.tibethouse.us. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved.

Today's guest is the most impressive Dr. Dave Vago. I first found Dr. Vago in the Ten Percent Happier Meditation app that I use.  In the app, there are several different meditation instructors and courses with educational videos before you get started.  I found a course called "Meditation and the Brain" in the app and I was immediately drawn to it.   I took a deeper look into Dr. Vago and I learned that he is a cognitive neuroscientist and is the research director for the Osher Center of Integrative Medicine at Vanderbuilt University Medical Center.  He also maintains an appointment as a research associate in the Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory (FNL) at Harvard.  If you're not impressed yet, he held the position of Senior Research Coordinator for the Mind & Life Institute and is currently a Mind and Life Fellow, supporting the Mind and Life mission by advising on strategy and programs.  He's worked with John Cabot Zinn and even the Dalai Lama.   Some of his work includes studying brain scans of meditators to determine enhanced areas of blood flow and activity.   His interest in meditation began in his early 20s.  He went to a 10 day silent meditation retreat at the suggestion of his uncle.  His interests in neuroscience and meditation crossed professionally after conducting a study showing that meditation- specifically learning how to regulate attention and emotion helped women with the chronic pain of fibromyalgia.  Topics Discussed in the Podcast  Why Dr. Vago decided to study neuroscience discerning and contextualizing mindfulness & meditation the science of your brain on meditation & parts of the brain change from meditation seeing the Dalai Lama pissed off how to manage anger does exercise count as meditation? flow and meditations meditation and sleep is there an optimal meditation dosage? Listen Now     Resources Contemplative Neuroscience link to instructors for sports teams David Vago's TEDx Talk  Ten Percent Happier App Dr. Vago's interview on the Ten Percent Happier Podcast My Interview with Jeff Warren (a friend of Dr. Vago and also an instructor in Ten Percent Happier)  Podcast Sponsor!  Kuat Racks Support the Show If you would like to support the growth my show, I'd love your contribution on.  Patreon.  The current production of this free show is primarily supported out of my own pocket and a small portion is covered through the donations on Patreon. With my Patreon page, you can donate directly to the show which will help me cover the costs and help it grow! Even 4 bucks a month- the cost of one coffee per month helps a LOT! Thanks, I really appreciate your support! Crowdfunding on Patreon – thank you! Shop my products!  Leave a review or share on social media Don't forget to subscribe! Apple Podcasts Stitcher Google Play Spotify Thanks for listening!

Using the "Esoteric Community" (Guhyasamāja), by Tsongkhapa  Professor Thurman discusses the fractal nature of Buddhist writings and how with proper study and meditation upon their salutatory or opening verses one can understand the full meaning of the Buddha's esoteric and esoteric teachings. Podcast opens with an exploration of the history of Buddhist monastic and university traditions, a teaching on the Seven Ornaments and the six parameters of interpretation used within Tantric and Vajrayana philosophy. Episode includes definitions of Professor Thurman's "Tantric Abidharma", Mind Objective, Speech Isolation, Clear Light and the Central Channel system used in Buddhist Medicine and Inner Sciences. Podcast concludes with a reading of Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s writings on World War Two and the Bombing of Nagasaki by Gary Gach.   This week’s episode’s of the Bob Thurman Podcast was brought to you in part through the monthly support of the Tibet House US Membership Community and Menla Retreat and Dewa Spa in Phoenicia, New York. This podcast is apart of the Buddhist Inner Sciences 101 Podcast Series taken from the Bob Thurman & Tibet House US archives which are intended to provide an introduction to the yogic, meditative & theoretical practices of the tradition. These recordings are intended to be general overviews & one should be studying with a qualified teacher before attempting or engaging in the practices. Exploring Buddhist Opening Verses - Ep. 204 was recorded at the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Sources Class Introduction of the Force for Good Series Class “Buddhist Science Vajrayana Part Three” on November 30th 2016 at Tibet House US in New York City. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility). This on-going series was inspired by Daniel Goleman’s ‘A Force For Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World‘. To learn more about this year’s Force For Good Series please click the image above or visit: www.tibethouse.us. Listen to more archive recordings from from past Robert A.F. Thurman teachings + public events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. To learn about the benefits of Tibet House US Membership please visit: www.tibethouse.us. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved. Gary Gregory Gach is an author, translator, and editor living in San Francisco. A dynamic speaker and teacher in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism his works include the anthology “What Book!? Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop” and the forthcoming “Pause Breathe Smile – Awakening Mindfulness When Meditation is Not Enough”.

In this two part podcast Professor Thurman discusses the value of studying Tibetan Buddhist Vajrayana by anyone interested in improving their mind, relationships and the world around them with or without initiation or empowerment. Opening with a succinct explanation of the different lineages, orders and sects of Tibetan Buddhism from a historical perspective, Robert A.F. Thurman leads a discussion of the common misconceptions of Vajrayana Buddhism since coming to the West giving rise to the appearance of sectarianism and abuses by non-traditional Guru figures. Podcast includes: an overview of the Buddhist Inner Sciences, a short discussion of the distinctions between Mother, Father and Non-Dual Tantra and an introduction to the central channel practices including the Magic Body and Chakra symbolism. Second half of the podcast includes an in-depth exploration of the the symbolism and use of the Bells, Dorjes and Vajra Ritual Implements in art and meditational practices. Podcast concludes with a reading of Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s “Millennial Cities” by Gary Gach. This week’s episode’s of the Bob Thurman Podcast was brought to you in part through the monthly support of the Tibet House US Membership Community and Menla Retreat and Dewa Spa in Phoenicia, New York. This podcast is apart of the Buddhist Inner Sciences 101 Podcast Series taken from the Bob Thurman & Tibet House US archives which are intended to provide an introduction to the yogic, meditative & theoretical practices of the tradition. These recordings are intended to be general overviews & one should be studying with a qualified teacher before attempting or engaging in the practices. Buddhist Sciences : Mother & Father Tantras - Ep. 203 was recorded at the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Sources Class Introduction of the Force for Good Series Class "Buddhist Science Vajrayana Part Three" on November 30th 2016 at Tibet House US in New York City. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility).   This on-going series was inspired by Daniel Goleman’s ‘A Force For Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World‘. To learn more about this year’s Force For Good Series please click the image above or visit: www.tibethouse.us. Listen to more archive recordings from from past Robert AF Thurman teachings + public events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. To learn about the benefits of Tibet House US Membership please visit: www.tibethouse.us. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved. Gary Gregory Gach is an author, translator, and editor living in San Francisco. A dynamic speaker and teacher in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism his works include the anthology “What Book!? Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop” and the forthcoming “Pause Breathe Smile – Awakening Mindfulness When Meditation is Not Enough”.

In this archive recording from the Force For Good class "The Buddha Soul, Nature, Essence, Element, or Womb" Robert A.F. Thurman gives a teaching on the secular nature of Buddhist meditation and mantra practices. Recording opens with discussions of: mindfulness of the breath, instructions on mantra recitation, a history of Zen on Chan Buddhism and an introduction to the Bodhisattva Maitreya’s “The Sublime Continuum Super-Commentary with the Sublime Continuum Treatise Commentary” published by AIBS, Tibet House US and Columbia University Press. Robert A.F. Thurman provides a quick fire summary of the historical Buddha’s core teaching of The Four Noble Truths, an introduction to Buddhism’s messianic figure of Maitreya, Asanga and his brother Vasubandhu, and a humorous perspective of the film “Death Becomes Her”. Includes an extended re-telling of the story of Asanga and the Dog, an in depth discussion of the Three Jewels of Buddhism and an exploration of the Buddhist perspective on the soul, death and the existence of both heavenly and hell-like realms. Buddha Soul - Podcast Bonus RAFT Archives of the Bob Thurman Podcast Photo Young Monks studying by Tenzin Chojeor via www.dalailama.com. This talk was recorded during the "The Buddha Soul, Nature, Essence, Element, or Womb" Force For Good Class at Tibet House US in New York City, October 2017 with Robert A.F. Thurman & is apart of the THUS Member Archive. “When we really feel that there is some need to change, then our minds can change. Wishing and praying alone will not transform your mind, but with conviction and reason, reason based ultimately on your own experience, you can transform your mind. Time is quite an important factor here, and with time our mental attitudes can certainly change.” H.H. Dalai Lama To watch the full recordings from this + other past events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. Learn about joining the Tibet House US Membership Community with a monthly tax-deductible donation by visiting: www.tibethouse.us. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility). This on-going series was inspired by Daniel Goleman’s ‘A Force For Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World‘. To learn more about this year’s Force For Good Series please click the image above or visit: www.tibethouse.us. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved.

In this Force For Good archive recording, Professor Thurman gives a teaching on the history of Buddhism and the Esoteric Vajrayana meditation practices preserved in Tibet and found within all Buddhist traditions and teachings. Opening with a humorous presentation on non-duality using the science fiction movies featuring Godzilla, Robert A.F. Thurman explores the nature of anger, the subtle mind and selflessness. Archive recording includes a discussion of dharmakāya and mandala visualizations using The Four Noble Truths, The Heart Sutra, the mis-titled Tibetan Book of the Dead, an exploration of anger with an explanation of “Buddha Pride” and how confidence in the primal knowledge of voidness can help anyone understand how misplaced pride leads to suffering. This recording includes two guided meditations on selflessness and on visualization appropriate for Buddhists and Non-Buddhists alike, This week’s episode’s of the Bob Thurman Podcast was brought to you in part through the support of the Tibet House US Membership Community and Menla Retreat and Dewa Spa in Phoenicia, New York. Buddhist Sciences Vajrayana : Podcast Bonus RAFT Archives was recorded at the Force For Good Class "Buddhist Sciences II : Vajrayana" on November, 2016 in New York City. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility). This on-going series was inspired by Daniel Goleman’s ‘A Force For Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World‘. To learn more about this year’s Force For Good Series please click the image above or visit: www.tibethouse.us. Listen to more archive recordings from from past Robert A.F. Thurman teachings + public events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. To learn about the benefits of Tibet House US Membership please visit: www.tibethouse.us. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved.

In this two part podcast Professor Thurman gives a teaching on the history of Buddhism and the Esoteric Vajrayana meditation practices preserved in Tibet and found within all Buddhist traditions and teachings. Opening this week's episode with humorous presentation on non-duality using the science fiction movies featuring Godzilla Robert A.F. Thurman explores the nature of anger, the subtle mind and selflessness. Podcast includes a discussion of dharmakāya and mandala visualizations using The Four Noble Truths, The Heart Sutra and of the miss-titled Tibetan Book of the Dead as a popularization of the Buddhist science of the subtle and super subtle mind. Second half of this podcast continues Professor Thurman's exploration of anger with an explanation of "Buddha Pride" and how confidence in the primal knowledge of voidness can help anyone understand how misplaced pride or a pride of ordinariness leads to miss-knowing the blissful nature of reality and suffering. Podcast concludes with a presentation of the work of Arnold J. Toynbee & Karl Jaspers on the Axial Age and a recommendation of "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond. This week's poetry segment Gary Gach reads the poetry of Korean poet, writer, and activist Ko Un. This week’s episode’s of the Bob Thurman Podcast was brought to you in part through the support of the Tibet House US Membership Community and Menla Retreat and Dewa Spa in Phoenicia, New York. Godzilla Sutra : Understanding Anger & The Axial Age - Ep. 191 was recorded at the Force For Good Class on November, 2016 in New York City. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility). This on-going series was inspired by Daniel Goleman’s ‘A Force For Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World‘. To learn more about this year’s Force For Good Series please click the image above or visit: www.tibethouse.us. Listen to more archive recordings from from past Robert A.F. Thurman teachings + public events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. To learn about the benefits of Tibet House US Membership please visit: www.tibethouse.us. Gary Gregory Gach is an author, translator, and editor living in San Francisco. A dynamic speaker and teacher in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism his works include the anthology “What Book!? Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop” and the forthcoming “Pause Breathe Smile – Awakening Mindfulness When Meditation is Not Enough”. Korean poet, writer, and activist Ko Un was born in Gunsan-si, Jeollabuk-do. He was drawn to poetry after discovering the early work of Han Ha-Un, a nomadic Korean poet with leprosy. After witnessing the devastation of the Korean War, Ko entered a monastery and became a Buddhist monk. He left the Buddhist community in 1962. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Ko was detained, tortured, and imprisoned repeatedly for his opposition to the military regime. Ko has twice won the South Korean Literature Prize and received the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry’s Lifetime Recognition Award. He was elected chairman of the Association of Writers for National Literature and was chosen president of the Compilation Committee of the Grand Inter-Korean Dictionary. He has taught at Seoul National University, Kyonggi University, Harvard University, and the University of California at Berkeley. Ko lives in South Korea. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved.

In this archive recording from the “Force for Good” class series Robert A.F. Thurman uses the work of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to elucidate the esoteric sources and imaginative tools used by Tibetan monastics, wandering mendicants, yogis, yoginis and everyday sensitive beings for the cultivation of love, compassion, joy, and equilibrium. Opening with an introduction to the Buddhist Neurosciences as practiced by the Mahāsiddhas using the Cakrasamvara Tantra to develop the art of lucid sleeping, lucid dreaming, and lucid awakening, Professor Thurman provides a road map for seekers of any tradition to positively re-imagine their ability to consciously restructure the brain, relationships and their world through an understanding of the nature of reality. Podcast includes an overview of the Yogic chakras & channels, an explanation of the Mother and Father Tantra systems, the historic reasoning of the secrecy of esoteric teachings due to dangers of becoming conscious of the unconscious and the blissful experiences of the subtle, super subtle and clear light non-dual realities to be discovered by anyone who has developed their inner imaginative microscope through meditative stabilization and the practice of mandala meditations. Recording includes an overview of Nine Point Breath Meditation as taught by Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, introductions to Buddhist Tantra, the Karma Sutra, the history of Theravada and the diverse meditation traditions of India, China and South East Asia, and a frank presentation of so-called “crazy wisdom” by Robert Thurman shedding much needed philosophical light upon the ethical lapses which occur due to milsleading teachers’ and misled students’ misunderstandings of the nature of ultimate and causal realities described by the Buddha and his great successors. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility). This on-going series was inspired by Daniel Goleman’s ‘A Force For Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World‘. To learn more about this year’s Force For Good Series please click the image above or visit: www.tibethouse.us. Listen to more archive recordings from from past Robert A.F. Thurman teachings + public events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. To learn about the benefits of Tibet House US Membership please visit: www.tibethouse.us. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved.

This in depth teaching on the practice and performance of visualization during meditative states Robert A.F. Thurman provides a practical roadmap for those from any religious, cultural or economic background to apply the tools from the esoteric traditions of Buddhist tantra to understand and reduce suffering on all levels. Podcast includes an overview of the subtle energy systems taught by Buddhist Vajrayana and Hindu Shaivism, to the Nine Point Breath Meditation as taught by Dr. Nida Chenagtsang and a discussion on Buddhist Tantra, the Karma Sutra, the history of Theravada and meditation practices. This week’s poetry segment Gary Gach reads the poetry of W. S. Merwin. Pharmacopeia of Visualization : Tantra, Sex and Meditation – Ep. 190 Photo by Matt Briney on Unsplash Gary Gregory Gach is an author, translator, and editor living in San Francisco. A dynamic speaker and teacher in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism his works include the anthology “What Book!? Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop” and the forthcoming “Pause Breathe Smile – Awakening Mindfulness When Meditation is Not Enough”. W.S. Merwin is the 17th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry of the United States. He is the author of over fifty books of poetry, prose, and translations. He has earned every major literary prize, most recently the National Book Award for 'Migration: New and Selected Poems' and the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for 'The Shadow of Sirius.' He lives in Hawaii where he raises endangered palm trees. “Pharmacopeia of Visualization : Tantra, Sex and Meditation – Ep. 189″ of the Bob Thurman podcast was recorded at the 2017 Force for Good Class Series. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility). This on-going series was inspired by Daniel Goleman’s ‘A Force For Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World‘. To learn more about this year’s Force For Good Series please click the image above or visit: www.tibethouse.us. Listen to more archive recordings from from past Robert A.F. Thurman teachings + public events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. To learn about the benefits of Tibet House US Membership please visit: www.tibethouse.us. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved.

Using the work of His Holiness the Dalai Lama as presented in Daniel Goleman's best selling book "Force for Good" Robert A.F. Thurman elucidates the esoteric sources and imaginative tools used by Tibetan monastics, wandering mendicants, yogis, yoginis and everyday sensitive beings for the cultivation of love, compassion, joy, and equilibrium. Opening with an introduction to the Buddhist Neurosciences as practiced by the Mahāsiddhas using the Cakrasamvara Tantra to develop the art of lucid sleeping, lucid dreaming, and lucid awakening, Professor Thurman provides a road map for seekers of any tradition to positively re-imagine their ability to consciously restructure the brain, relationships and their world through an understanding of the nature of reality. Podcast includes an overview of the Yogic chakras & channels, an explanation of the Mother and Father Tantra systems, the historic reasoning of the secrecy of esoteric teachings due to dangers of becoming conscious of the unconscious and the blissful experiences of the subtle, super subtle and clear light non-dual realities to be discovered by anyone who has developed their inner imaginative microscope through meditative stabilization and the practice of mandala meditations. This week’s poetry segment Gary Gach reads "To Paint The Portrait Of A Bird" by Jacques Prévert. Buddhist Psychonauts & Their Yogic Technology - Ep. 189 Photo by Daniil Kuželev on Unsplash Gary Gregory Gach is an author, translator, and editor living in San Francisco. A dynamic speaker and teacher in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism his works include the anthology “What Book!? Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop” and the forthcoming “Pause Breathe Smile – Awakening Mindfulness When Meditation is Not Enough”. “Buddhist Psychonauts & Their Yogic Technology - Ep. 189" of the Bob Thurman podcast was recorded at the 2017 Force for Good Class Series. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility). This on-going series was inspired by Daniel Goleman’s ‘A Force For Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World‘. To learn more about this year’s Force For Good Series please click the image above or visit: www.tibethouse.us. Listen to more archive recordings from from past Robert A.F. Thurman teachings + public events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. To learn about the benefits of Tibet House US Membership please visit: www.tibethouse.us. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved.

In this archive recording from the Tibet House US class "Key Pali Suttas : Samanapala, Kevaddha Sutta, Tevijja Sutta, Agannya Sutta" Robert A.F. Thurman explores rebirth and reincarnation using the colorful Jataka Tales from the Buddha’s past lives providing an overview of the evolution of the notions of Karma, Dharma and community through history. Opening with a discussion of the work of sociologist Talcott Parsons, Robert A.F. Thurman illustrates how the Buddha’s early Pali Suttas (Samanapala, Kevaddha Sutta, Tevijja Sutta, and Agannya Sutta) were secular in nature offering practical insight and tools for seekers looking beyond traditional religion, ritual and superstition through kindness, fellowship and meditative wisdom. Includes: a recommendation of the work of Daniel Goldman, an explanation of the Buddha’s rebellion against religion through the redefining of Dharma and Karma within his mendicant community’s practices and an in-depth exploration of the logic of infinitely connected past and future lives through a close line translation of the ‘Samaññaphala Sutta: The Fruits of the Contemplative Life’ and Jataka Tales including the story of the rabbit and the moon. "Key Pali Suttas : Samanapala, Kevaddha Sutta, Tevijja Sutta, Agannya Sutta" is an excerpt the Force For Good : Buddhist Sources and Practices Beyond Religion. A Teacher’s Training Marathon recorded at Tibet House US in 2016. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility). This on-going series was inspired by Daniel Goleman’s ‘A Force For Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World‘. To learn more about this year’s Force For Good Series please click the image above or visit: www.tibethouse.us. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved.

Exploring rebirth and reincarnation using the colorful Jataka Tales from the Buddha's past lives Professor Thurman in this two part podcast provides listeners with an overview of the evolution of the notions of Karma, Dharma and community across history. Podcast concludes with a reading of the poetry of Naomi Shihab Nye by Gary Gach.     Listen to more archive recordings from from past Robert A.F. Thurman teachings + public events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. To learn about the benefits of Tibet House US Membership please visit: www.tibethouse.us. Gary Gregory Gach is an author, translator, and editor living in San Francisco. A dynamic speaker and teacher in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism his works include the anthology “What Book!? Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop” and the forthcoming “Pause Breathe Smile – Awakening Mindfulness When Meditation is Not Enough”. Naomi Shihab Nye is a poet, songwriter, and novelist born to a Palestinian father and an American mother in St. Louis, Missouri. Nye is the recipient of numerous honors and awards for her work, including a Lavan Award, the Paterson Poetry Prize, the Carity Randall Prize, and many Pushcart Prizes. She has received fellowships from the Lannan Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, and she was a Witter Bynner Fellow. From 2010 to 2015 she served as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility). This on-going series was inspired by Daniel Goleman’s ‘A Force For Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World‘. To learn more about this year’s Force For Good Series please click the image above or visit: www.tibethouse.us. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved.

In this archive recording of the on-going Force For Good Class Series Robert A.F. Thurman and Dr. Nida Chenagtsang give an introduction to Buddhist Tantra and the meditation practices used to accelerate spiritual evolution through the development of one’s magic body. Using Nargajuna‘s verses on clear light, Bodhisattvas, the development of the rainbow body and bliss Professor Thurman gives an introduction to the Unexcelled Yoga Tantra perfection stage teaching of the Sarma (later translation) schools, in tribute to Dr. Nida’s enlightened non-sectarian way of imparting teachings and blessings. Dr. Nida teaches the pith quintessence of the Nyingma Atiyoga Great Perfection (Dzogchen) teaching transmitted from the famous 12th century Enlightened healer, physician, and accomplished Ngagpa yogi and scholar, Yuthok Yonten Gonpo, elucidating key points of his book on that subject, “Ati Yoga: Mirror of Light“. This week’s episode’s of the Bob Thurman Podcast was brought to you in part through the support of the Tibet House US Membership Community and Menla Retreat and Dewa Spa in Phoenicia, New York and Wisdom Publications. Force For Good : Ati Yoga - Podcast Bonus was recorded at the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Sources Force for Good Class Series session "Ati Yoga: According to Yuthok Yonten Gonpo" with Dr. Nida Chenagtsang and Robert A.F. Thurman, Tibet House US, New York City, Winter 2016. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility).   This on-going series was inspired by Daniel Goleman’s ‘A Force For Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World‘. To learn more about this year’s Force For Good Series please click the image above or visit: www.tibethouse.us. Listen to more archive recordings from from past Robert AF Thurman teachings + public events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. To learn about the benefits of Tibet House US Membership please visit: www.tibethouse.us. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved.

Robert A.F. Thurman and Dr. Nida Chenagtsang in this two part podcast give an introduction to Buddhist Tantra and the meditation practices used to accelerate spiritual evolution through the development of one's magic body. Using Nargajuna's verses on clear light, Bodhisattvas, the development of the rainbow body and bliss Professor Thurman gives an introduction to the Unexcelled Yoga Tantra perfection stage teaching of the Sarma (later translation) schools, in tribute to Dr. Nida’s enlightened non-sectarian way of imparting teachings and blessings. Second half of the episode Dr. Nida teaches the pith quintessence of the Nyingma Atiyoga Great Perfection (Dzogchen) teaching transmitted from the famous 12th century Enlightened healer, physician, and accomplished Ngagpa yogi and scholar, Yuthok Yonten Gonpo, elucidating key points of his book on that subject, "Ati Yoga: Mirror of Light". Podcast concludes with a reading of the poetry of Korean poet, writer, and activist Ko Un by Gary Gach. Buddhist Inner Sciences: Revealing Your Magic Body Photo by Aziz Acharki on Unsplash This week’s episode’s of the Bob Thurman Podcast was brought to you in part through the support of the Tibet House US Membership Community and Menla Retreat and Dewa Spa in Phoenicia, New York and Wisdom Publications. This podcast is apart of the Buddhist Inner Sciences 101 Podcast Series taken from the Bob Thurman & Tibet House US archives which are intended to provide an introduction to the yogic, meditative & theoretical practices of the tradition. These recordings are intended to be general overviews & one should be studying with a qualified teacher before attempting or engaging in the practices. Buddhist Inner Sciences: Revealing Your Magic Body - Ep. 183 was recorded at the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Sources Class Introduction of the Force for Good Series at Tibet House US Spring 2018. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility). This on-going series was inspired by Daniel Goleman’s ‘A Force For Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World‘. To learn more about this year’s Force For Good Series please click the image above or visit: www.tibethouse.us. Listen to more archive recordings from from past Robert AF Thurman teachings + public events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. To learn about the benefits of Tibet House US Membership please visit: www.tibethouse.us. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved. Gary Gregory Gach is an author, translator, and editor living in San Francisco. A dynamic speaker and teacher in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism his works include the anthology “What Book!? Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop” and the forthcoming “Pause Breathe Smile – Awakening Mindfulness When Meditation is Not Enough”.

The Buddha is said to have given 84,000 distinct teachings to groups, individuals and super beings such as gods, demons and the spirits of those lost between the bardos of life, death and dreaming during his 45 years of teaching  In this week’s podcast Robert A.F. Thurman leads a close translation of The Jewel Rosary (Ratnāvalī aka Precious Garland) and in his trademark style makes the 3rd Century B.C.E. advice to the Indian King Udayibhadra come alive for today’s interconnected, global village. Opening this two part podcast with stories about Tibet’s Geshe Ben Gungyal, Professor Thurman gives short introductions to the ethics of Buddhism, the history of mindfulness skills training and the sources of bias found in the understanding and presentation of Mahayana Buddhist teachings. The second half of this week’s podcast Robert A.F. Thurman defines the five mental aggregates or body mind processes during a guided meditation and leads an exploration of non-dualism and it’s relationship to the Buddha’s teachings on ethics, emptiness, compassion and his discovery of the blissful nature of reality. Podcast concludes with a discussion of the transcendent virtues, especially upāya (Skillful Means or Liberative Art), the seventh, as presented in the Mahayana sūtras and in the writings of Nāgārjuna. This week’s episode’s of the Bob Thurman Podcast was thanks to Omega Institute & brought to you in part through the support of the Tibet House US Membership Community. Buddhist Advice for Kings, Rulers + Oligarchs is an excerpt from the Force For Good Class “Buddhist Ethics and the World Crisis: Counsel for Kings (Ratnavali) The Ethics of Cool Revolution” held at Tibet House US in New York City April 2018. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility). Listen to more archive recordings from from past Robert AF Thurman teachings + public events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member- to learn about the benefits of Tibet House US Membership please visit: www.tibethouse.us. Full access begins at $2 a month. To watch the full video archive of this teaching or to learn about the next Force For Good Class series please visit: www.tibethouse.us. Buddhist Advice for Kings, Rulers + Oligarchs Chess Photo by Maarten van den Heuvel on Unsplash The songs ‘Dancing Ling’ and ‘Trance Tibet” by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved.

In this two part podcast Professor Thurman discusses the methodologies of Traditional Himalayan Medicine or Sowa Rigpa's Galenic, Chinese, and Ayurvedic roots detailing the diagnostic tools of urine analysis, pulse reading and dialog between doctor and patient. Using the visual medical thankgas depicting "The Four Tantras" Robert A.F. Thurman’s begins this week's podcast with stories from his early days as studying Tibetan Medicine with the Dalai Lama's personal physician and founder of the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute (Men-Tsee-Khang) in Dharamshala, India Yeshe Dhondon, gives an explanation of the Tibetan Phrase "Raising the Banner of Victory on the Mountain Peak" before elaborating the framework and concepts found in the analytic Buddhist Medical sciences known as Sowa Rigpa.  “Tibetan Medicine 101 : Medicine Buddha : Raising The Banner of Victory on The Mountain Peak – Ep. 170″ of the Bob Thurman Podcast is an excerpt from the Force For Good Class “Medicine Buddha: Buddhist Inner Sciences” held at Tibet House US in New York City on November 29, 2017. “It is the gift of scientifically as well spiritually enlightened healers, who not only understand what ails us but also know how to help us understand ourselves and become more conscious about our own health and how to sustain it.First priority for the enlightened healers is awakening us patients to the way our own body-mind complex works in terms we can easily understand. The whole point is to expand our vision of ourselves as beings in a nature that is luckily more beneficial than harmful, especially if we understand how it works.”   Robert A.F. Thurman Tibetan Book of Health: Sowa Rigpa, The Science of Healing     ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility). To watch the full video archive of this teaching please visit: www.tibethouse.us. To listen to more archive recordings from from past Robert AF Thurman teachings + public events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. To Learn about the benefits of Tibet House US Membership please visit: www.tibethouse.us. Full access begins at $2 a month. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved. "Tibetan Medicine 101 : Medicine Buddha : Raising The Banner of Victory on The Mountain Peak – Ep. 170″ of the Bob Thurman Podcast” Photo via www.dalailama.com.  

Opening this week's podcast with a discussion of mindfulness of the breath as it relates to the practice to reciting mantras Professor Thurman gives instructions from the Zen Buddhist tradition before introducing the root text from the 2017 Force For Good Class Series: Dr. Bo Jiang’s translation of Bodhisattva Maitreya’s "The Sublime Continuum Super-Commentary with the Sublime Continuum Treatise Commentary" published by AIBS, Tibet House US and Columbia University Press. In this two part podcast Robert A.F. Thurman provides a quick fire summary of the historical Buddha's core teaching of The Four Noble Truths, an introduction to Buddhism's messianic figure of Maitreya, the future Buddha before going on a deep dive into the history of the 4th Century Indian Author Asanga and his brother Vasubandhu, co-founders of the Yogacara school of philosophy and a humorous perspective of the film "Death Becomes Her". Podcast concludes a re-telling of the story of Asanga and the Dog, an in depth discussion of the Three Jewels of Buddhism (The Buddha, His Teachings and the Community of practitioners of his philosophy known formally as The Sangha) their relationship to mindful bliss, clear light, the subtle body and the death process. Buddha's Mindful Bliss + The Sublime Continuum - Episode #168 of the Bob Thurman Podcast Photo of Hotei Buddha with Asanga and Vasubandhu by Ryan via www.flickr.com. This talk was recorded during the Final #ForceForGood Class at Tibet House US in New York City in 2016 with Krishna Das & Robert AF Thurman & is apart of the THUS Member Archive. "The Dharma doesn't Belong To Buddhism." H.H. Dalai Lama To watch the full recordings from this + other past events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. Learn about joining the Tibet House US Membership Community with a monthly tax-deductible donation by visiting: www.tibethouse.us. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility).   This on-going series was inspired by Daniel Goleman’s ‘A Force For Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World‘. To learn more about this year’s Force For Good Series please click the image above or visit: www.tibethouse.us. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved.  

In this two part podcast Robert AF Thurman leads live translation of "The Samaññaphala Sutta : The Fruit of the Homeless Life" providing the back-stories of the historical figures found in the sutra in order to elucidate the ethical and scientific insights of the Buddha's teachings on the value of the contemplative life. Using this beloved + often referenced sutra in which King Ajatasattu of the Magadha Kingdom questions the Buddha on the benefits of the spiritual life Professor Thurman explains the abundant selection of ascetic practices on offer from the various schools of philosophy at the time and how these ideas can help any spiritual seeker, Buddhist or not. Podcast Includes stories about the Buddha's closest associates including: Jivaka Komarabhacca, his personal physician and the community's doctor, his cousins Devadatta (who led the assassination by elephant attempt on his life) and Ananda his close friend, personal attendant and eventual inheritor of the reigns of leadership of the monastic community after his death + parinirvana. Second half of the podcast begins with a definition of the terms Shramana (Skt. śramaṇa; Tib. དགེ་སྦྱོང་, gejong, Wyl. dge sbyong), Bhagavan (Skt. bhagavant; Tib. བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་, chomdendé; Wyl. bcom ldan ‘das) and a discussion on the secular nature of Buddha's advice found within "The Samaññaphala Sutta". “Buddha's Entourage: Ananda, Jivaka and Devadatta” is an excerpt from the Force For Good Class "The Samaññaphala Sutta : The Fruits of the Homeless Life" held at Tibet House US in New York City Winter 2016. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility). To watch the full video archive of this teaching please visit: www.tibethouse.us. To listen to more archive recordings from from past Robert AF Thurman teachings + public events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. To Learn about the benefits of Tibet House US Membership please visit: www.tibethouse.us. Full access begins at $2 a month. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved. “Buddha's Entourage: Ananda, Jivaka and Devadatta” Photo by Peter Hershey on Unsplash.

Contrasting our modern materialistic terminal lifestyle which denies the interconnection of sensitive beings + the possibility of past + future lives with that of the Infinite Lifestyle as taught by the Buddha Professor Thurman re-frames the traditional translations of key terms found in Shantideva and in describing nirvana as bliss. Opening this two part podcast with an overview of the Buddhist perspective on emptiness Robert AF Thurman leads a discussion on "Shantideva's Bodhisatva's Way to Life" & his book "Infinite Life" highlighting the lessons from each on patience, generosity, creativity + justice. Includes a discussion of the decimal system and the zero's origins in ancient India, it's linguistic + conceptual connections to Shunyata and the place of non-dualism in the Buddha's Teachings. "Bliss is more or less illegal in most cultures." Robert AF Thurman In the second half Professor Thurman gives an overview of the Six Transendences ( Traditionally Known as the Six Perfections) beginning with a detailed examination of selfless compassion, the blissful nature of nirvana & Shantideva's famous presentation of the yoga of patience as the antidote to anger/hate, with its three varieties of tolerant patience, insightful patience, and forgiving patience. Podcast concludes with a short "exchanging self for other" guided meditation on Disney's Living Dessert documentary. "Bliss Suspicion & The Three Types of Justice" is an excerpt from the March 22, 2017 HH Dalai Lama’s A Force for Good: Buddhist Science Sources for Practices Beyond Religion Talk ‘Patience and Creativity Transcendences ’ by Robert AF Thurman recorded at Tibet House US in New York City. To watch the full recordings from this + other past events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. Learn about joining the Tibet House US Membership Community with a monthly tax-deductible donation by visiting: www.tibethouse.us. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility). This on-going series was inspired by Daniel Goleman’s ‘A Force For Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World‘. To learn more about this year’s Force For Good Series please click the image above or visit: www.tibethouse.us. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved. Bliss Suspicion & The Three Types of Justice"Photo Created with love by Ryan McGuire. via www.gratisography.com.

In this podcast Professor Thurman discusses the modern relevance of the Buddha’s Enlightenment, the key place of wisdom in choosing meditation practices and the centrality of understanding emptiness as the logical gateway to selflessness, compassion & generosity. Using The Padmakara Group’s Translation of Shantideva’s ‘Way of the Bodhisattva‘ Fourth & Fifth Chapters on Generosity and Justice Transcendences Robert AF Thurman leads an examination of the basic concepts underlying the Buddhist understanding of justice, patience & generosity. “According to legend, when Shantideva was a student at Nalanda, he was not well liked. The officials and students thought he was lazy and no-good. All he did was sleep and eat and use the toilet (later revealed to be Shantideva’s “three Perfections”), while everyone else was busy studying and practicing. In fact, they wanted to kick him out. However, they decided that Shantideva should at least give one teaching before they expelled him. So one day they came up and demanded that he give a teaching, and Shantideva had never given one before so he was hesitant, but eventually he said okay, let’s do it. They gathered a large group of monks together and erected a very high throne for Shantideva to sit in. They actually planned to embarrass Shantideva because they figured that he wouldn’t know how to get up into the throne. But when Shantideva merely touched the throne, it shrank to normal size. He sat down and they requested he present a teaching that had never been given by anyone before. Shantideva then recited the Bodhicharyavatara or “A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life.” The legend has it that when he got to the 34th verse of the ninth chapter he rose into the sky and finished the rest of the teaching from atop a cloud.” Robert AF Thurman via SF Zen Center   This podcast is an excerpt from the March 15, 2017 HH Dalai Lama’s A Force for Good: Buddhist Science Sources for Practices Beyond Religion Talk ‘Generosity and Justice Transcendences’ by Robert AF Thurman recorded at Tibet House US in New York City. To watch the full recordings from this + other past events please consider becoming a Tibet House US member. Learn about joining the Tibet House US Membership Community with a monthly tax-deductible donation by visiting: www.tibethouse.us. ‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility). This on-going series was inspired by Daniel Goleman’s ‘A Force For Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World‘. To learn more about this year’s Force For Good Series please click the image above or visit: www.tibethouse.us. The song ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge is used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved. Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Through relaxation you can break the vicious circle of pain and stress. This podcast takes you through some easy to learn methods of relaxation, helping it to become part of your daily life and improving your wellbeing. It also lists the benefits of meditation and looks at the supporting scientific evidence, examining why relaxation should be an integral component in your recovery.   Relaxation Relaxation is an integral component of cognitive behavioral treatment programs for chronic pain.1 Taking care of stress and anxiety as a chronic pain patient is crucial for your recovery.   Meditation   Meditation is also a great way to built relaxation into your daily life. There are many different ways of practicing meditation and you have to find what works best for you.   Many people enrich their lives through practicing meditation. When you read interviews with successful CEO´s, entrepreneurs or celebrities who have incorporated meditation routines in their lives it is astonishing to see the huge benefits they experience.   Personal benefits of people who meditate regularly: more happiness having more energy having more creativity living more efficiently a better understanding of ones own emotions more sensitivity to the feelings and emotions of others more control over ones own emotions less pressured by your experiences less stressed feeling more relaxed more calming thoughts control over your sensory filtering improved memory and executive function increased ability to concentrate increased emotional intelligence   Thinking about relaxation, mindfulness and awareness during our recovery can’t be done without looking at some important evidence and thoughts about meditational practices: Mindfulness meditation programs improve anxiety, depression and pain over the course of 2–6 months. The effects are comparable with those you can expect after taking antidepressants for the same period of time, but without the associated toxicities.2 47 placebo-controlled trials all found small to moderate improvements in pain, anxiety and depression. What is really great about this review (Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being from 2013) is that it demonstrates that the meditation group attained better results compared to the control group undertaking an equally intense treatment regarding focus and time, such as lectures, talks and art therapy sessions. If we consider this evidence, then it seems a good reason to check out mindfulness for yourself and see if meditation could be something for you to try.     A definition of mindfulness Mindfulness has been described as a “non-elaborative, non-judgmental awareness” of present moment experience.3 Maybe you have heard of Zen, it´s very closely related to the mindfulness approach. In general mindfulness techniques can be divided into two styles: focused attention "Focused attention is associated with maintaining focus on a specific object, often the changing sensation or flow of the breath or an external object. When attention drifts from the object of focus to a distracting sensory, cognitive or emotional event, the practitioner is taught to acknowledge the event and to disengage from it by gently returning the attention back to the object of meditation".3 open monitoring "By contrast, open monitoring is associated with a non-directed acknowledgement of any sensory, emotional or cognitive event that arises in the mind. Zen meditation is considered to be one form of open monitoring practice. While practicing open monitoring, the practitioner experiences the current sensory or cognitive ‘event’ without evaluation, interpretation, or preference".3   Many guided meditation programs consist of a mix of those two styles. Often changing from one to the other within a meditation session. I also think that it’s really important to know that clinical research into mindfulness has been going on since the early 1980s. For me this means that there is a good scientific evidence for using meditation techniques detached from religious beliefs or dogma for health purposes.   How to start There is plenty of good content on the Internet available for free, simply search for mindful meditation. Check out some talks about meditation on TED.com and be inspired, or check out www.mindful.org Here are some great resources: Free guided meditations from UCLA: Each week has a different theme, and usually includes some introductory comments, a guided meditation, some silent practice time, and closing comments. Presented by the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center. http://marc.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=107 http://marc.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=22   UCSD Center for Mindfulness: Guided audio files for practicing Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) from the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. http://health.ucsd.edu/specialties/mindfulness/programs/mbsr/Pages/audio.aspx   Basic meditation with Tara Brach Free meditations that you can stream or download. https://www.tarabrach.com/guided-meditations/   Contemplative Mind in Society Guided practices from Mirabai Bush, the center’s director, Diana Winston from UCLA’s Mindfulness Awareness Research Center, and Arthur Zajonc, president of the Mind & Life Institute. http://www.contemplativemind.org/practices/recordings   Insight Meditation Society  Selected talks, podcasts, and audio streams, including various lengths of guided meditation. http://www.dharma.org/resources/audio#guided   John Kabat Zinn on youtube: Professor of Medicine Emeritus and creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HYLyuJZKno   Literature:  Morley S, Williams A. New Developments in the Psychological Management of Chronic Pain. CanJPsychiatry. 2015;6060(44):168-175. Goyal M, Singh S, Sibinga E, et al. Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being : a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174(3):357-368. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.13018.Meditation. Zeidan F, Grant J., Brown CA, et al. Mindfulness meditation-related pain relief: Evidence for unique brain mechanisms in the regulation of pain. Neurosci Lett. 2012;520(2):165-173. doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2012.03.082.

Susan Bauer-Wu gave this dharma talk on May 23, 2017 at the Insight Meditation Community of Charlottesville. Susan Bauer-Wu, PhD, is the president of the Mind & Life Institute, a global non-profit organization co-founded 30 years ago by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, which serves as the primary convener, catalyst and community builder for the field of contemplative sciences. In this dharma talk Susan describes the beneficial effects of quiet and solitude and how it help us in the rest of our lives be more present and connected with others. For more information, please visit: imeditation.org

Children around the world are suffering from learning, development, and behavioral problems at record rates. Mindfulness can be taught as a secular way to train the mind and body to assist our youth. Mind-body wellness is typically something we explore as adults, but it's never too early to start, and the sooner and the better. Our guest this week is an expert on teaching mindfulness to young people, and for any parent, educator, or soon-to-be caregiver, this is a must-listen. Listen & Learn: How mindfulness can be described as a quality of intention, balance and compassion as we navigate through life Or as a stance of attention where we not where our intention and state-of-mind is in real time Why social and emotional learning in schools can be a great help in working through some of the bigger problems with developing children How secular mindful practices can be quickly and openly adopted in school systems Why it's important to take a few deliberate breaths before you leave the house, say goodbye, start or end your day How to have kids identify the eye color of friends, teachers, and you so that it acts as a forcing function for concentration ABOUT OUR GUEST She was a co-investigator in a multi-year, multi-site research study at UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center/Semel Institute on the impact of mindfulness in education. She has spoken at the Mind & Life Institute; the University of California at Los Angeles; the University of Massachusetts; the University of Kansas; Columbia University; Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; San Diego Children's Hospital; the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California; the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Barre, Massachusetts; the National University of Singapore; Mahidol University, in Bangkok; Casa Tibet, in Mexico, and many other prestigious institutes in the United States and abroad. Her work has been covered by The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, National Public Radio, various yoga journals, and CBS Morning News. Links & Resources Susan's Main Site Mindful Games Book Nutritional Tip: Caffeinated Tea Got Questions? Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question Or write to us: podcast@yogabody.com Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes Thanks to Our Sponsor: Hot Yoga Teacher Training TAKE THE NEXT STEP! Join Absolute Yoga's 200-Hour Hot Yoga Alliance accredited course in beautiful Koh Samui, Thailand. Sign up now and get an early discount! This training is for: Serious students who want to teach Passionate yoga practitioners Students who want to share hot yoga with the world Extremely small class sizes, great training facility and a dedicated team! Next course starts in October! Learn More

A leading physicist and humanist, Arthur Zajonc is the former President of the Mind & Life Institute. He is also emeritus professor of physics at Amherst College, where he taught from 1978 to 2012, and former director of the Center for Contemplative Mind, which supports appropriate inclusion of contemplative practice in higher education, from 2009 to 2011.Arthur Zajonc delivered "Buddhist Technology: Bringing a New Consciousness to Our Technological Future" on October 18, 1997.If you would like a physical copy of this lecture or others like it, visit centerforneweconomics.org/order-pamphlets to purchase pamphlets of published works and transcripts. The Schumacher Center's applied work seeks to implement the principles described by these speakers within the context of the Berkshire hills of Massachusetts. Our work, both educational and applied, is supported by listeners like you. You can strengthen our mission by making a donation at centerforneweconomics.org/donate, or call us at (413) 528-1737 to make an appointment to visit our research library and office at 140 Jug End Road, Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

David's research interests broadly focus on utilizing translational models to identify and characterize neurobiological substrates mediating psychopathology, to better predict outcomes and potential biologically-based diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for those suffering with mental illness. In this context, David has been specifically focusing on the study of mindfulness-based interventions in clinical settings, and the basic cognitive and neuroscientific mechanisms by which mindfulness-based practices function. We talk about how David began his studies, mindfulness from a scientific approach, and where true happiness is according to science. I would love to hear what you think about this episode. It confirmed what I felt the benefits of mindfulness are and taught me so much more.   Radically Curious David   Getting inspired to think about the mind and the brain and following his bliss Going on a 10-day silent retreat in his 20s after a college course on meditation Presenting his research to the Dalai Lama and what the Dalai Lama told him Finding his calling to bring mindfulness to mainstream medicine and science   Radically Inspired Clarity   In order to practice mindfulness, you don't need to be a Buddhist. These practices help us reduce our attachments in the materialistic world we live in. Every moment counts. Each moment influences who you are right now. You decide how you look at the stressors in your life.   David Vago Answers…   What is mindfulness? What do you think about society and its state of unhappiness? What is  the role of compassion in this framework?   Radically Loved Quotes   “In this context of mindfulness, the goal is not to sit in a room on a cushion, the goal is to connect with other human beings.”   “The realization that there is no self can be very scary.”   “Our own happiness and well being comes from out altruistic motives, and that's empirical research.”   “Each moment is made up of habits of perception and interpretation.”   A Little More About Our Guest   David Vago is an associate psychologist in the Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory (FNL), Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and instructor at Harvard Medical School. He has completed post-doctoral fellowships in the department of Psychiatry at BWH, the Utah Center for Mind-Body Interactions within the University of Utah Medical School, and the Stuart T. Hauser Research Training Program in Biological & Social Psychiatry. David has previously held the position of Senior Research Coordinator for the Mind & Life Institute and is currently a Mind and Life Fellow, supporting the Mind and Life mission by advising on strategy and programs. He received his Bachelors Degree in Brain and Cognitive Sciences in 1997 from the University of Rochester. In 2005, David received his Ph.D. in Cognitive and Neural Sciences with a specialization in learning and memory from the department of Psychology, University of Utah. www.davidvago.bwh.harvard.edu/ Be sure to subscribe to our weekly Radically Loved Updates and listen on iTunes to make sure you never miss an episode!

David’s research interests broadly focus on utilizing translational models to identify and characterize neurobiological substrates mediating psychopathology, to better predict outcomes and potential biologically-based diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for those suffering with mental illness. In this context, David has been specifically focusing on the study of mindfulness-based interventions in clinical settings, and the basic cognitive and neuroscientific mechanisms by which mindfulness-based practices function. We talk about how David began his studies, mindfulness from a scientific approach, and where true happiness is according to science. I would love to hear what you think about this episode. It confirmed what I felt the benefits of mindfulness are and taught me so much more.   Radically Curious David   Getting inspired to think about the mind and the brain and following his bliss Going on a 10-day silent retreat in his 20s after a college course on meditation Presenting his research to the Dalai Lama and what the Dalai Lama told him Finding his calling to bring mindfulness to mainstream medicine and science   Radically Inspired Clarity   In order to practice mindfulness, you don’t need to be a Buddhist. These practices help us reduce our attachments in the materialistic world we live in. Every moment counts. Each moment influences who you are right now. You decide how you look at the stressors in your life.   David Vago Answers…   What is mindfulness? What do you think about society and its state of unhappiness? What is  the role of compassion in this framework?   Radically Loved Quotes   “In this context of mindfulness, the goal is not to sit in a room on a cushion, the goal is to connect with other human beings.”   “The realization that there is no self can be very scary.”   “Our own happiness and well being comes from out altruistic motives, and that’s empirical research.”   “Each moment is made up of habits of perception and interpretation.”   A Little More About Our Guest   David Vago is an associate psychologist in the Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory (FNL), Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and instructor at Harvard Medical School. He has completed post-doctoral fellowships in the department of Psychiatry at BWH, the Utah Center for Mind-Body Interactions within the University of Utah Medical School, and the Stuart T. Hauser Research Training Program in Biological & Social Psychiatry. David has previously held the position of Senior Research Coordinator for the Mind & Life Institute and is currently a Mind and Life Fellow, supporting the Mind and Life mission by advising on strategy and programs. He received his Bachelors Degree in Brain and Cognitive Sciences in 1997 from the University of Rochester. In 2005, David received his Ph.D. in Cognitive and Neural Sciences with a specialization in learning and memory from the department of Psychology, University of Utah. www.davidvago.bwh.harvard.edu/ Be sure to subscribe to our weekly Radically Loved Updates and listen on iTunes to make sure you never miss an episode!

David Vago, an instructor of psychology at Harvard Medical School, has held the position of Senior Research Coordinator for the Mind & Life Institute, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to fostering dialogue and research at the highest possible level between modern science and the great living contemplative traditions. In this episode David relates how his personal mindfulness practice has integrated with his professional scientific research. He talks about the thriving community of scientists interested in mindfulness that has taken root in contemporary academia and research, and he highlights some current projects and lines of inquiry that have benefited from this uniquely supportive atmosphere. Episode Links: www.ContemplativeNeurosciences.com Mind and Life Institute ( http://www.mindandlife.org ) The Dark Night Project ( http://bit.ly/1gc7P2j ) Mapping the Mindful Brain ( http://bit.ly/1gc7Weo ) Contemplative Mind in Life ( http://contemplativemind.wordpress.com )

This week, Adam Engle, the business mastermind behind the Mind and Life Institute, joins us to discuss both the evolution of the project as well as its larger impact. The first Mind and Life Dialogue was held in Dharamsala, India in 1987 with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Since then, Adam says, it has done more than any other organization to help “legitimatize the scientific study of meditation.” Listen in to hear more about how they’ve gone about creating an active collaboration between scientists and contemplatives, and what kind of fruit that collaboration has borne. Episode Links: Educating World Citizens for the 21st Century ( http://www.educatingworldcitizens.org ) Mind & Life Institute ( http://www.mindandlife.org )

David Vago, PhD and Lisa Dale Miller, LMFT, LPCC, SEP tackle the traditional Buddhist concept of "enlightenment" from their modern clinical points of view in a stimulating and fun discussion. Part 2 focuses on S-ART, David's neurobiological framework for describing the positive effects of meditation on self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence; Theravada, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna notions of awakening and not-self; secular mental training; different interventions for different psyches; selflessness/emptiness in psychotherapy; translating the dharma into neuropsychological terms, vedanā (craving and aversion); decentering, embodied cognition; aggregates and seeds of habit mind; other-centeredness and not-self; non-referential compassion; empathy fatigue; refuting self-compassion; clinical Tonglen practice; neurobiological evidence for not-self states; developmental model of awakening; dynamic responsiveness; neurotherapeutics. David Vago, PhD is an associate psychologist in the Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory (FNL), Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and instructor at Harvard Medical School. David has previously held the position of Senior Research Coordinator for the Mind & Life Institute and is currently a Mind and Life Fellow. David’s research interests broadly focus on utilizing translational models to identify and characterize neurobiological substrates mediating psychopathology, to better predict outcomes and potential biologically-based diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for those suffering with mental illness. David has been specifically investigating brain networks supporting self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence in order to clarify adaptive mind-brain-body interactions and their therapeutic relevance in psychiatric disorders. http://davidvago.bwh.harvard.edu/ Lisa Dale Miller, LMFT, LPCC, SEP, is the author of "Effortless Mindfulness: Genuine mental health through awakened presence", a new textbook on Buddhist psychology. She is the creator of Awakened Presence Psychotherapy™ and is a private practice psychotherapist in Los Gatos, Ca. She specializes in mindfulness psychotherapy, Buddhist psychology and is a certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. Lisa trains clinicians in the application of mindfulness interventions and practical Buddhist psychology. Lisa has been a dedicated yogic and Buddhist meditation practitioner for four decades. http://www.lisadalemiller.com

David Vago, PhD and Lisa Dale Miller, LMFT, LPCC, SEP tackle the traditional Buddhist concept of "enlightenment" from their modern clinical points of view in a stimulating and fun discussion. This is the first part of their two-part conversation. Covered topics include: Contextualizing the terms enlightenment, awakening, liberation; demarcating clinical markers of progress on the path; Nirvana and mini-nirvanas; state vs trait changes of awakening; extinction of mental and emotional habits; dissolving greed, hatred and delusion; pure awareness or nature of mind; the inherent problems of quick fix mindfulness. David Vago, PhD is an associate psychologist in the Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory (FNL), Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and instructor at Harvard Medical School. David has previously held the position of Senior Research Coordinator for the Mind & Life Institute and is currently a Mind and Life Fellow. David’s research interests broadly focus on utilizing translational models to identify and characterize neurobiological substrates mediating psychopathology, to better predict outcomes and potential biologically-based diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for those suffering with mental illness. David has been specifically investigating brain networks supporting self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence in order to clarify adaptive mind-brain-body interactions and their therapeutic relevance in psychiatric disorders. http://davidvago.bwh.harvard.edu/ Lisa Dale Miller, LMFT, LPCC, SEP, is the author of "Effortless Mindfulness: Genuine mental health through awakened presence", a new textbook on Buddhist psychology. She is the creator of Awakened Presence Psychotherapy™ and is a private practice psychotherapist in Los Gatos, Ca. She specializes in mindfulness psychotherapy, Buddhist psychology and is a certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. Lisa trains clinicians in the application of mindfulness interventions and practical Buddhist psychology. Lisa has been a dedicated yogic and Buddhist meditation practitioner for four decades. http://www.lisadalemiller.com