Katherine MacLean, PhD. is an academically trained research scientist and meditation practitioner with a long-standing interest in the brain, consciousness and the science of well-being. As a postdoctoral research fellow and faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, she worked on the largest study to date combining psychedelics and meditation. Her research on psilocybin and personality change suggests that psychedelic medicines may play an important role in enhancing men...
Jul 29, 2015•22 min
Lama Karma (Justin Wall) graduated from Columbia University with degrees in Religious Studies and Literature and has been practicing Buddhism for over 12 years. He completed two traditional three-year retreats under the direction of Lama Norlha Rinpoche at Kagyu Thubten Choling Monastery in New York, studying and practicing in the Karma Kagyu, Shangpa Kagyu and Nyingma Traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. In this talk from the 2014 Buddhist Geeks Conference, Lama Karma describes the gap between the m...
Jul 29, 2015•22 min
Noah Levine, author of Dharma Punx and Against The Stream, is a Buddhist teacher, author and counselor. He is trained to teach by Jack Kornfield of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, CA, holds a masters degree in counseling psychology from CIIS, and has studied with many prominent teachers in both the Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist traditions. In this talk from the 2014 Buddhist Geeks Conference, Noah describes the benefits of a Buddhist oriented addiction recovery path. Telling the sto...
Jul 29, 2015•15 min
Theo Horesh is a social entrepreneur, philosopher, and author of two books of global social psychology. He has been meditating for over 25 years and has spent the last 10 intensively studying the world. He has recently begun reporting on the collective traumas in global trouble spots for the Journal of Conflict Resolution and Elephant Journal. In this talk from the 2014 Buddhist Geeks Conference, Theo discusses the themes behind his book Convergence: The Globalization of Mind . While describing ...
Jul 29, 2015•22 min
David Loy is a professor, writer, and Zen teacher. He is especially concerned about social and ecological issues, and believes there is an important parallel between what Buddhism says about our personal predicament and our collective predicament today in relation to the rest of the biosphere. In the second part of the keynote address David gave at the 2013 Buddhist Geeks Conference, he argues that our species needs an evolution of our cultural story if we are to survive the many changes we face...
Jul 29, 2015•26 min
David Loy is a professor, writer, and Zen teacher in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition of Japanese Zen Buddhism. He lectures nationally and internationally on various topics, focusing primarily on the encounter between Buddhism and modernity: what each can learn from the other. In the first part of the keynote address David gave at the 2013 Buddhist Geeks Conference, he presents a social narrative that features a living Cosmos waking up to itself. He explains how humanity needs to create a new global s...
Jul 29, 2015•33 min
Jessica Morey is the Executive Director of Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme). Before joining iBme, Jessica worked in clean energy and climate policy and finance. Her published works range from the chapter “Ordinary Awakening” in Blue Jean Buddha to Conflict Resolution of the Boruca Hydro-Energy Project: Renewable Energy Production in Costa Rica. In this conversation with host Vincent Horn, Jessica describes her experience with Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme) and its roots with ...
Jul 29, 2015•43 min
Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a neuropsychologist, Senior Fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, and New York Times best-selling author. He’s been an invited speaker at Oxford, Stanford, and Harvard, and taught in meditation centers worldwide. In the conclusion to his 2013 Buddhist Geeks Conference keynote address, Rick answers questions from the audience and leads them through the HEAL exercise, a process which trains the brain to reprogram its natural negativity bias towards the po...
Jul 29, 2015•39 min
Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a neuropsychologist, Senior Fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, and New York Times best-selling author. He’s been an invited speaker at Oxford, Stanford, and Harvard, and taught in meditation centers worldwide. In this first part of the keynote address Rick presented at the 2013 Buddhist Geeks Conference, he explores the intersection between dharma practice and neuroscience. Rick explains the basic mechanisms of brain change, the power of mindfulness,...
Jul 29, 2015•36 min
Stephen Batchelor is a contemporary Buddhist teacher and writer, best known for his secular or agnostic approach to Buddhism. He considers Buddhism to be a constantly evolving culture of awakening rather than a religious system based on immutable dogmas and beliefs. In this episode taken from the Buddhist Geeks Conference in 2012, Stephen delivers the second part of his keynote address on the importance of imagination in Buddhist practice. He encourages the audience to view the Buddhist path as ...
Jul 29, 2015•39 min
Stephen Batchelor is a contemporary Buddhist teacher and writer, best known for his secular or agnostic approach to Buddhism. He considers Buddhism to be a constantly evolving culture of awakening rather than a religious system based on immutable dogmas and beliefs. In this episode taken from the 2012 Buddhist Geeks Conference, Stephen delivers a keynote address on the importance, with Buddhist practice, of combining technical skill with imagination. Drawing comparisons between mindfulness pract...
Jul 29, 2015•30 min
Scott Snibbe is a pioneering digital artist and entrepreneur whose work includes interactive apps, videos, and installations. He practices in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and his art is frequently informed by his spiritual practice. In this episode, Scott joins host Vincent Horn for an intimate conversation about Scott’s art & contemplative practice. As Scott describes his art infused childhood and the transition from Christian Science to Tibetan Buddhism, they touch on the source of crea...
Jul 29, 2015•44 min
Jake Davis is a philosopher and Buddhist practitioner and David Vago is a Contemplative neuroscientist. Together they are at the forefront of the scientific investigation of Enlightenment. In this episode David and Jake conclude a conversation with host Vincent Horn concerning the scientific investigation of states of Enlightenment. They elaborate on the methods and motivations involved when attempting to quantify Enlightenment, discuss the pitfalls of spiritual materialism, and invite criticism...
Jul 29, 2015•36 min
David Vago is a contemplative neuroscientist and Jake Davis is a philosopher and Buddhist practitioner. Together they have authored an article proposing the question of whether Enlightenment can be traced to specific neural, cognitive, or behavioral correlates–and if so what those might be. In this episode David and Jake join host Vincent Horn to discuss the article titled “Can enlightenment be traced to specific neural correlates, cognition, or behavior? No, and (a qualified) Yes”. Jake and Dav...
Jul 29, 2015•24 min
Shingon teacher Hokai Sobol and religious studies scholar Dr. Pamela Winfield join host Vincent Horn to continue a conversation that digs deeper into the paradigms of enlightenment presented in Japanese Buddhism. Beginning with an explanation of the two different paradigms for the experience of enlightenment presented in Zen and Mikkyō, the unitive & purgative, Pamela briefly describes the results of her studies. Hokai then relates his understanding of the two ideas based on his personal pra...
Jul 29, 2015•35 min
Dr. Pamela Winfield and Shingon teacher Hokai Sobol join host Vincent Horn to discuss the book Icons and Iconoclasm in Japanese Buddhism: Kukai and Dogen on the Art of Enlightenment. By examining two different models of enlightenment–one from the founder of Shingon Buddhism, Kūkai (Kōbō-Daishi), and the other from the pivotal Zen figure, Dōgen Zenji, the group explores the role that art & imagery play in the awakening experience. The conversation touches on how studies of texts and iconograp...
Jul 29, 2015•23 min
Matt Bieber is an author, political junkie, and practitioner in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. In this episode Matt and host Vincent Horn conclude their conversation exploring the intersection between Buddhist practice and politics. Asking whether our political and economic systems are geared towards idealized humanity or humans as they really are, Matt and Vincent discuss what the political world might look like if built to acknowledge Buddha Nature. This is part two of a two part series. List...
Jul 28, 2015•21 min
Matt Bieber is an author, political junkie, and practitioner in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. In this episode Matt joins host Vincent Horn to explore politics through the lens of Buddhism. Matt shares insights gained as a speechwriter for Vice President Biden, how he began to consider the impact Buddhist thought could have on politics, and how Buddhist training helps him see the political world in a new way. This is part one of a two part series. Listen to part two: The Politics of Buddha Natu...
Jul 28, 2015•29 min
Jason Lange is a Los Angeles based writer and director exploring the intersections of filmmaking, technology, and transformation. In this episode Jason joins host Vincent Horn to discuss his recent article “The Coming Age of Technodelics” which explores technologies that may enable some of the same experiences that meditation and psychedelics have traditionally provided. By comparing and contrasting psychedelics and technodelics, the conversation examines the possible uses and usefulness of mind...
Jul 28, 2015•33 min
Lama Willa Miller, David Loy, and host Vincent Horn conclude a Geeks of the Round Table discussion on the intersection of Buddhism with ecological activism. They explore the idea that the Buddha was a social and political activist, what it means to acknowledge ecology as an ethical issue, and how these larger issues affect the teaching of Buddhism today. This is part two of a two part series. Listen to part one: Eco-Dharma. Episode Links: Wonderwell Mountain Refuge ( wonderwellrefuge.org ) www.D...
Jul 28, 2015•28 min
Ann Gleig is an Assistant Professor of Religious and Cultural Studies at the University of Central Florida. She is currently working on projects on the North American revisioning of Asian liberation traditions, and Buddhism in Postmodernity. In this episode taken from the 2013 Buddhist Geeks Conference, Ann presents the findings of her academic article on Buddhist Geeks, which was published in the Journal of Global Buddhism. She offers an engaging analysis of the interactions between Buddhism, B...
Jul 28, 2015•31 min
Lama Willa Miller and David Loy join host Vincent Horn for Geeks of the Round Table to discuss how Buddhist concerns intersect with ecological & activist concerns. The trio talk about the upcoming Eco-Dharma Conference, examine some ways Buddhist philosophy can contribute to the global ecology discussion, and then discuss the supposed disparities between Buddhism and ecological activism. This is part one of a two part series. Listen to part two BG 323: Bodhisattva Activist. Episode Links: Wo...
Jul 28, 2015•27 min
Martin Aylward is a vipassana teacher and founder of Le Moulin Meditation Centre. He has been leading retreats worldwide, teaching meditation, and supporting groups and individuals since 1999. In this episode taken from the 2013 Buddhist Geeks Conference, Martin speaks on the relationship between the dharma and sex. He examines the general lack of dharma teachings concerning sex, the results of his own inquiry to the subject, and his belief in the potential of sexuality as a powerful tool for tr...
Jul 28, 2015•24 min
Erik Braun is an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at University of Oklahoma. He is the author of The Birth of Insight: Meditation, Modern Buddhism, and the Burmese Monk Ledi Sayadaw. In this episode, Erik joins host Vincent Horn to discuss his book and the legacy of Burmese monk Ledi Sayadaw. By connecting the dots between changes in Burmese Buddhism with the political disruption caused by the British takeover of Burma in the late 19th Century, Erik describes Ledi’s role in bringing insi...
Jul 28, 2015•30 min
Erik Braun is an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at University of Oklahoma. He is the author of The Birth of Insight: Meditation, Modern Buddhism, and the Burmese Monk Ledi Sayadaw. In this episode Erik and host Vincent Horn continue a discussion on Burmese Monk Ledi Sayadaw and his role in bringing insight meditation to the world. The conversation digs deeper into the connections between Burmese political disruption and changes to Buddhist practice in Burma, how meditation became more ...
Jul 28, 2015•29 min
Marianne Elliott is an attorney, human rights advocate, and the author of Zen Under Fire, a memoir about her work in Afghanistan. In this episode taken from the 2013 Buddhist Geeks Conference, Marianne shares her belief that mindfulness practice alone isn’t enough to put an end to the suffering of the world. By first unpacking a few areas of social suffering that have deeply touched her, Marianne talks about the practical strategies she employs when working towards positive social change. As she...
Jul 28, 2015•20 min
Jerry Colonna was a venture capitalist in New York City and played a prominent part in the early development of Silicon Alley–he is known by some as the “Yoda of Silicon Alley.” He is currently a life and business coach and serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Naropa University. Jerry is an investor and close mentor to the Buddhist Geeks team. In this episode taken from the 2013 Buddhist Geeks Conference, Jerry speaks about confronting the demon and dharma of uncertainty. By first ...
Jul 28, 2015•22 min
Alexander Bard is a cyber philosopher and the co-founder of the Syntheist Movement. He is the co-author of The Futurica Trilogy, a series of books concerning Internet philosophy and futurist studies. In this episode, Alexander joins host Vincent Horn to discuss the origins and concepts of the Syntheist Movement and it’s intersection with Buddhist practice & thought. Using the setting of the annual Burning Man event to illustrate humanity’s sometimes unconscious desire to gather and practice ...
Jul 28, 2015•50 min
David Chapman is a writer, computer scientist, engineer and Buddhist practitioner. He blogs on several sites including Meaningness, Approaching Aro, and Buddhism for Vampires. In this episode, David joins host Vincent Horn for the second part of their discussion on the challenges facing the reinvention of Buddhist Tantra. David first compares “zombie ritual” with “living ritual”, pointing out the ideal characteristics of useful ritual practices. David and Vincent then examine the importance of p...
Jul 28, 2015•29 min
David Chapman is a writer, computer scientist, engineer and Buddhist practitioner. He blogs on several sites including Meaningness, Approaching Aro, and Buddhism for Vampires. In this episode, David joins host Vincent Horn for a discussion on the topic of Buddhist Tantra. Beginning by stating his interest and intentions with recent writing on Buddhist Tantra, David gives a quick definition of Tantra and begins to unpack that definition and how it relates to Buddhism. Vincent and David then discu...
Jul 28, 2015•32 min
