In this episode 6 chapters
- From Burning Monk to India
Surya Das traces his path from first seeing a self-immolating Vietnamese monk on TV, through 60s reading, a first Zen sesshin, Woodstock and Kent State, to India and his teachers.
- Recognizing the Nature of Mind
Surya Das's three-year Dzogchen retreat finally showed him the nature of mind.
- The Bridge Generation
Moving the Dharma into a new culture takes generations.
- Dharma Meets Modern Culture
The challenge now is getting the teachings into modern culture without modern culture wrecking them.
- Boomeritis and the Stages
Ken separates meditative states from value stages and warns that turquoise-level teachings are being translated down into green postmodernism.
- Bodhisattvas After 9/11
Surya Das reflects on the shock of 9/11 and on balancing staying informed with long-term practice.
“We have to be the changes we need to see. We have to be those leaders.”Lama Surya Das
In this lively conversation, Surya Das recounts his own personal story on the spiritual path, from seeking to realizing, with all the trials and tribulations inherent in a journey without a goal.
In this wide-ranging discussion of the obstacles and opportunities of bringing a new religion into a culture — in this case, Buddhism into America — Surya Das covers a multitude of critical issues, issues that confront not merely Buddhism but spirituality in general as it encounters the modern and postmodern world.
One of the major difficulties is the reluctance of the older culture (such as Tibetan and Japanese) to release their teachings to “barbarians” (that would be us). Yet once the leap is made, the religion lands in a new culture where the obstacles can be even greater. Foremost among these include the dilution of the dharma; popularizing it to the extent that it no longer possesses any depth or liberating power; and “boomeritis Buddhism,” which Ken covers in galvanizing detail.
Images by Tashi Mannox [+view gallery]
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About Lama Surya Das
Lama Surya Das is one of the foremost Western Buddhist meditation teachers and scholars. Surya Das teaches and lectures around the world, conducting dozens of meditation retreats and workshops each year.
About Ken Wilber
Ken Wilber is a preeminent scholar of the Integral stage of human development. He is an internationally acknowledged leader, founder of Integral Institute, and co-founder of Integral Life. Ken is the originator of arguably the first truly comprehensive or integrative world philosophy, aptly named “Integral Theory”.
