Category Archives: Buddhist/Zen

550. Chris Beal

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Chris BealChris Beal discovered Buddhism as an exchange student in Japan in the 1960s. Given her determination, she was sure she would succeed in getting enlightened. But enthusiasm doesn’t always guarantee success, and she went home disappointed, depressed and demoralized.

Thirteen years later, after a spontaneous awakening, she contacted the priest who had been her main teacher in Japan and began a six-year connection which deepened her understanding of what she had realized.

Meanwhile, she sought a spiritual path in the States but found nothing that spoke to her as deeply as her first teacher had until she met Adyashanti twenty years ago. After almost a decade of absorbing his teachings, she found the realization gradually deepening on its own.

Chris enjoys writing about spirituality and spiritual awakening. Her writing includes numerous published book reviews, author interviews, and articles, She is currently seeking publication of her novel, ENLIGHTENMENT OF THE FLESH, in which the main character’s dilemma reflects that of many seekers: How do you know which way will lead to the ultimate Truth when what you are seeking is not in the realm of imagining?

Chris’s Blogs:

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this interview.

Interview recorded May 16, 2020

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.

YouTube Video Chapters:

  • 00:00:00 – Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
  • 00:05:25 – The Unimaginable Nature of Awakening
  • 00:10:10 – Perspectives on Enlightenment and Awakening
  • 00:13:54 – The Importance of Suffering in Enlightenment
  • 00:18:09 – A Conversation about Suffering and Bliss
  • 00:22:20 – Seeds of Enlightenment
  • 00:26:09 – Entering Nirvana and the Struggle
  • 00:30:07 – Dependency and Longing for Love
  • 00:33:16 – Cultivating Discernment on the Spiritual Path
  • 00:36:27 – Awakening and the Role of Teachers
  • 00:40:33 – The Path of Everything Being Okay
  • 00:44:47 – The Story of My Spiritual Journey
  • 00:48:48 – The Deeper Place
  • 00:52:40 – Neurophysiological Makeup and Purification
  • 00:57:11 – Experiencing Lack of Separation
  • 01:01:04 – Connecting with the Energetic Field
  • 01:04:11 – The Illusion of Awakening as Effortless
  • 01:07:42 – The Paradox of Separate Domains
  • 01:11:31 – The Debate on Free Will and Choice
  • 01:15:20 – The Pitfall of Comparing Yourself to Others
  • 01:18:40 – The Razor’s Edge on the Spiritual Path
  • 01:21:52 – The Process of Awakening and Abiding
  • 01:24:37 – Recognizing Awakeness vs Behavior
  • 01:28:08 – Association for Spiritual Integrity
  • 01:31:33 – The Role of a Teacher in Enlivening the Field
  • 01:36:12 – The Role of Fiction in Understanding Ultimate Reality
  • 01:39:33 – Spiritual Fiction Recommendations
  • 01:42:14 – Discussing Buddhist Fiction and Mythical Stories
  • 01:45:26 – The Transcendent Last Chapter
  • 01:49:00 – Interactive Blogs and Literary Discussions
  • 01:51:17 – Wrapping Up and Next Guest Announcement

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543. Cynthia Jurs

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Cynthia JursCynthia Jurs is a Tibetan Buddhist lama and a Dharmacharya in the Order of Interbeing of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh whose source of refuge and spiritual inspiration is Mother Earth; Gaia. In 1990, she made a life-changing pilgrimage to meet the hermit and meditation master, Kushok Mangden Charok Rinpoche, a 106-year-old lama living in a remote cave in Nepal from whom she received the practice of the Earth Treasure Vases when she asked him, “What can we do to bring healing and protection to the Earth?”

For thirty years, Cynthia has been building a global community committed to planetary healing and collective awakening in partnership with elders and activists around the world. Cynthia teaches an innovative blend of engaged Buddhism and sacred activism through the Earth Treasure Vase Global Healing Project, the Open Way Sangha in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the international Gaia Mandala Community. Through her nonprofit, Alliance for the Earth, Cynthia has worked with former combatants and the women who stopped a war in Liberia, West Africa, to build peace, teaching mindfulness and co-founding the Peace Hut Alliance for Conflict Transformation. Cynthia’s book, Summoned by the Earth, is forthcoming.

  • New website – GaiaMandala.net – the home for our global healing community with many practices, calls, courses and more ways to get involved in our work of global healing and collective awakening.
  • Old Website: EarthTreasureVase.org
  • Join the monthly Full Moon Earth Treasure Vase Global Healing Meditation here. This is a free call via Zoom. A recording is automatically sent out to registered participants.
  • Monday Mindfulness Meditation, a weekly gathering via Zoom at 4 pm Pacific // 5 pm Mountain // 7 pm Eastern. As we shelter at home, we can meet this moment of collective crisis and opportunity with calm and clarity by cultivating a practice of calm abiding in mindfulness.  In this weekly 1.5-hour practice group, we will sit, walk and sit again—entering into the quiet space within and stopping to catch our breath, to center ourselves, to let go of worry and fear and reconnect with our true source of Being. At the end of our practice, there will be an opportunity for mindful sharing around the circle. Click here if you are interested in participating.

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this interview.

Interview recorded March 28, 2020

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.

YouTube Video Chapters:

  • 00:00:00 – Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
  • 00:04:45 – The Wisdom and Suffering of the Virus
  • 00:09:00 – The Trim Tab Effect on Climate Change
  • 00:12:38 – The Wisdom of the Dogon Elder
  • 00:16:53 – Meeting the 106-year-old Lama
  • 00:20:07 – Healing and Protection for the Earth
  • 00:24:50 – The Power of Earth Treasure Vases
  • 00:28:49 – The Power of Offering and Alchemy
  • 00:33:32 – Becoming a Vessel for Healing and Protection
  • 00:37:34 – Getting Out of Our Own Way
  • 00:41:11 – Women’s Peace Movement in Liberia
  • 00:45:30 – The Ceremony and Burial
  • 00:49:24 – From Soldier to Peace Builder in Liberia
  • 00:53:10 – The Urgency of Addressing the Crisis in Congo
  • 00:57:39 – A Symbolic Wedding: The Burial Ceremony
  • 01:01:39 – The Power of Clay Pots and Tree Planting
  • 01:04:57 – Distributing Treasure Vases to Sacred Places
  • 01:09:31 – The Balance Between Masculine and Feminine Energies
  • 01:14:24 – Healing Cultural Disruption and Oppression
  • 01:19:44 – The Liberating Power of Reframing the Story of the Buddha
  • 01:24:14 – A Blessing From the Wise Woman in the Cave
  • 01:27:46 – The Earth as my Greatest Teacher
  • 01:31:25 – Awakening to a New Evolutionary Turn
  • 01:35:58 – Making Offerings and Establishing Relationships
  • 01:41:21 – The Importance of Balance and Service
  • 01:45:16 – The Practice of Service
  • 01:48:21 – The Possibility of Something Different
  • 01:52:06 – Stewarding the Vases
  • 01:55:32 – Full Moon Meditation Announcement and Gaia Calling Course Information
  • 01:58:19 – Closing Remarks and Contact Information
  • 02:00:27 – Music Segment

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521. Henry Shukman

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Henry ShukmanHenry Shukman (Ryu’un-ken) is an Associate Zen Master of the Sanbo Zen lineage, based in Kamakura, Japan. He has trained primarily with Joan Rieck Roshi, Zen teacher John Gaynor, Ruben Habito Roshi, and now continues his training under the guidance of Yamada Ryoun Roshi, current abbot of Sanbo Zen. Henry is dedicated to what he sees as core Zen training—clarifying our essential nature to our own satisfaction, and thereby finding true peace of mind, and then living that essential nature in every moment of daily life, in freedom, love and deep responsiveness.

As it happens, Mountain Cloud Zen Center was originally founded by a teacher whose training also took place within Sanbo Zen back in the 1950s, and Henry is the first Sanbo Zen teacher to have taught at Mountain Cloud since its founder.

Henry is a writer and poet of British-Jewish origin, who has published eight books to date, of fiction, poetry and nonfiction. He writes regularly for Tricycle, The New York Times and other publications, and his most recent book is the poetry collection Archangel. He lives near the center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife Clare and their two sons.

Earlier books:

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this interview.

Interview conducted October 12, 2019

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.

Henry adds, “At one point in our conversation I start to outline several “levels” of practice that have traditionally been outlined in zen. But partway through I slipped into another categorization of “wisdom levels” as given by Shinzen Young, a mentor of mine. I should have credited him. With apologies, I’m doing so now. Many thanks.”

YouTube Video Chapters:

  • 00:00:00 – Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
  • 00:04:10 – A Brief Introduction and the New Book
  • 00:07:37 – Finding Belonging in the Universe
  • 00:11:54 – Emotional Wounds and Healing Journey
  • 00:16:00 – Recalibrating and Finding Balance
  • 00:19:55 – The Different Levels of Personal Psychology
  • 00:24:16 – Discovering Zen Meditation
  • 00:29:02 – Awakening through Different Senses
  • 00:33:34 – Becoming Inseparable from All Phenomena
  • 00:37:56 – The Importance of Having a Teacher
  • 00:41:53 – A Shift in Perception and the Dissolution of Self
  • 00:46:13 – The Marvel of Each Moment
  • 00:50:06 – Humility and ongoing training in spiritual practice
  • 00:54:22 – The Wall of Awakening
  • 00:58:19 – Shifting to a Perspective of No Self
  • 01:02:24 – The Importance of Multiple Valences in Practice
  • 01:06:51 – Feeling Excluded in Pickleball
  • 01:10:49 – Presenting the Koan
  • 01:14:52 – Trusting the Process and the Yearning
  • 01:18:59 – Awakening and Levels of Realization in Zen
  • 01:23:06 – The Ten Stages of Zen Awakening
  • 01:26:59 – The Beauty of Not Knowing
  • 01:31:08 – Humility, Gratitude, and Compassion
  • 01:35:11 – The Latent Energy of the Universe
  • 01:39:40 – Falling into the Mystery
  • 01:44:02 – The Cup Running Over
  • 01:48:04 – Beings in the Buddhist Realm
  • 01:52:17 – Finding the Hara in Zen Practice and What is Looking?
  • 01:56:41 – The Importance of Teachers
  • 02:01:12 – The Buddha with a small “b”
  • 02:05:10 – Wrapping Up the Interview

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