Brad Warner - The Great Cosmic Jam Session (The Ethics of Space, Time, & Being)

10/06/20 • 51 min

Angel City Zen Center - Beginners Only Podcast

"When we are very, very quiet, sometimes we can perceive the entire symphony of life as a whole. ...even while we only experience only one note at a time, we can know for certain that the whole of the symphony exists." - Brad Warner

Brad unveils a brand new chapter from the brand new book he's been working on all about the intersection of non duality and ethics, which is to say, how to play our one perfect little note in the great cosmic symphony we call the universe. An in depth and freewheeling discussion ensues all about the ironies of feeling like an outsider in a practice of non separation, how to be a constructive contrarian in community practice, and how Brad personally tries to fulfill his late teacher's lofty aspirations for Buddhism even when he's not.

Previous Episode

Dave Cuomo - Zen's Golden Dark Age (History of Zen)

"If you want to know why Zen survived, light the incense, do the sit, and listen. It's what the koans describe, what Dogen tried to explain. There's nothing that could go away, nothing to defend..." - Dave Cuomo

Dave brings us the epic tale of Zen's golden age, when the great masters we know and love from the koans could enlighten you with a single well timed word, a shout, a blow from their stick, or a simple lift of an eyebrow. But it turns out this golden age was also a mini dark age! Just as Zen is flourishing, China spends 200 years in the chaos and confusion of a crumbling society. Did Zen have a special answer for these dark times? And why did it flourish so spectacularly while everything else fell apart around it? Can we believe our own legends or it all just clever PR? Let's find out...

Next Episode

Emily Eslami - Black Vipers & Cold Rocks (Precepts pt 4 - Sex & Desire)

"I lack therefore I want.
I get what I want and I want more.
I get what I want and it didn’t make me happier, so I’m going to push it away.
This is why we sit.

We're not advocating for celibacy or abstinence, We're advocating for awareness;
for looking very carefully at yourself and your actions at all times."
- Emily Eslami

In the latest installment of her all encompassing and ever timely precept series, Emily takes on that stickiest and trickiest of precepts - "Not holding excessive desires," aka not misusing sex. But what can we lay people learn about this most seductive of desires from a celibate monastic tradition? Fortunately Emily is here to give us a raw look at the real lives and trials of these monks all while trying to answer the question of what to do with our own desires and how to handle the hurt they might inevitably involve. From Buddhist sex scandals, to the right and wrongs way to show a sex worker your gratitude, to a formerly married monastic couple slipping off in the woods to renew (/test?) their vows right under Buddha's scolding gaze, Emily gives us the full story in a must listen episode for anyone out there who's ever wrestled with any kind of desire. What do we truly want when we want?? Find out here!