The Imperfect Buddha Podcast

• 120 Non Buddhist Mysticism: Performing Irreducible and Primitive Presence

  Glenn’s latest, Non Buddhist Mysticism: Performing Irreducible and Primitive Presence (Eyecorner Press, 2022), presents a radical reorientation to “spiritual” practice. Drawing from François Laruelle’s concept of future mysticism and the author’s own previous work on non-buddhism, Glenn Wallis galvanizes a materialist spirituality for the twenty-first century. Liberated from the punctilious gaze of the masters, delivered into the hands (and hearts) of the reader, this is a spirituality “born in the spirit of heresy rather than sanctity.” The intended outcome is a subject “fit for the clash with Hell” – a person equipped, lovingly and compassionately, to confront the injustices of the world. We also look at the great work taking place at INCITE Seminars, a place of practice which all listeners are invited to. Order at EyeCorner Press Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• 119 Alone in a World of Wounds with Zen Abbot Shodhin Geiman

  Shodhin Geiman is Sensei & Abbot at Chicago Zen Center and recently retired Senior Research Professor at Valparaiso University. He has written on aspects of the Dharma and on points of interface between Buddhist and Christian spirituality. His book, Alone in a World of Wounds: A Dharmic Response to the Ills of Sentient Beings (Cascade Books, 2022). Another, Obstacles to Stillness: Thoughts, Hindrances, and Self-Surrender in Evagrius and the Buddha (Fortress Press, 2023), came out in 2023. He is currently working on a book exploring the intrepid fearlessness of bodhisattvic aspiration. In this conversation we explore his views on Dharma and Activism and Engaged Buddhism as developed in his critical take on both, Alone in a World of Wounds. We discuss; 1. His two books on practice. 2. The concepts of deliverance of mind and non-adherence in the practicing life. 3. The unfashionable practices of patience and forbearance and why they matter. 4. Why mixing Buddhism and activism is not all it is cracked up to be. 5. The inherent problems with trying to serve two masters and the impact this has on dharma practice. 6. The Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizekis critique of the New left and activism and the call to stop and think before acting. 7. How the desire to fix the world runs in tandem with the desire to fix ourselves and how both are so deeply rooted in American Buddhism. 8. Kant and sublime objects. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• 118 Nietzsche Now! With Glenn Wallis

  Nietzsche Now! Now? Really, you might ask. Isn’t he dead already? The Great Immoralist on the vital issues of our time. Hmm, how is that you might ask. Find out in this conversation with Glenn Wallis, returning guest and author of Nietzsche Now! We discuss the role Nietzsche might play today in helping all of us exit the culture war bubble and start to think again. For regular listeners, don’t worry, we do touch on Buddhism too! The Press Release does much of the work in explaining the appeal of this book. ‘For readers both acquainted with and new to the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche, Nietzsche NOW! (Warbler Press, 2024) frames and explains Nietzsche’s thinking on topics of immediate contemporary concern and relevance. Wallis unpacks Nietzsche’s complex philosophy with a deft, empathetic, and brilliantly subtle analysis of the views of the Great Immoralist on democracy, identity, civilization, consciousness, religion, and other momentous topics. Throughout, Wallis includes ample extracts from Nietzsche himself. Rather than skirting what is controversial or editing for easy consumption, Wallis invites readers to exercise a courageous curiosity that yields a rich, nuanced understanding of Nietzsche. He takes readers on a sometimes counterintuitive, always revelatory journey to grasp the relevance of Nietzsche for our contentious times. “Clearly written, relevant accounts are rare in the world of Nietzsche scholarship. Nietzsche NOW! is immensely readable. Our ‘now’ is as pessimistic as Nietzsche’s ‘now’ but Wallis guides us, through Nietzsche's writings, towards coping with the same problems Nietzsche tackled, including truth, democracy, morality, and identity. The same problems but not the same. All now wear modern dress. Wallis’s deep knowledge of Buddhism feeds into the transfigurative nature of the Übermensch, the radical figure who realizes the possibility for personal and social change, the figure whom we can all—why not?—strive to become.” —Sue Prideaux Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• 117 Building the Future Buddha: A Discussion with Jundho Cohen

  Jundo Cohen is a Zen Buddhist teacher and founder of Treeleaf Zendo, a digital Zen community with members in over 50 countries. He writes on the intersection of Buddhism, ethics, science, and the future of the planet. He resides in Tsukuba, Japan’s “Science City”. He is the author of The Zen Master’s Dance: A Guide to Understanding Dogen and Who You Are in the Universe (Wisdom, 2020), and is co-host of The Zen of Everything podcast. In this episode I speak to Jundo about his new book, Building the Future Buddha: The Zen of AI, Genes, Saving the World, and Travel to the Stars (Treeleaf, 2024). The conversation covers a wide range of topics related to the future and Buddhism with some fun utopian thought on the way and some disagreement that makes for an interesting exploration. Jundho claims that tomorrow’s technologies will change Buddhism. AI and robotics, bio-engineering and physical enhancements, genetics and nano-implants, virtual reality and new media, medical miracles and manufacturing marvels, extended lifespans and expanded minds will make many of Buddhism’s most fabulous ideals potentially realizable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• 116 Making Sense of Yogacara with William Waldron

  Professor William Waldron teaches courses on the South Asian religious traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism, Tibetan religion and history, comparative psychologies and philosophies of mind, and theory and method in the study of religion at Middlebury College. His publications focus on the Yogacara school of Indian Buddhism and its dialogue with modern thought. He is the author of Making Sense of Mind Only: Why Yogacara Buddhism Matters (Wisdom Publications, 2023). In this conversation, we look at Yogacara thought, idealism, constructivism and the impact on the practitioner and tackle the following; Why thinking of Yogacara as Mind Only is deeply problematic Why seeing Yogacara as essentially constructivist is more accurate Why seeing constructivism in dualistic terms is to miss the point Why interdependence is central to Yogacara rather than the doctrine of emptiness Why the signature concepts of; the three natures, the storehouse consciousness, and mere perception are liberational and key to understanding Yogacara’s ethics Why Madhyamaka became dominant and a mistaken view of Yogacara developed as a consequence How the insights of Yogacara can help us to understand concepts of liberation today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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