Mindrolling – Raghu Markus & David Silver – Ep. 220 – 2018: Moving Forward into the New Year

2018

To begin the year, David Silver returns to the Mindrolling Podcast. They share a special conversation about entering 2018 with mindfulness and compassion.

Show Notes

Donald Trump, Accidental Buddhist (Opening)

David and Raghu discuss “Donald Trump, Accidental Buddhist”. A recent New York Times article that compares and contrasts the third-person referencing used by Donald Trump and the Buddhist teachings of non-self. They talk about ways we can enter 2018 with greater awareness of ourselves. And our relation to the world.

“This article brings to mind the question of our very constipated idea of ourselves. That we are this piece of meat with a brain. That all the things that we think. And feel are intrinsically who we are and that we are not connected to anyone else.” – David Silver

Gil Fronsdal explores the concept of non-self more deeply on Ep.04 of the Be Here Now Network Guest Podcast
The Fullness of Emptiness (19:50)

The two discuss the Buddha’s difficult teachings on non-self and emptiness. They help dispel some of the common misinterpretations around these concepts. And share ways we can get out of ourselves and into the oneness without disregarding our incarnation.

“Ram Dass made the point that if we really want to love. We are in fact loving that emptiness. In the sense that the essence of it is not our own self-cherishing, but is a universal truth that cannot be compromised.” – David Silver

Love the Rug (29:20)

Furthermore, Raghu shares a lesson from Ram Dass about learning to love all things equally. He and David discuss the difficulty of this proposition. Moreover, they examine ways we can make 2018 better by practicing love for all things equally in our lives.

Karmic Clay (46:15)

David and Raghu talk about how our past karma forms the way we experience the world. They discuss the role wise teachers play in our own karmic cycle.

“The way that we experience the world is formed by past karma. Not just from how we grew up, our parents or the society we grew up in but there is a belief that we all have a definitive connectivity to rebirth and continuity.” – Raghu Markus

Moments of Awareness (1:02:25)

In closing, Raghu shares wise words from Trungram Gyalwa Rinpoche that we can use in 2018 to curb reactivity and meet conflict with greater equanimity.

  

Amazon Recommendations

            

 

Image via luboffke