2nd half of Kenneth's Buddhist Geeks interview is up!

The 2nd half of my Buddhist Geeks interview is up! I think you're gonna like this one. I talk about the mushroom culture, the 3 Speed Transmission, developmental enlightenment and timeless realization, the curing of depression, and what enlightenment is and is not.

personallifemedia.com/podcasts/236-buddh...l-enlightenment/play

May you be happy,

Kenneth

Very, very nice Kenneth! I found myself wanting it to not end, to continue on and on, with more exposition on the Transcendant, Nondual Awareness, and the distinction between that and arahatship. We can save that for our next conversation, but perhaps you might consider that as a future dharma talk.

My wife commented that you have a very good voice (meant as both your vocal and tonal qualities, and the way you use words) for this kind of talk - approachable and down to earth; I agree. We want more!

Michael & Anne-Marie

I also second the desire to hear more of your Dhamma talks.
Kâlêna dhamma savanam and then afterwards on this forum.

Kâlêna dhamma sâkacchâ

êtam mangala muttamam!!!!!!!

Michael and Anne-Marie, I'm so glad you liked the interview. I'll think more about the themes you mentioned and see if I can expand upon them in a future dharma talk. Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to talking with you both about it in person at the upcoming retreat in Maryland. (Everyone, this retreat is booked up, but there are more KFDh retreats in the planning stages for this year, hopefully beginning in the spring or summer.)

Kenneth

Retreat:
If possible please have retreat parrticipants write blogs/threads about the experience and record any dharma talks you give.
This booked retreat -- is there a theme? what is the basic schedule? why wasn't I invited?

BG interview. Nice, I especially like the sections on the mushroom culture and your need for medication for depression while at third or fourth path. The world needs more and more down-to-earth accounts of all this material.

"I especially like the sections on the mushroom culture and your need for medication for depression while at third or fourth path. The world needs more and more down-to-earth accounts of all this material."-telecaster

Hi Mike,

Actually, the lifelong crippling depression (and hence the need for the medication) lifted completely upon attainment of 4th Path, which is one of the reasons I wanted to go public with my story. Enlightenment to the level of arahatship is the furthest thing possible from a quick fix, but if other people can cure their depression through the Bhuddha's practice, they have a right to know about it. It was a long road for me, and I suffered with the best of them, but at this point, with six years of depression-free life under my belt, I will say without reservation that it was worth the trouble. Happiness is the fruit of enlightenment.

"why wasn't I invited?"-telecaster

LOL, Mike. This retreat evolved out of the need to assemble a retreat-planning committee so we can intelligently plan more retreats. As we were talking about how to meet for the planning sessions, we realized the meeting could also be a retreat! There are just seven of us for this first one, and we'll expand future retreat size to welcome everyone who would like to come. As far as the theme for the upcoming Maryland retreat, I plan to present the 3 Speed Transmission in quasi-lecture format, complete with visual aids, along with lots of silent meditation, satsang, and group interaction.

Kenneth

"Actually, the lifelong crippling depression (and hence the need for the medication) lifted completely upon attainment of 4th Path, which is one of the reasons I wanted to go public with my story. Enlightenment to the level of arahatship is the furthest thing possible from a quick fix, but if other people can cure their depression through the Bhuddha's practice, they have a right to know about it. It was a long road for me, and I suffered with the best of them, but at this point, with six years of depression-free life under my belt, I will say without reservation that it was worth the trouble. Happiness is the fruit of enlightenment.

"

When I started in May of 2009 to really commit to trying vipassana on a dailiy basis (in August I pledged to keep up the practice for at least the next year, to really give it a chance) I had been on wellbutrin for long-term moderate depression for about two years. By July I began to wean myself off and was completely off by September.
Now, at either dark night or equanimity I have no depression symptoms and I believe I have never been happier than I've been the last month or so.

Thanks for sharing, Mike. My wife, who is training to be a social worker and therapist, and I are very interested in mindfulness-based therapy to treat depression. We just ordered 3 books about it and I can't wait to read them. I'm told that some therapists are having remarkable success with this modality (borne out by research) and that depression has actually been cured in some cases (presumably before the attainment of arahatship). This is wonderful news to me, and I can't wait to learn more about it.

Kenneth

There is a particular kind iof mindfulness therapy that is being touted as especially promising. It's called "Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy," or MBCT. I've been searching for practitioners and teacher of MBCT in my area. For more information, link to:

www.mbct.com/

I enjoyed it - a lot!

Ditto. Thanks so much to Kenneth and to Vince.

Well, that kept me up waaaay past my bedtime, but to say the least it was time well spent. Thanks KF and VH.