Guru Viking Podcast Guru Viking

In this episode I am joined by Brad Warner, Zen teacher and best-selling author of ‘Hardcore Zen’ and ‘The Other Side of Nothing’.

Brad recounts his unusual childhood, his passion for Punk rock ethics, and reveals what thwarted his teenage desire to become a born again Christian.

Brad describes his first encounter with Zen, shares the secret of his decades of daily practice, and explains why he is at odds with the culture and institutions of mainline American Zen.

Brad also discusses his awakening experience, the significance of dharma transmission, his new book on ethics, and what Dogen’s mysterious metaphors have in common with the TV show ‘Ancient Aliens’.

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Video version: www.guruviking.com/podcast/155-hardcore-zen-brad-warner

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro
00:48 - Brad’s writing process
01:54 - ‘I’m not saying it was Aliens, but it was Aliens’
03:25 - Brad’s unusual upbringing
06:22 - Finding Zen and moving to Japan
09:38 - Punk rock ethics
11:38 - Trying to become a Christian
14:39 - Practice vs belief
18:09 - At odds with institutional Zen
20:57 - Brad’s Zen vs American Zen
25:08 - American Buddhist politics
26:25 - The secret of Brad’s daily meditation practice
36:01 - Meditation consequences permanent or temporary?
39:11 - The danger of stopping practice after awakening
40:56 - Nishijima Roshi cutting Brad down
46:36 - Brad’s awakening experience
49:37 - Receiving Dharma transmission
54:01 - Links to SFZC
55:09 - Dharma transmission wars and institutional power
01:02:06 - Secret lineage of transmission
01:05:06 - Will Brad give dharma transmission?
01:09:35 - What if Nishijima Roshi had moved to the USA?
01:13:41 - Does Brad have a teacher now?
01:17:15 - Brad’s new book about ethics and non-duality
01:25:13 - Dogen’s elusive metaphors
01:30:44 - Brad on race and being a foreigner

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To find out more about Brad Warner, visit:
- http://hardcorezen.info/
- https://www.youtube.com/c/HardcoreZen

For more interviews, videos, and more visit:
- www.guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James

Richard Ayling recently interviewed me on his 'Man Reimagined' Podcast.

Topics include:

00:00 - Rich on Steve and interesting topics
03:07 - Steve’s background
08:46 - What is average?
11:06 - Growing up on the Shetland Islands
13:41 - Discipline and delayed gratification
22:54 - Guru Viking Meditation Club
34:10 - Strong determination sitting
36:51 - Dedication from enjoyment
43:07 - ‘Masculine and feminine’
01:00:36 - Fundamentalism trap
01:03:08 - Rich’s doubts about men’s work
01:07:30 - Rich’s professional trajectory
01:18:36 - Methods are limited + Steve on men’s work
01:29:03 - Enquiry over imposition
01:34:23 - Movement Koan Method
01:42:43 - Meditation vs movement practices
01:44:40 - About relationship
01:49:27 - On conversation
01:51:42 - Steve’s future

Richard Ayling: https://www.re-align.co/

Other times I have been interviewed: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/category/Steve+Interviewed

Special guest Dr Jonathan Lunine, distinguished American planetary scientist and physicist, joins the ongoing discussion with:

- Shinzen Young, meditation teacher and neuroscience research consultant
- Chelsey Fasano, a Columbia University neuroscience student

Dr Lunine is the David C. Duncan Professor in the Physical Sciences and Chair of the Department of Astronomy at Cornell University. Dr Lunine has published over 380 research papers and is at the forefront of research into planet formation, evolution, and habitability.

Dr Lunine’s work includes the Cassini mission to Saturn, the James Webb Space Telescope, and the Juno Mission to Jupiter. Dr Lunine is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and has participated in and chaired advisory and strategic planning committees for the Academy and for NASA.

In this episode, the group question the compatibility of faith and science, explore the writings of St Thomas Aquinas and the radical theology of T.S Eliot, and consider the controversial theories of Sir Roger Penrose.

Dr Lunine also discusses his research into life on other planets, reveals the possibility of cyanide-based life, and speculates about the role of God in the universe of the Big Bang.

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Video version: www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep145-faith-and-science-jonathan-lunine-shinzen-young-chesley-fasano

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
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Topics Include:

00:00 - Intro
01:23 - Faith and Reason
04:42 - How big is life?
07:57 - Physics & God
08:57 - Buddhist exceptionalism
09:33 - Are science and faith compatible?
13:59 - The Society of Catholic Scientists
15:17 - Georges Lemaître and the Big Bang
16:03 - Dr Lunine’s search for life on other planets and moons
17:36 - Titan’s methane seas and hydrogen bonding mechanisms
20:03 - Cyanide-based life and information molecules
28:52 - Future missions to Titan
30:57 - Definition of a habitable zone
33:20 - Detecting water on extra-solar planets
37:04 - How big is life and where is information stored?
43:55 - Is life on Earth the ultimate pinnacle of self-organisation?
45:42 - Meta-life and Sir Roger Penrose
48:04 - The radical theology of T.S Eliot
50:24 - Aquinas on diversity as an expression of order
52:14 - Time and timelessness
55:44 - God as the Infinite and eternal foundation of all reality
56:46 - Chaos and Dr Sanguinetti

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Previous episodes in this series:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlkzlKFgdknxjhwG5wmXRVfrkeGczVPVI
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To find out more about Dr Lunine, visit:
- https://astro.cornell.edu/jonathan-lunine


To find out more about Shinzen, visit:
- https://www.guruviking.com/ep37-shinzen-young-pandemic-edition-guru-viking-podcast/
- www.shinzen.org

To find out more about Chelsey, visit:
- www.chelseyfasano.com


For more interviews, videos, and more visit:
- www.guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James

In this episode I am joined by Mary Shutan: author, occultist, and spiritual teacher.

Mary shares her journey from a traumatic early childhood to adoption into an upper-middle class family, and how spiritual overwhelm in her teenage years, and a subsequent kundalini awakening, drove her to in-depth study of spiritual themes.

Mary details her own kundalini experience, including challenging side effects, kundalini traps, and the role of sacrifice on the spiritual path.


Mary also discusses her love of reading and magical realism, recounts her time as a ritual magician working with the dark feminine, advises on encounters with entities and extra-terrestrials, and describes the different types of spiritual protection employed by institutions and public figures.

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Video version: www.guruviking.com/podcast/153-mary-shutan-kundalini-and-the-occult

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics include:


00:00 - Intro
01:03 - Prolific publications
01:41 - Mary’s writing process
02:35 - Upper-middle class upbringing as an adoptee
04:56 - Early childhood trauma
08:28 - Spiritual overwhelm during teenage years
13:03 - Magical realism and Mary’s writing influences
17:29 - Spiritual truths in fiction
18:41 - Pan’s Garden, elementals, and Clive Barker
20:34 - Magic in art
22:37 - Mary’s kundalini awakening
26:04 - What is kundalini?
28:04 - Challenging side-effects of Mary’s kundalini awakening
32:35 - Active vs passive surrender
34:49 - Common misconceptions about kundalini
37:59 - What triggers kundalini awakening?
40:58 - Spontaneous kundalini awakenings
42:46 - Direct methods to awaken kundalini
45:40 - Kundalini traps
48:07 - Sacrifice on the spiritual path
49:48 - Losing martyrdom and other identity markers
52:31 - Years in ritual magic and occultism
55:31 - Misogyny in Western Occultism and the dark feminine
59:01 - How to know if an occult ritual has worked
01:01:29 - Are occultists hired by governments and celebrities?
01:07:12 - Different types of spiritual protection employed by institutions and public figures
01:09:09 - Mary’s near death experience
01:12:23 - Working with non-corporeal teachers and other entities
01:14:39 - Voluntary possession practices
01:18:06 - Encounters with extra-terrestrials
01:20:25 - Adi Da’s ‘Knee of Listening’
01:22:38 - Working with Mary

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To find out more about Mary Shutan, visit:
- http://maryshutan.com/

For more interviews, videos, and more visit:
- www.guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James

In this episode I travel to the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, where I visit world renowned Bhutanese author Ashi Kunzang Choden at her family seat of Ogyen Choling in the Tang Valley, Bumthang.

Ashi gives a tour of her home, which her family have occupied for hundreds of years, including a rare look into a remarkable multi-story temple with rich religious frescos, sacred artefacts, and entire floors dedicated to Tara and Guru Rinpoche.

Ashi also recounts her remarkable life that embodies so much of Bhutan’s recent history.

Ashi was born into a family of feudal lords, witnessed the reformations of the 1950s, was educated in Catholic convents in India, and worked for the United Nations, before returning to her family home which she now runs as a cultural centre and guest house.

Ashi also recalls the spiritual advice given to her by Dudjom Rinpoche, reveals why her exposure to Christianity opened her up to the heart of Buddhism, and discusses the impact of feminist thought on her perspective of Bhutanese culture and her place in it.

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Video version: www.guruviking.com/podcast/152-voice-of-bhutan-ashi-kunzang-choden

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.


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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro
01:13 - About Ogyen Choling
04:53 - Entering the temple
06:15 - The main temple featuring Buddha Shakyamuni, Dorje Lingpa, & Longchenpa
08:55 - Bardo Thodol fresco
09:28 - Sacred relics
12:49 - Frescoes of Guru Rinpoche and Kalachakra Shambala
16:53 - The Tara temple with unique family statues
18:36 - Frescos of the 84 Mahasiddhas, Avalokiteshvara, & the Buddha
20:44 - History of Ashi’s family temple
22:26 - Preservation of Dorje Lingpa’s texts
26:43 - Tour of the family museum
28:14 - About the local spirits
30:48 - Pre-reformation life of self-sufficiency
32:44 - Effects of global warming on crops
35:14 - Rice, grain, and alcohol practices
38:16 - History of Ashi’s family
42:44 - Ashi’s memories of Bhutan’s reformations
46:43 - Education at Catholic convents for 11 years
50:28 - Opening to Buddhism to through Christianity
53:41 - Meetings with great Lamas and the advice of Dudjom Rinpoche
01:00:03 - Ashi on feminism
01:06:28 - Ashi’s writing career
01:11:19 - Ashi’s closing remarks 

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To find out more about Ashi Kunzang Choden, visit:
- https://www.olingheritagehouse.com/about
- https://www.riyangbooks.com/

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For more interviews, videos, and more visit:
- www.guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James

David recounts his upbringing in Scotland, and how a lifetime of frustrated spiritual seeking was resolved in a profound spiritual experience that changed everything.

David details the results of this transformative experience and discusses themes such as religiosity, the zeal of the convert, falling into the spirit of God, advice for prayer and meditation, and the mystic’s view of identity.


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Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/151-scottish-mystic-david-mcmurdo

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro
00:37 - David’s upbringing in Scotland
03:50 - David’s love of the Scottish town of Thurso
05:56 - Frustrating spiritual seeking
07:57 - A life-changing spiritual experience
10:56 - Piercing the roof of the intellect
12:32 - Jesus Christ
15:43 - The Mystery
18:01 - Changes in David after the experience
20:06 - Gnosis and experiential spirituality
21:55 - Zeal of the convert
26:50 - Disagreement with the doctrine of the trinity
30:52 - Zealots aren’t fun
31:48 - Leaving the tribe
34:12 - Falling into the spirit of God
36:43 - The ultimate truth
40:04 - Depression and the Dark Night of the Soul
42:13 - What is God?
47:04 - Heaven, hell, and the afterlife
49:57 - Experiential vs intellectual knowledge
54:35 - Advice for spiritual practice
59:56 - Prayer and meditation
01:02:39 - How to meditate
01:04:51 - What is love?
01:09:26 - Pacifism and conflict
01:14:35 - Repentance and purification
01:17:57 - The mystic’s view of identity
01:23:25 - David’s YouTube channel

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To find out more about David McMurdo, visit:
- https://www.youtube.com/c/DavidMcMurdo

For more interviews, videos, and more visit:
- www.guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James