Shinzen Young: A Meeting with a Pioneering Meditation Teacher
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Tami Simon speaks with Shinzen Young, a pioneering meditation teacher, the founder of the Vipassana Support Institute, and an expert in the field of pain management. With Sounds True, Shinzen has created several programs to help people work with physical and emotional pain through meditation, including a book/CD called Break Through Pain. Additionally, Shinzen has called upon his decades as a meditation teacher to create an introductory audio program on meditation: Meditation. Shinzen discusses what science and meditation have in common and how these two fields can collaborate in the future to create technologies of awakening. (69 minutes)
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Great episode.
Comment by Frank — November 2, 2010 @ 4:52 pm
This interview blew me away, more than any so far, and I have listened to many of them. Tami just seems to get better and better all the time at this. The timing and clarification questions are so spot on. This being, Shinzen Young is remarkable, incredible. The way he honors the intellect and mysticism both. How quickly and firmly he is able to respond, “I don’t know”, when he doesn’t. The absolutely no holds barred honesty with which he shares his own experiences, without the slightest hint of a need to protect image or ego. I think listening to him tonight has inspired my faith in the practice of meditation in a way that I have not experienced before. I feel I learned so much, and I plan to listen again, more than once. I do hope that Tami interviews him again, but I have plenty to chew on until then. Thank you so much, Shinzen and Tami!
Comment by Mindy — November 4, 2010 @ 6:58 pm
Shinzen Young suggests that we pause and ask our self questions like; Am I thinking word thoughts? Am I thinking image thoughts? Am I feeling body emotion? Am I feeling body sensation? Am I perceiving? If we are able to even ask these questions we are not freaking out. I can see the usefulness of such questioning. Thank you
Comment by Stanley — November 11, 2010 @ 5:49 am
The word limbic comes from the Latin limbus, for border or edge — so this outstanding conversation literally explores “Insights at the Edge.” I’ve been studying with Shinzen for seven years and find him to be in a class by himself when it comes to the development of practical strategies in harmony with common sense and the principles of science. His focus is consistently on the composition of ordinary experience rather than on the content. Thanks to Tami for providing enough time and thoughtful, intelligent questioning to provide a glimpse of his evolving approach. I’m convinced that a lucky team of neuroscientists will eventually validate his insights and catalyze their own research in remarkable ways.
Comment by Daron Larson — November 12, 2010 @ 1:02 pm
awesome !
brain pacemakers as the improvement to the buddha. Bring it ON. you have one of the top 10 podcasts on the net.
Comment by Glenn — November 18, 2010 @ 11:29 pm