Gil FronsdalEvery podcast appearance, updated as new ones drop

Drawing on the wisdom of The Four Resolves, Gil Fronsdal discusses finding our own inner strength to remain committed to the path of practice. This week on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Gil Fronsdal illuminates: - Gil’s own introduction to Vipassana practice - How sickness, old age, and death motivated the Buddha - Spiritual support and determination at Zen monasteries - Why cultivating your own inner resolve is one of the greatest challenges on retreat - The Four Resolves of Buddhism: truth, wisdom, generosity, peace - How Vipassana practice is dependent on allowing the truth to reveal itself - Discovering truth in the smallest moments through mindful awareness - How everyday mindfulness builds the resilience needed for life’s most challenging moments - Letting our hearts be generous and stepping out of self-preoccupation - Surfing the ways of life without drowning: becoming one with the ocean - This episode was originally published on Dharmaseed “It does take some inner resolve, determination, to keep hanging in here sometimes. It’s so easy to come down for tea, go to your room, go for a hike, all of which is appropriate at times, and inappropriate at others. What we’re asked here at Spirit Rock, it’s more challenging than at a zen monastery. It’s up to you much more. You have to find it in yourself.” –Gil Fronsdal About Gil Fronsdal: Gil Fronsdal is the co-teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011, he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center. He is the author of The Issue at Hand, essays on mindfulness practice; A Monastery Within; a book on the five hindrances called Unhindered; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma. “The truth will liberate you because when you keep showing up moment by moment to what’s true, you have to confront and meet all of the forces inside you that want to veer off from what is true, to not stay present.” –Gil Fronsdal

Gil Fronsdal explores practicing in accord with nature, showing how mindfulness and honesty help us release resistance and move with the natural flow of the Dharma. This time on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Gil Fronsdal lectures on: - Being in accord with the dharma, with truth, and with nature - The painful attitudes that we often bring to change - Accepting our feelings rather than pushing them away - How resistance to reality causes more suffering - Mindfulness: creating the ideal conditions for the natural process of healing - Floating down the stream of Dharma rather than struggling up a mountain - Studying nature rather than rushing into conclusions - Becoming an observer of our own lives with child-like openness and adult-like resolve About Gil Fronsdal: Gil Fronsdal is the co-teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011 he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center. He is the author of The Issue at Hand, essays on mindfulness practice; A Monastery Within; a book on the five hindrances called Unhindered; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma. This recording was originally published on Dharmaseed "We're in this stream of the dharma, this stream of practice. It is not fighting up a mountain and struggling so much. It is finding a place to rest in the stream and we find ourselves being carried along beautifully into the ocean. The ocean is so big it can hold all of us. Isn't that nice? It's not like you're going to be king of the mountain. We're all going to be brothers and sisters in this great ocean of the dharma." –Gil Fronsdal

Explaining how imagination creates both beauty and suffering, Gil Fronsdal offers a skillful way to tap into inspiration without becoming lost in a dream. This week on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Gil Fronsdal dives into: - The poem “Thursday” by William Carlos Williams - Transformation through presence during mundane experiences - Dreaming as an important part of being human - How the imagination helps to create connections - The Zen principle of present moment awareness - Allowing reality to move through the world of our imagination - Not becoming lost or stuck in a dream - The Buddha as a man of tremendous imagination - Imagining the possibility of being freed from suffering This episode was originally published on Dharmaseed About Gil Fronsdal: Gil Fronsdal is the co-teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011 he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center. He is the author of The Issue at Hand, essays on mindfulness practice; A Monastery Within; a book on the five hindrances called Unhindered; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma. “Dreaming, I think, is a very important part of being a human being. The imagination that can imagine possibilities, potential, that can create wonderful connections between things.” –Gil Fronsdal

Gil Fronsdal talks about studying in Buddhist monasteries from Big Sur to Bangkok, founding the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, and creating an integrated Buddhist world culture through the practice of vipassana meditation. Gil Fronsdal is the founding teacher and a co-guiding teacher at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California and the Insight Retreat Center in Santa Cruz, California. He has been teaching since 1990. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982 and at Theravada monk in Burma in 1985. Gil also has a PhD in Buddhist Studies from Stanford University. Interview by Leah Chase

Connecting to the timelessness of the present moment, Gil Fronsdal offers practical steps towards the only source of true happiness: contentment. This time on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Gil Fronsdal explores: - Seeing the timeless present through photographs - Enjoying the preciousness of our limited time here on earth - How corporate, capitalist America prefers people who are discontent - What the Buddha said about the vital importance of contentment - How many desires often dissipate on their own if you ride them out - The ways in which desire alienates us from ourselves - The embodied quality of contentment and being in touch with ourselves - Freedom in the Buddhist sense: freedom ‘from’ rather than freedom ‘to do’ - Cultivating contentment by valuing it and seeing it as an important part of life - Activities which encourage contentment versus remaining frantic - Facing discontentment head-on so that it does not drive us - This recording was originally published on Dharmaseed. “Contentment is a falling away of anxiety, restlessness, reaching forward, fear, being fragmented, and disconnected. It is a kind of settling. If we’re driven by desires, fears, preoccupations, or fantasies, often our energy, our center of attention, is upwelling in an unhealthy way. As we are contented, we feel the settling down, settling down into the center of gravity.” –Gil Fronsdal About Gil Fronsdal: Gil Fronsdal is the co-teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011 he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center. He is the author of The Issue at Hand, essays on mindfulness practice; A Monastery Within; a book on the five hindrances called Unhindered; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma.

Buddhist teacher Gil Fronsdal explores the concept of the deathless and examines ways to experience life without clinging to impermanent things. Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self. In this episode of the BHNN Guest Podcast, Gil discusses: - What the Buddha said about attaining the deathless - Seeking after things that are eternal rather than prone to aging and impermanence - Three forms of clinging/craving that lead us to suffering: beliefs, becoming, and sensual pleasure - Considering if there is a ‘you’ beyond thought - Letting go of our attachments to concepts - How a fixation on ‘becoming somebody’ prevents us from being - Avoidance of the reality of suffering due to personal discomfort - Developing mindfulness over time and having compassion for ourselves when we notice grasping - The timeless present and the end of separation - Attentiveness as the path to the deathless - The American notion of freedom versus the Eastern notion of liberation - The ultimate goal of Buddhism: to be open-handed, to have a mind without grasping About Gil Fronsdal: Gil Fronsdal is the co-teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011 he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center. He is the author of The Issue at Hand, essays on mindfulness practice; A Monastery Within; a book on the five hindrances called Unhindered; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma. This recording was originally published on Dharmaseed.org “The deathless is a synonym for Nirvana, for enlightenment, the great peace, the great happiness, for that which is unconditioned, the unborn, the ultimate security, the ultimate safety.” – Gil Fronsdal

Are we trying to find inner peace the wrong way? Gil Fronsdal discusses cultivating an all-inclusive awareness that embraces each experience and sensation without resistance or judgment. Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self. https://youtu.be/6I-2jBB4xlM In this episode, Gil Fronsdal provides insights on: - Figuring out what our life’s pursuit is, and, if we are chasing the wrong things - The Buddha as a doctor of freedom, the inner life, the illness of suffering - How child-like wellbeing and openness lead the Buddha to the path of freedom and the end of suffering - Integrating adult stability with childlike openness, curiosity, and joy - Cultivating openness and inner strength when facing temptation, emotional pain, or adversity - Using mindfulness to expand awareness and include all aspects of our experience - Practicing nonjudgmental and non-discriminating awareness—welcoming all emotions, thoughts, and sensations equally - Shifting focus from what we’re mindful of to how we are being mindful - The problem with hyperfixating on the self and identity This recording from Spirit Rock Meditation Center was originally published on Dharmaseed About Gil Fronsdal: Gil Fronsdal is the co-teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011 he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center. Gil has an undergraduate degree in agriculture from U.C. Davis where he was active in promoting the field of sustainable farming. In 1998 he received a PhD in Religious Studies from Stanford University studying the earliest developments of the bodhisattva ideal. He is the author of The Issue at Hand, essays on mindfulness practice; A Monastery Within; a book on the five hindrances called Unhindered; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma. “What I feel is most sacred in Buddhism is not something outside of you. Not a shrine, not a statue, not a text. But rather, what's most sacred is an awareness, your awareness, when it has nothing outside. There's nothing outside, nothing which is unacceptable for it, nothing which is shut out from it. Everything is allowed to be there in your awareness. When awareness is all-inclusive, with no outside, I think that's sacred.” – Gil Fronsdal

Gil Fronsdal explores why we suffer and how we can meet our suffering with a supportive presence for the benefit of ourselves and all beings. In this episode, Gil thoughtfully discusses: - Becoming like a wise & peaceful snake, shedding our skin from time to time - How mindfulness practice can contain the goal of cessation of greed, hatred, and delusion - How clinging creates emotional stress, mental pain, and spiritual suffering - Notice the “aah” of skillful action versus the “ouch” of unskillful action as we develop awareness - Being present for the depth of suffering in the human heart - Bringing the qualities of the awakened mind in to meet our suffering and help us release it - Helping our suffering feel safe and remembering that all suffering can be put to rest - The ability to stay with our experiences without clinging and with a sense of wellbeing - Meeting our suffering for ourselves and to show the way for others - Practicing mindfulness with sincerity, consistency, and heartfelt dedication This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp & Dharma Seed: Join Krishna Das, the most well-known voice of Bhakti chanting (Kirtan) in the West, and David Nichtern - a senior Buddhist teacher, founder of Dharma Moon, guitarist in Krishna Das’ band, and producer of several of his albums - for a warm and engaging conversation about these two paths, their shared roots, and how they intersect in contemporary spiritual practice. Learn more about this FREE online gathering - THE HEART & MIND OF PRACTICE: BUDDHISM & BHAKTI: https://www.dharmamoon.com/heart Today’s podcast is also brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self. About Gil Fronsdal: Gil Fronsdal is the co-teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011 he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center. He is the author of The Issue at Hand, essays on mindfulness practice; A Monastery Within; a book on the five hindrances called Unhindered; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma. This recording was originally published on Dharmaseed.org No matter what it is, suffering is always an activity that can be put to rest, that can stop. Suffering is not the deepest thing in you. It doesn't have to define you, it's not all of who you are." – Gil Fronsdal

Gil Fronsdal offers Buddhist wisdom on relating skillfully to our emotions and seeing them as messengers of our inner worlds. In this talk, Gil Fronsdal lectures about: Identifying emotions without getting lost in the story The necessity and benefits of feeling pain Knowing what's happening as it's happening How most of us are driven by our desires and aversions Simply knowing and how free our knowing can be Making room for our experiences How our emotions let us know what we should pay attention to Learning how our emotions live in the intelligent system of our body How reactivity blocks us from processing emotions Being in our body and allowing processes to unfold “One of the primary functions of emotions is to let us know something is important. They’re knocking on the door of our capacity to know. They are not accidents, they’re not incidental, they’re not annoyances, they’re not unfortunate. They’re actually a very important form of which your inner life is presenting itself to you.” – Gil Fronsdal This talk was originally published on Dharmaseed

This week, Buddhist Teacher Gil Fronsdal explores our quality of well-being and how we can cultivate ease, happiness, and contentment on the path to inner liberation. In this talk on cultivating well-being through Buddhist practice, Gil touches on: - Happiness as something we do not pursue, but cultivate by creating and recognizing conditions for it - The “three breath journey” meditation practice, which helps to shift perception and be present - Developing clarity and ease through mindfulness practice - Transforming challenging emotions and experiences by befriending them non-judgmentally - Physical presence and awareness in the body as a part of cultivating well-being - Experimenting with different mindfulness techniques to find what brings you joy and ease “We create the conditions for happiness, and we learn to recognize the conditions that bring it forth. But we try not to be the cause of happiness, but we are cultivating happiness and well-being.” – Gil Fronsdal

Gil Fronsdal discusses having confidence in what the Buddha represents within ourselves and being a refuge for all beings. This time on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Gil Fronsdal explains: How the Buddha defined confidence and fate Instructions from the Buddha on making oneself a refuge Being a refuge and support for all beings Personal worth and finding yourself in community The benefit of having confidence in ourselves and in our practice The imperfections that stain the mind Having confidence in that which the Buddha represents within ourselves Reflecting on the times when our minds are not caught How the dharma is visible here and now, not there and then The balance between responsibility and allowing natural unfolding About Gil Fronsdal: Gil Fronsdal is the co-teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011 he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center. Gil has an undergraduate degree in agriculture from U.C. Davis where he was active in promoting the field of sustainable farming. In 1998 he received a PhD in Religious Studies from Stanford University studying the earliest developments of the bodhisattva ideal. He is the author of The Issue at Hand, essays on mindfulness practice; A Monastery Within; a book on the five hindrances called Unhindered; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma. This 2014 talk was originally published by Dharmaseed. “The reference point for having confidence or faith or trust in the Buddha is not in the great power and wisdom of the Buddha, but rather something that we can know for ourselves, that we realize is reflected in the Buddha.” – Gil Fronsdal

Distinguishing commentary from direct experience, Gil Fronsdal helps us break free from the conventions and comparisons that the mind makes. In this episode, Gil Fronsdal speaks to listeners about: - Paying homage to those who have purified their hearts - Direct experience versus attempting to describe things - The way that comparison arises - Self-image and appreciating our own suchness - Resting in the part of ourselves that is not an idea or a concept - The conditioning that can happen from society - Wisdom from sitting with physical pain - Living in the present moment instead of the stories we tell ourselves - Letting things be as they are - Seeing God in our simple, direct experiences - Coming back to the breath and practicing all throughout the day - This 1998 talk was originally published on Dharmaseed “Most of us know the wonderful smell of a rose, but if you could try to describe in words what that fragrance is, you’d have a hard time I think. The actual sense, the direct experience of smell, is something we can all experience – seeing this flower as it is. In Buddhism, there is a lot of emphasis on seeing things as they are.” – Gil Fronsdal

Exploring mental constructs, Gil Fronsdal describes how we construct the relationships to our experiences. This recording from the Insight Meditation Center was originally published on Dharmaseed.org On this episode of the BHNN Guest Podcast, Gil Fronsdal talks about these topics: A four line Buddhist chant in Pali The impermanence of all constructed things Mindfulness and the practice of noticing Exploring one’s relationship to the present moment Moving our attention with a deliberate calmness Meditation instruction as the antidote to relating negatively Our attitudes and how they affect our experiences Non-reactive awareness in order to avoid new constructions Identity and the stories we tell about ourselves Allowing “I am” to stand by itself About Gil Fronsdal: Gil Fronsdal is the co-teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011 he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center. Gil has an undergraduate degree in agriculture from U.C. Davis where he was active in promoting the field of sustainable farming. In 1998 he received a PhD in Religious Studies from Stanford University studying the earliest developments of the bodhisattva ideal. He is the author of The Issue at Hand, essays on mindfulness practice; A Monastery Within; a book on the five hindrances called Unhindered; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma. “To quiet these constructions is happiness. To be able to question these things, and slowly perhaps, maybe even imperceptibly, to allow these constructs to calm down, relax, not buy into them as much. Maybe not buy into them as much because we notice them.” – Gil Fronsdal

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/2/audible/48884 to listen full audiobooks. Title: The Dhammapada Author: Gil Fronsdal Narrator: Gil Fronsdal Format: mp3 Length: 2 hrs and 35 mins Release date: 12-27-23 Ratings: 5 out of 5 stars, 14 ratings Genres: Buddhism Publisher's Summary: In this renowned translation of Buddhism’s most widely read scripture, freshly updated for a new generation of listeners, Gil Fronsdal provides extensive explanatory notes and easy-to-understand insight for practice. Whether a practicing Buddhist of any tradition or simply a listener of the world’s literary classics, all will be enriched by this centuries-old wisdom.

Episode #122: Gil Fronsdal’s single visit to Myanmar came over three decades ago, but the impact of the trip on his spiritual life stays with him still. Initially practicing Zen, he went to Japan to deepen his practice, but he soon became disillusioned with the emphasis on ritual. He traveled on to Thailand, where he took a Mahasi course. Immediately impressed, he felt inspired go to the source of the teaching and seek further guidance under Sayadaw U Pandita, himself. When Gil did finally arrive in the country, he devoted himself to intensive meditation at the large Mahasi center in Yangon, including several months as an ordained bhikkhu. The experienced touched him “in some deep, emotional way.” However, studying under U Pandita was not easy. Gil knew a lot of the Westerners who burned out and developed psychological problems under U Pandita’s stern and exacting teaching about striving for attainment. But Gil’s Zen background helped temper the effect of this, while at the same he was fascinated with the attention to detail the Mahasi practice afforded. He began sitting in extended periods of bliss. In the context of Gil’s balanced and deeper practice space, Sayadaw U Pandita’s emphasis also resonated with him in a new, more concrete way, helping him realize how, in the “micro-moments” of his life, he was not so accepting as he believed himself to be. This eventually impacted his own teaching career, as Gil became increasingly conscious of not only presenting meditation as an aid to leading a balanced life, but also reminding his students about the potential of full liberation. Overall, that brief stay in the Golden Land continues to be a special memory for Gil. “Of the eight months I was there in the Mahasi center, I really felt like I was a guest of the country, and the whole culture. The whole country was hosting me and caring for me.” Following the talk, Gil requested that Insight Myanmar address his group, The Sati Center for Buddhist Studies . This talk will take place September 17 at 9.30 am, Pacific time. If you would like to join the discussion, you can register here .

For this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken speaks with Gil Fronsdal, American Buddhist writer, teacher, and scholar in both the Zen and Theravada traditions. Gil was ordained as a Sōtō Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and later became a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985. As someone committed to two distinct traditions, Gil brings an unusual breadth and depth of knowledge to his practice. Incredibly self-aware in his observations about his own spiritual development, Gil describes his training in vipassana with U Pandita and how the practice of mental noting radically transformed his Zen practice of shikantaza . You’ll hear Gil describe so many fascinating epiphanies along his journey—for example, how learning the difference between mindfulness and concentration was a liberating experience for him. You’ll also hear how meditation is actually a form of deep expression for Gil—a way of accessing a deeper wellspring of life—and how this is connected to a sense of wholeness and integrity for him, both on the cushion and off. The post Gil Fronsdal: The Wisdom of Many Traditions appeared first on The Wisdom Experience .

Raghu with his co-host, true blue soul mate wife, Saraswati Markus hang with Gil Fronsdal- newly named Baba Gil. Gil hails from the Insight Meditation family and was discovered by Saraswati during her long nite festivals of Dharama talks. When we talk about the difficulties people have with meditative practice Gil calls out to people to remember that it is a "failure free zone". We talk about the Be Here Now concept and Gil renames it "unconditional acceptance of the present moment". And of course the hosts inevitably have to ask about mindfulness and it's very worldly application in these times- Gil suggests that we use mindfulness to check out our thoughts and motivations and follow and be aware of where our focus wanders. Saraswati engages Baba Gil about the Buddhist No Self teaching which he comments on as " the self is like wind drag- when you eliminate that drag you can become free- no self". Gil Fronsdal- The Issue At Hand- Essays on Mindfulness http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org Amazon recommendations; Radiohead- A Moon Shaped Pool When Anger Hurts Matthew Mckay See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.