The Mystical Positivist: The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #119

Saturday, June 1, 2013

The Mystical Positivist - Radio Show #119 - 01JUN13

The Mystical Positivist is now a weekly radio show on KOWS-LP 107.3 FM, Occidental, CA. Listen live on Saturday evenings from 4:00 - 6:00pm, PST, via the web at KOWS Live Stream.

This week's podcast features:

A conversation with Dharma Bodhi, Spiritual Director of DHARMA INC International. Dharma Bodhi was born in Chicago in 1962 and became deeply involved in spirituality, religion and philosophy at an early age. At seven, he began the practice of Hatha Yoga and at twelve took up a lifelong commitment to meditation and martial arts. After extensive undergraduate study in biochemistry and psychology, and clinical experience in Trenton Psychiatric Hospital, Dharma Bodhi went on to graduate with a clinical doctorate degree in chiropractic in 1986. In 1987 he met a disciple of the great master of Tantrik Yoga, Paramahamsa Satyananda Sarasvati. Later that year, Dharma recognized Satyananda to be his Root-Guru. Formal initiation followed in 1987. This marked the beginning of a very intimate mystical relationship with his guru that resulted in Dharma letting go of his chiropractic practice and contact with family and friends, in order to undertake a one and a half year practice retreat.

In 1997, his guru’s successor, Paramahamsa Niranjanananda Sarasvati, gave him the mandate to move back to the United States to form a new sect of classical Tantrik Yoga for Westerners to preserve the lineage teachings and practices which had become debased and commercialized in the West. In January of 2001, Dharma established a center for Tantrik studies in Berkeley, California, and then, in 2002, he created a community center in Berkeley called Yoga Mandala.

After fulfilling the seven-year mandate given by his Guru to bring the classical Tantrik teachings to the United States, Dharma Bodhi moved with his family to the mountains of northern Thailand to establish Kailash Akhara in 2007. This 60-acre tropical oasis, residential community, artist colony and training center is dedicated to the study, practice and preservation of non-dual cultural arts and religion, especially those of Sakta/Saiva Tantra and Yungdrung Bon Dzogchen meditation and yoga. Dharma and his wife Ajama live with their children and a community of students at Kailash Akhara and, currently, he serves as the Spiritual Director of DHARMA INC International.

More information about Dharma Bodhi's work can be found at:

DHARMA INC International website: www.dharmainc.org
DHARMA INC Oakland website: www.dharmainc-oakland.org

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"The Mystical Positivist" Radio Show

The Mystical Positivist is a weekly radio show on KOWS-LP FM 107.3 Occidental, CA, and on the web at KOWS-LP Live Feed, Saturdays from 4 - 6pm PST. Coming up on The Mystical Positivist:

April 20: A pre-recorded conversation with Ken McLeod, Buddhist teacher and author of the newly released book, The Magic of Vajrayana. In this conversation, we plan to explore a compelling quote from Ian McGilchrist's The Matter with Things: If you had set out to destroy the happiness and stability of a people, it would have been hard to improve on our current formula: remove yourself as far as possible from the natural world; repudiate the continuity of your culture; believe you are wise enough to do whatever you happen to want and not only get away with it, but have a right to it—and a right to silence those who disagree; minimise the role played by a common body of belief; actively attack and dismantle every social structure as a potential source of oppression; reject the idea of a transcendent set of values.

One of the more innovative Buddhist teachers today, Ken McLeod is known for his clear explanations, poetic translations, and pragmatic approach to practice. He is one of the first generation of Western teachers in the Tibetan tradition and one of the few to be authorized to transmit the full scope of these teachings to students. In particular, his approach resonates strongly with those whose path lies outside established institutions.

After graduating with a degree in mathematics, Ken cycled across Europe to Istanbul and then continued his journey overland to India. In 1970 he met his principal teacher Kalu Rinpoche at his monastery near Darjeeling. There Ken began a study and practice in Tibetan Buddhism that lasted more than twenty years. He completed the traditional three-year retreat program two times, translated for many teachers, and helped set up Buddhist centers in Canada and the United States. After his teacher's passing, Ken moved away from the hierarchical structures of Asian Buddhism to explore new approaches.

In 1990, he founded Unfettered Mind in Los Angeles. His approach of one-on-one consultations roiled the Buddhist world in the early '90s, but was quickly recognized as a viable way to teach and guide students in the West. He made individual interviews a central feature of the many retreats he taught in California, New Mexico, and British Columbia. Through numerous small groups in Southern California, he developed the materials that became the encyclopedic meditation manual, Wake Up to Your Life.

Now retired from formal teaching, he lives in Northern California where he hikes and writes. His writings and translations include The Great Path of Awakening (1987), Wake Up to Your Life (2001), An Arrow to the Heart (2007), Reflections on Silver River (2014), A Trackless Path (2017), and The Magic of Vajrayana (2022), as well as a corpus of articles and translations in Tricycle and other Buddhist magazines.