Ep361: Living Awakeness - Stephen Snyder

In this episode I am once again joined by Stephen Snyder, Buddhist meditation teacher and author of several books including “Living Awakeness: Embodying Your Awakening”. Stephen compares Theravada to Zen in terms of difficulty and depth, explains why 30 minutes of cessation is his minimum to achieve Theravada stream entry, and shares why he believes cessation has a feminine energy. Stephen discusses the writing practices that have made him such a prolific author, reflects on how spiritual experiences can change one’s reading habits, and reveals his opinion on academic histories of Buddhism Stephen also discusses false awakenings and ego inflation, whether enlightenment eliminates all negative emotions, and considers the controversial relationship between enlightenment and political engagement. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep361-living-awakeness-stephen-snyder

 Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
 … Topics include: 00:00 - Intro 01:02 - Stephen’s secrets for writing so prolifically 04:51 - Writing routine 05:57 - Influence of law career on writing style 07:32 - Does Stephen read fiction? 08:00 - Does awakening change reading preferences? 10:03 - Does Stephen read Buddhist history? 12:14 - Stephen’s new book, “Living Awakeness” 12:34 - Patterns in students with deeper awakening 13:30 - 8 levels of consciousness 18:22 - Are desire and anger eliminated by awakening? 20:32 - The Buddha was angry 21:19 - How does awakening affect emotion? 22:59 - Stored karma in the 8th level of consciousness 24:31 - Awakening vs self improvement 27:07 - Meditation as stress reduction 29:26 - Why not just teach the brahmavihārās? 30:45 - Yogic origin of Buddhist practices 31:18 - Different ways to practice brahmavihārā 34:13 - Theravada vs Zen awakenings 34:54 - Theravada awakening is in danger of being lost 37:00 - Which is more difficult: Theravada or Zen? 37:58 - Fear of extinction 39:34 - Cessation is a feminine energy 41:06 - Which awakening should you get first: Theravada or Zen? 41:54 - 30 min cessation minimum for stream awakening 44:56 - False awakenings 45:11 - Cessation vs falling asleep during meditation 45:38 - “Awakening” is used to generically 46:10 - Interrogating awakening experiences 47:18 - Ego inflation after transcendent experiences 49:09 - Post awakening perspectives 53:07 - Awakening and political engagement 57:21 - Bernie Glassman’s Auschwitz retreats 59:52 - Does awakening change one’s politics? 01:03:01 - Origin of enflamed political engagement … Watch previous episodes with Stephen Snyder: - https://www.guruviking.com/search?q=Stephen%20Snyder To find our more about Stephen Snyder, visit: - https://awakeningdharma.org/ … 
For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - www.guruviking.com … Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James