Here is another interesting episode of the Secular Buddhist Podcast. This week Ted Meissner spoke with "The Naked Monk," Stephen Schettini, about his personal evolution from religious Buddhism to secular practice. He was ordained as a Buddhist monk in the Tibetan Gelug tradition and became a founding member of Tharpa Choeling Centre d'hautes etudes Tibetaines in Mont Pelerin, Switzerland. For eight years he trained there and in Asia as a translator and instructor of Buddhism, and began teaching in 1980. After eight years he returned to secular life and pursued education in the Theravada tradition before striking out on his own and eventually creating his Quiet Mind Seminars.
Secular Buddhist Podcast, Episode 137 :: Stephen Schettini :: Secular Practice One-On-One
Stephen Schettini
The Naked Monk Stephen Schettini joins us to speak about personal evolution from religious Buddhism to secular practice.
It’s interesting, isn’t it, how things change and yet so much remains the same? We have in our world, for example, not only ongoing lineages of religious Buddhism, but these traditions are growing alongside new non-traditional forms. The development of secular Buddhism doesn’t take away from or ruin tradition, it simply opens up new fields of exploration.
And what an opportunity this is for us to learn! Our practice doesn’t have to remain in one place, bound by the constraints of convention. We can and should investigate our options, and understand that in different times and circumstances of our lives, we’re going to incline to different approaches to engagement with moment by moment existence. In other words, what we do evolves.
Stephen is the founder and director of Quiet Mind Seminars. He’s led hundreds of meditation workshops in the Montreal area since 2003 through www.thequietmind.org, and has contributed columns regularly to local newspapers and to The Suburban, Quebec’s largest English-language weekly. He also freelanced for the Montreal Gazette. Stephen made a living in print communications and over the next 20 years authored, co-authored, illustrated, and designed dozens of books on information technology and health science.
So, sit back, relax, and have a nice light roast coffee, with a dash of hazelnut creamer.
Podcast: Download
Books
Web Links
- The Naked Monk
- Stephen Schettini
- The Quiet Mind
- Episode 43 :: Stephen Schettini :: The Novice, and Mindful Reflection
- Episode 68 :: Stephen Schettini :: It Begins with Silence
- Berzin Archives — The Spiritual Student-Teacher Relationship (section of articles)
Music for This Episode Courtesy of Rodrigo Rodriguez
The music heard in the middle of the podcast is from Rodrigo Rodriguez. The track used in this episode is “Shika no Tone” from his CD, Traditional and Modern Pieces: Shakuhachi.
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