Dharma Roads
by John Danvers
Latest episode
Episode 45 - Intermingling minds: a Venetian rendezvous
Episode 45 - Intermingling minds: a Venetian rendezvous
About this podcast
In this podcast, Buddhist chaplain, Zen practitioner and artist, John Danvers, explores the wisdom and meditation methods of Zen, Buddhism and other sceptical philosophers, writers and poets - seeking ways of dealing with the many problems and questions that arise in our daily lives. The talks are often short, and include poems, stories and music. John has practiced Zen meditation (zazen) for over sixty years.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 45 episodes
- Episode 45 - Intermingling minds: a Venetian rendezvous · 40 minSend us Fan Mail In this extended episode I take an exploratory wander through a number of themes and associations – all of which are somehow connected to the image of Venice as…
- Episode 44 - In beauty I walk: beauty, appreciation and wabi-sabi · 40 minSend us Fan Mail This episode is in two parts. In Part One I explore some ideas about beauty, both those that define beauty as an ideal or transcendent quality, and those that…
- Episode 43 - Zen teacher Dogen · 36 minSend us Fan Mail In this episode I talk about the very influential Japanese Zen teacher, Eihei Dogen (1200-1253), and also say a little about an earlier Chinese teacher, Hongzhi…
- Episode 42 - Zazen & just being here · 29 minSend us Fan Mail In this episode I share some thoughts about what I have learnt from zazen practice and how it has come to be so central to my life. In my experience, zazen (Zen…
- Episode 41 - Charles Reznikoff: poet as witness · 43 minSend us Fan Mail In this extended episode I talk about the American poet, Charles Reznikoff, and about the two movements or trends in modern poetry with which he was associated…
- Episode 40 - The arts of awakening & selfing · 34 minSend us Fan Mail In this episode I explore ideas about nirvana, awakening and what we mean by ‘the self,’ as described in the Buddhist traditions founded by Gotama Buddha - whom…
- Episode 39 - Gary Snyder: his life & poetry · 37 minSend us Fan Mail In this extended episode I talk about another American poet, essayist and environmental activist, Gary Snyder. You might like to take a break in the middle! As I…
- Episode 38 - Mutability, time & presence · 32 minSend us Fan Mail The brevity of life and the nature of time are topics that humans have puzzled over for at least two thousand years – and probably for as long as our species has…
- Episode 37 - Dialogue, religion & the arts · 36 minSend us Fan Mail In this extended episode I suggest a few avenues of exploration concerning the arts as agencies of dialogue and how the arts can offer a model for how…
- Episode 36 - David Hume & Isaiah Berlin · 33 minSend us Fan Mail In this extended episode, I talk about the ideas and insights of two thinkers, David Hume who lived in the eighteenth century, and Isaiah Berlin, who died in…
- Episode 35 - Learning, awakening & empowerment · 19 minSend us Fan Mail In this episode I explore some of the issues surrounding educational methods and processes in contemporary Buddhism and suggest changes in perspective and…
- Episode 34 - Kenneth Rexroth: his life and poetry · 31 minSend us Fan Mail In this episode I talk about the American poet, essayist and translator, Kenneth Rexroth. Like Gary Snyder, who I will speak about in a future episode, Rexroth…
- Episode 33 - Mindful meditation & creativity · 38 minSend us Fan Mail In this episode, somewhat longer than usual, I explore some of the relationships between mindful meditation and creativity – what we might call ‘creative…
- Episode 32 - Mindful Solidarity - an interview with Mike Slott · 42 minSend us Fan Mail In this special episode I interview, Mike Slott, about his new book titled, Mindful Solidarity: A Secular Buddhist Democratic Socialist Dialogue. Mike is the…
- Episode 31 - Daoism (Taoism) · 35 minSend us Fan Mail In this extended episode I explore some of the main ideas and beliefs of Daoism (also known as Taoism) - highlighting aspects of Daoist philosophy that have a…
- Episode 30 - John Dewey · 35 minSend us Fan Mail In this extended episode I share some thoughts on a strand of philosophy known as ‘pragmatism’ as realized in the work of one of its key exponents, John Dewey –…
- Episode 29 - Climate action & eco-grief · 24 minSend us Fan Mail In this episode I share some more thoughts on global warming, climate action and eco-grief. This is a revised and extended version of Episode 3. I argue that we…
- Episode 28 - Soren Kierkegaard · 27 minSend us Fan Mail In Episode 21 I talked about existentialism and mentioned that while Jean Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and other existentialist thinkers were agnostics or…
- Episode 27 - 'Suchness,' Zen & window cleaning · 31 minSend us Fan Mail In this extended episode, I am going to talk about the notion of tathata, or ‘suchness,’ and relate this to the Zen practice of ‘bare attention.’ I will also say…
- Episode 26 - Cultivating mindful ethics · 29 minSend us Fan Mail In this episode, I return to the question discussed in Episode 22, that is, what kind of ethical values may be necessary to the development of a just and…
