Host Michael Taft discusses the teachings of Awakening outside of strict lineages, the cultural translation of Buddhist practices, why Awakening is not “labeled Buddhist,” the tension between preserving traditional forms and adapting them to modern students, and the practice’s powerful but evasive nature. We interview meditation teacher Wistan about devotion as an oft-disparaged aspect, heartbreaking compassion when the walls of separation crumble, the importance of turning towards suffering rather than distracting from it, and gratitude and forgiveness as the most neo-Brahmavihara possible. Training in shamatha and vipashyana can prepare students for more direct non-dual practices and provide Wistan’s encouragement that awakening is real, possible, and worth pursuing.
Wistan is a meditation teacher who combines influences from Theravada, Zen, Vajrayana, and Dzogchen training with Shinzen Young’s systematic secular approach to aiding in awakening.
For more information, please visit https://www.wystantbs.com/.
