About this episode
David Robert Loy is a professor, writer, and Zen teacher in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition of Japanese Zen Buddhism. He is a prolific author, whose essays and books have been translated into many languages. His articles appear regularly in the pages of major journals such as Tikkun and Buddhist magazines including Tricycle, Turning Wheel, Shambhala Sun, and Buddhadharma, as well as in a variety of scholarly journals. Many of his writings, as well as audio and video talks and interviews, are available on the web. He is on the editorial or advisory boards of the journals Cultural Dynamics, Worldviews, Contemporary Buddhism, Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, and World Fellowship of Buddhists Review. He is also on the advisory boards of Buddhist Global Relief, the Clear View Project, Zen Peacemakers, and the Ernest Becker Foundation. David lectures nationally and internationally on various topics, focusing primarily on the encounter between Buddhism and modernity: what each can learn from the other. He is especially concerned about social and ecological issues. A popular recent lecture is “Healing Ecology: A Buddhist Perspective on the Eco-crisis”, which argues that there is an important parallel between what Buddhism says about our personal predicament and our collective predicament today in relation to the rest of the biosphere. Presently he is offering workshops on “Transforming Self, Transforming Society” and on his most recent book, The World Is Made of Stories. He also leads meditation retreats. (To find out about forthcoming lectures, workshops and retreats, please see the Schedule page.) Igor Kufayev was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. In his childhood, he had many episodes associated with awakening. At the age of thirty-six, Igor underwent a radical transformation of consciousness which subsequently blossomed into spontaneous unfoldment of Grace. Website: igorkufayev.com YouTube Channel: Flowing Wakefulness Wikipedia Page Other BatGap events with Igor: Igor Kufayev with Jac O’Keeffe, and Francis Bennett Igor Kufayev, in Panel Discussion with John Hagelin and Mark McCooey Igor Kufayev, in Panel Discussion on Kashmir Shaivism Interview recorded 10/28/2012. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Outdoor Interview with David Loy and Igor Kufayev 00:02:36 - The Crisis of Climate Change and Extinction Events 00:04:20 - Non-duality and the Social World 00:05:57 - The Illusion of Separate Self 00:07:16 - The Compartmentalization of Awakening 00:08:34 - The Combination of Western and Eastern Ideals 00:10:14 - The Direction of Contemporary Non-Dual and Spiritual Circles 00:11:46 - The Power of Spiritual Action 00:13:11 - Waking up to Non-duality and Transforming Motivations 00:14:57 - Working on Both Inner Awakening and Social Activism 00:16:55 - Self-preoccupation on the spiritual path 00:18:50 - Molding Our Perception of the World 00:20:43 - The Reductionistic View of Objectification 00:22:51 - The Power of Perception 00:25:09 - The Impact of our Thoughts and Emotions on the Universe 00:26:58 - The Birth of a New Story 00:29:08 - The Delusion of Withdrawing from the World 00:31:02 - The Crisis of the Old Story 00:32:53 - Rationalizing Greed, Aggression, and Delusion 00:34:31 - Identifying with the Whole Cosmos 00:35:42 - The Capacity of the Human Being and its Connection to the Cosmos 00:36:43 - Everything is Consciousness 00:38:05 - Witnessing the Silent Tree 00:39:42 - God's Intelligent Orchestration 00:41:31 - The Principle of the Fulcrum 00:43:08 - The World that Exists and the World that Doesn't 00:44:28 - Creating a New World Through Conscious Perception 00:45:43 - The Delusion of Separate Self in American Life 00:47:20 - The Power of Controlling the Media and Collective Consciousness 00:48:46 - The Race Between Education and Catastrophe 00:49:59 - Wrapping Up the Interview Save