About this episode

The episode explores the intersection of Celtic Buddhism and contemporary meaning-making with Brother Phap Linh from Plum Village Monastery.

Contemplatives down the centuries have expressed a sense of unity with the All That Is, the Heart Mind of the Universe, whatever we want to call it. The words may be different, but the sense of non duality, of immanence, awe and inter-being seem universal. Only in our western world do we resolutely decide that the world is made of atoms and nothing really matters. Except clearly it does, and if we have one central crisis in our world today, it's one of meaning-making. Even more than our failure to make sense of anything, is our search for a sense of meaning and purpose that must, surely, underlie everything. Where we fall down is in thinking that what we can see, hear, taste, smell, feel is the sum total of all there is: if we can't sense it - if we can't measure it - then it isn't there - and it doesn't matter. This is the kind of frame that underlies the entire death cult of predatory capitalism; it's the core of how we have made the world work…and it's falling apart under our feet and in front of our eyes. Which makes it a really good time indeed to talk to someone who spends their entire life contemplating the nature of reality, in finding ways to be fully present and then…

People in this episode

Host: Accidental Gods

Guest: Brother Phap Linh

Topics covered

• Celtic Buddhism
• contemplation
• meaning-making
• non-duality
• predatory capitalism
• spirituality

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Plum Village Monastery

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