Varela 2026: Kensho, Joriki, and Ordinary Mind in Zen Practice (Part 6)
About this episode
Roshi Joan Halifax discusses the four categories of contemplative experience in Zen practice during the Varela Contemplative Science Retreat.
In Part 6 of the Varela Contemplative Science Retreat, Roshi Joan Halifax leads a guided sitting before turning to what she calls the four often-conflated categories of contemplative experience: mystical states, insight, awakening, and realization. Drawing on her own decades of exposure to entheogens and psychedelic research, she distinguishes intensity from accuracy — mystical experience is a… Source
People in this episode
Host: Roshi Joan Halifax
Topics covered
- contemplative experience
- mystical states
- insight
- awakening
- realization
- psychedelic research
Keywords
- Kensho
- Joriki
- Ordinary Mind
- Zen Practice
- mystical experience
- entheogens
- psychedelics
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- Varela 2026: A Conversation with Michael Pollan (Part 9)
- Varela 2026: Ethical Considerations in an Age of AI – Panel Discussion (Part 8)
- The Metta Sutta: What’s Love Got to Do with It?
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