Dharma Roads

Apr 24 2024 1

Dharma Roads Podcast artwork

In this podcast, Buddhist chaplain, Zen practitioner and artist, John Danvers, explores the wisdom and meditation methods of Zen, Buddhism, Daoism and sceptical philosophers - seeking ways of dealing with the many problems and questions that arise in our daily lives. The talks are often very short, and many include poems, stories and music. John has practiced Zen meditation (zazen) for over fifty-five years.

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Episode 24 - Transmission, transformation and secular Zen

Apr 24 2024 23 mins

In this episode I talk about my many years of Zen meditation practice and relate my experience to the development of a sceptical, secular Zen that is rooted in contemporary western culture – with an emphasis on empirical investigation, naturalism rather than supernaturalism, and minimal ritual. I relate this development to the twin functions of teaching and learning - that is, tr

Episode 23 - Interwoven nature

Mar 25 2024 23 mins

In this episode I talk about the relationship between body, mind and world from the perspective of someone who has been practicing zazen, a form of mindful meditation, since 1965. Zazen is a very simple practice but not always easy. It consists of sitting quietly, paying attention to whatever arises in my embodied mind and in the world immediately around me – without comment or j

Episode 22 - Mindful ethics, capitalism & sustainability

Mar 12 2024 22 mins

In this episode I suggest that the current neo-liberal forms of capitalism are unsustainable insofar as they are damaging to our planet and its life-supporting atmosphere, and as they generate, in the human realm, divisive and deeply inequitable social structures. I argue that we need to develop more beneficial modes of living, working and doing business, grounded in what I think o

Episode 21 - Existentialism - another Dharma Road

Dec 06 2023 31 mins

We each have to find, or maybe construct, a dharma road upon which we can walk in peace with care and attention – cultivating wellbeing and living a good life. The many forms of Buddhism offer possible dharma roads but there are also other routes that may be just as beneficial. The diversity of world religions and philosophies are testament to the variety of paths that have been,

Episode 20 - Transience, clinging & non-attachment

Nov 10 2023 24 mins

In this episode I share some thoughts about impermanence, clinging and the value of non-attachment. I also reflect on what it means to be here – the miraculous nature of being alive and conscious. I go on to say something about interdependence and the ways in which mindful meditation can help us to appreciate our daily lives and to learn how to let go rather than to hang on.

Episode 19 - Buddhism, interdependence & ecology

Sep 10 2023 27 mins

In this episode I trace some parallels between Buddhist and ecological views of the world. We live in a universe of interwoven and interactive processes and energies – a universe in which things are actually events, with no fixed essences or identities. Everything is in flux, merging and mingling in changing patterns of dynamic kinship. We are relational beings in a relational un

Episode 18 - Poetry & paying attention

Aug 25 2023 27 mins

In this episode I explore the relationship between poetry and paying attention – the ways in which poets are mindful - noticing things that often get missed in the merry-go-round of life. In the act of making poems, poets practice a kind of mindful attention – taking notice of what is happening in, and around, themselves in a clear-sighted yet caring and compassionate way. One

Episode 17 - Scepticism, Buddhism & Zen - being a mindful sceptic

Aug 10 2023 23 mins

In this episode I offer a few personal thoughts on what might be called a ‘sceptical approach to Zen Buddhism,’ or, perhaps more accurately, a worldview rooted in the ideas and practices of both Zen Buddhism and the sceptical philosophy established by the ancient Greek thinker, Pyrrho of Elis – who lived from around 360 – 270 BCE. I relate these thoughts to the practice of

Episode 16 - John Cage & Zen: a chattering silence

Jul 21 2023 35 mins

In this extended episode I explore some of the ideas and works of the American multi-disciplinary artist, John Cage – who was born in 1912 and died in 1992 – particularly noting parallels with the practice of zazen and mindful meditation. In 1950, Cage met D.T. Suzuki and began to learn from him about Zen. Cage was never a Zen practitioner, in the usual sense, but his understan

Episode 15 - Baruch Spinoza - God, Nature & ethics

Jun 22 2023 14 mins

There are many sources of wisdom and advice about how to live a ‘good life.’ Buddhist teachers have much to say about how to minimise suffering and maximise wellbeing. But we can extend what is called ‘dharma’ - the body of Buddhist wisdom and advice - to include many other non-Buddhist sources. In Western philosophy, other religions and indigenous cultures there are many t