Welcome to a very special 200th Episode of the Rebel Buddhist Podcast! This week we’re celebrating the WILD ONES. And yes, that includes YOU!
The way most of the world – or at least the way people in power – suggest that we do this thing called LIFE isn’t exactly working out for most humans.
We see that we’re suffering unnecessarily and know that there’s freedom from this. But it’s not going to be found in the way a late-stage capitalist industrial-growth society tells us.
Thank you for listening to this podcast and for being willing to be one of the rebels who want to do things differently.
Here, we gather to learn radical alternatives – a path of inner peace, contentment, stewardship of the Earth and more-than-human others, and social harmony. A reclamation of our wild selves, our intuition, our embodied wildness… and a remembrance of who we truly are.
The inherent Buddha nature that we all have. The inherent Soul Purpose within all of us.
Many of the principles we explore here are very counter-culture to modern industrialized society (as much as they were when Buddha presented some of them in ancient India’s caste system).
We explore emphasizing the impermanence of material things and of ourselves (and yes, that means even choosing to reflect on death to be fully present during this precious life).
We talk about releasing attachment to external sources of happiness – appreciating material comforts but not seeing them as synonymous with happiness.
This is in stark contrast to being told to buy buy buy and always have more more more!
We also cultivate the concept of karuna, or compassion, which reminds us of the interconnectedness of all beings and calls for empathy and altruism for ALL in the face of suffering. Even toward the ones we might see as our enemies.
The notion that our enemies also experience suffering in life and can be our greatest teachers is also a pretty radical approach in a world that tries to pit “us” against “them.” It goes beyond “turning the other cheek” to cultivating loving awareness and compassion for all beings.
Now, in a culture characterized by constant distraction and superficiality, we also practice mindfulness – a way of being fully present and aware in each moment… whether we like what’s happening or not. We try to be with it without judgment; with loving awareness.
The concept of ehipassiko – to see for ourselves – helps us acknowledge the diversity of human experience and encourage the exploration of our own paths to awakening. This challenges the rigid religious hierarchies and promotes a more tolerant and open-mind perspective.
We emphasize the importance of direct experience and personal insight over ritualistic practices and what someone else might tell you is right or wrong. It’s more a hands-on experiential approach.
We also challenge hierarchical structures by emphasizing the inherent equality of all beings and rejecting notions of superiority based on social status, wealth, or power. We ALL have Buddha nature, and that perspective undermines systems of oppression and promotes social justice.
I could list so many ways your openness to these concepts are game-changing, but perhaps the two most rebellious things we explore here are the notion of there not being an Ultimate right or wrong (non-duality) and embracing uncertainty + impermanence.
When we try to control everything and everyone so we can have a false sense of security and stability, we will always be disappointed because there is no such thing. By embracing uncertainty and not knowing, we cultivate resilience and adaptability in the face of all the shit that’s part of the human experience.
In Zen there’s a concept called the “don’t know mind”: Don’t know. Don’t know right, don’t know wrong. Walking around the world with a “don’t know mind” isn’t a comfortable place for most of us to be, but it’s the most open way to be. And, ironically, once we get the hang of this discomfort, it’s an experience of much less unnecessary suffering.
Seeing for ourselves and trusting our own experience is radical in these times. How many of us would find ourselves in the places of suffering we’ve been in if we’d trusted our internal experience and wisdom? But we’d been taught to not trust it (especially if socialized as women) and instead told to rely most on what we can see. So if someone or something checked all the obvious boxes, we dismissed our heart-mind-gut. And that usually leads to trouble.
There’s so much more to celebrate in the full episode. For now, please take a moment to celebrate YOU being the WILD one, the REBEL one, the one that some people might call CRAZY. Because YOU are the ones who change the world, just by being YOU.
You will learn:
// Why the consumerist, materialistic world can never free us from unnecessary suffering
// Some of the most rebellious ideas and teachings from the past 200 episodes, including:
> Impermanence & non-attachement
> Non-dual perspective
> Compassion
> Mindfulness
> Ehipassiko
> Unnecessary suffering
> Curing vs Healing
// Why the world needs each of us – in all of our wild, rebellious, crazy glory
Resources:
// Episode 9: Impermanence, Death, and Other Sexy Things
// Episode 51: Self-Compassion
// Episode 60: How to Avoid Unnecessary Suffering
// Episode 82: How to Live in Polarity
// Episode 122: Come See for Yourself – Ehipassiko
// Episode 161: Healing vs Curing
// I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a review on the Rebel Buddhist Podcast on iTunes by clicking here.
// Check out Freedom School – the community for ALL things related to freedom, inside and out. Plus, we have entire months devoted to wisdom and compassion. Learn more at JoinFreedomSchool.com. I can’t wait to see you there!
// If you’re new to the squad, grab the Rebel Buddhist Toolkit I created at RebelBuddhist.com. It has all you need to start creating a life of more freedom, adventure, and purpose. You’ll also get access to the Rebel Buddhist private group, and tune in every Wednesday as I go live with new inspiration and topics.