Down with the Dharma

Lopon Dorje Khandro (Dr. Lourdes Arguelles), John, Franz Manfredi from Long Beach Meditation, and Chris Johnson from the Engaged Buddhist Alliance discuss the movie "Planet of The Humans." Executive produced by Michael Moore and directed by Jeff Gibbs, the film argues that green technology and capitalism will not save the planet. Only a radical change in human behavior will work. The film argues t...

John talks about the different Pluto groups and how socialist millennials (people with Pluto in Scorpio) could attain power through Daoist alchemical yoga.  Boomers = Pluto in Leo Obama's group = Pluto in Virgo Younger Gen X group = Pluto in Libra AOC's group = Pluto in Scorpio Zoomers = Pluto in Sagittarius 

ABCC 2020 Plenary Talk July 26th Speaker : Stephanie Mines Topic : Sacred Activism Respondents : Lourdes Arguelles, Alane Daugherty, John Freese Links: http://www.tara-approach.org/ https://www.cccearth.org/ http://www.mindandheartlab.com http://www.mindandheartlab.com/dr-daugherty.html

Speaker: Erin Smith Topic: Tarot, divination in general, and Buddhist practice Panelists: John Freese, Elaine Dove, Lourdes Arguelles, Jing Jing Zhu Links: https://vardo-tarot.myshopify.com/ https://dovehealingarts.org/ https://downwiththedharma.org/bio/john-freese/

Round table discussion on the intersection of addiction recovery, Buddhist practice, and addiction counseling.  Panel facilitator: Tom Moritz.  Panelists: Erin Smith, Corey Swartsel, Caroline Netschert, and Eduardo Farias.  Links: https://www.buddhistglobalrelief.org/ http://engagedbuddhistalliance.org/

Talk: Rev. Dr. Frank Rogers on the practice of spiritual direction from a Christian Perspective. Frank is a theology professor in the spiritual formation department at the Claremont School of Theology.   https://cst.edu/academics/faculty/frank-rogers-jr/ First Respondent: Bhante Sumitta Thero on traditional Buddhist spiritual direction from the perspective of the Pali Canon in Sri Lanka...

Bhante Sumita discusses how Buddhism can respond to suffering on a societal level based on questions from the audience. Bhante Sumitta is a Bhikkhu (fully ordained monk) in the Theravada tradition of Sri Lanka. He is a senior monk and director of programming at the Lankarama Buddhist temple in Los Angeles. He is also the founder of Dhamma USA, a "community organization of dedicated volunteers enga...

Round table discussion with: Meiver De La Cruz, Brother Fulfillment, Jo-Ann Rosen, Melanie Gin, and John Freese The main topic is collective body-centered approaches to healing trauma using Community Resiliency Model (CRM), mindfulness practice, and dance. Trauma and its healing are understood as both personal/intrasubjective and collective/intersubjective. As a social manifestation of the histori...

This is the second talk and panel discussion of the ABCC 2020 Conference . Speaker: Lama Justin Vonbujdoss  Topic: Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy and Abolition Panelists: Stephanie Barnes, Nathan Michon, Kyira Korrigan Facilitator: Lama Justin Links:  https://justinvonbujdoss.com/   https://www.bhumisparsha.org/

This is the first talk and panel discussion of the Association of Buddhist Care and Counseling conference (July 25-27) 2020 . Speaker: Lourdes Argeulles  Title: "Migration, Fear, and Compassion-Focused Practices" Panelists: Harriet Wrye, Stephanie Mines, Elaine Dove, and Pamela Ayo Yetunde Facilitator: John Freese Links: Lourdes Arguelles https://www.cgu.edu/people/maria-de-lourdes-arguelles/...

John interviews Dr. Stephanie Mines about her work in healing shock and trauma. Topics include somatic attunement, Buddhist practice, the energy medicine of Jin Shin Jyutsu, and the groundswell of Earth consciousness in response to global warming. Dr. Mines is the founder of the TARA Approach to heal shock and trauma and is the vision holder of Climate Change and Consciousness . 

Guest host and UWest psychology student Farah Shaikh interviews people from Kranti about the importance of practicing the fourth precept of mindful speech and deep listening. Kranti is a nonprofit organization that empowers girls from Mumbai's red-light areas to become agents of social change and happiness. https://www.kranti-india.org/ https://feminisminindia.com/2017/12/06/interview-robin-f...

Joanna Paulino, a UWest student from John's class on Buddhist social ethics, talks about her interview with Jason Thomas. Jason is a former gang member and incarcerated person who now mentors youth to help them stay out of gangs and free from addiction to drugs. Joanna talks about Jason's story using the teachings on the five precepts and an understanding of trauma.  

John interviews longtime socialist and labor organizer Dr. Mike Slott about Marxism, his career in the labor movement, his interest in secular Buddhism, his involvement with the Secular Buddhist Network , and his Marxist Buddhist analysis of the obstacles we face in creating a more just and mindful society.  Mike has been teaching as a Part-Time Lecturer in the Department of Labor Studies and...

John interviews Tim about dialogue-based mindfulness, psychotherapy, and peer counseling.  Tim Desmond is a psychotherapist, author, Distinguished Faculty Scholar at Antioch University New England, and student of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Co-founder of Morning Sun Mindfulness Center, he lives in Alstead, NH, and teaches mindfulness and self-compassion practices audiences around the world. H...

John talks with Reverend Dr. Nathan Jishin Michon about his research on the burgeoning field of Buddhist chaplaincy in Japan. Rev. Dr. Michon is a Shingon priest. He did his dissertation at the Graduate Theological University in Berkeley CA. His research involved reading the works of, interviewing, and observing Buddhist chaplains in Japan responding to the unprecedented suffering caused by the 20...

John and fellow UWest MDiv alumni Reverend Alan Cossitt discuss the idea of Buddhist socialism from an early Buddhist perspective. Alan is a healthcare chaplain in Oregon who lives on a houseboat with his two dogs. His practice is based on the early Buddhist teachings on becoming. Book Mentioned: The Paradox of Becoming by Thanissaro Bhikkhu of Wat Metta in Valley Center CA. Ajhan Geoff is an emin...

John talks Buddhist practical theology with Reverend Dr. Monica Sanford. Monica shares her experience as a university chaplain, her research on how Buddhist chaplains do "theological reflection," and what she envisions the Association of Buddhist Care and Counseling could look like.   Monica and John both did their M.Div. at University of the West in LA. Monica earned her PhD in Practical The...

John talks about the history of practical theology and Protestant theological infrastructure as a model that Buddhists could draw from to expand Buddhist theological education and training beyond chaplaincy into Buddhist care and counseling. Link to paper John refers to in his talk. https://www.academia.edu/42204772/Practical_Theology_Qualifying_Exam_By_John_Freese_for_Dr._Kathleen_Greider

UWest student Farah Shaikh interviews UWest students, alumni, and faculty that teach Buddhist philosophy and meditation in California State prisons via The Engaged Buddhist Alliance. The EBA is a nonprofit founded by Dr. Lewis Lancaster, John Freese, Venerable De Hong, and Margaret Meloni. The EBA teaches to over 200 students in over 8 state prisons in Southern California. Sequence of Interviews C...

John gives a Dharma talk on The Four Noble Truths from an early Buddhist perspective and from the perspective of Daoist internal alchemy. Link to the notes and bibliography: https://johnfreese.wordpress.com/2019/11/17/down-with-the-dharma-podcast-episode-5-the-four-noble-truths/