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Episode 39 - Pierce Salguero: Buddhish

Episode 39 - Pierce Salguero: Buddhish

FromThe Mindful Cranks


Episode 39 - Pierce Salguero: Buddhish

FromThe Mindful Cranks

ratings:
Length:
43 minutes
Released:
Jul 20, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

In this episode, I spoke with Pierce Salguero, Ph.D., about his new book Buddhish: A Guide to the 20 Most Important Buddhist Ideas for the Curious and Skeptical, published this year by Beacon Press. Pierce is a Professor of Asian History and Religious Studies at Pennsylvania State University, and is Editor-in-Chief of Asian Medicine: Journal of the International Association for the Study of Traditional Asian Medicine. Pierce received his PhD in the History of Medicine at  at John Hopkins School of Medicine, his Masters of East Asian Studies at the University of Virginia. He is a transdisciplinary scholar who is fascinated by historical and contemporary intersections between Buddhism, medicine, and cross-cultural exchange. He is a prolific scholar and has a fascinating background that includes a former career as a practitioner of Traditional Thai Medicine, along with having been a monastic for a few years in the Thai Buddhist Forest tradition. We had a fascinating discussion about his new book Buddhish – and how approaches this topic in ways that offer newcomers – both those curious and the skeptics – a way to get tour-bus ride of the vast terrain of Buddhist philosophical ideas and practices across various schools and traditions. I enjoyed my conversation with Pierce and I think you will as well.  
Released:
Jul 20, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (49)

Shortly after my Huffington Post essay “Beyond McMindfulness” went viral, a popular mindfulness promoter accused me of being a “crank”. So why not own it? Alas, The Mindful Cranks was born. The Mindful Cranks was the first podcast to critique the mindfulness movement. Conversations with guests soon expanded in scope to include critical perspectives on the wellness, happiness, resilience and positive psychology industries - sharing a common concern that such highly individualistic and market-friendly techniques ignore the larger structural and systemic problems plaguing society. Whether these be trendy Asian spiritualities such as mindfulness or yoga, or other interventions from therapeutic cultures, The Mindful Cranks will call them out without mercy. I am very fortunate to engage with my favorite journalists, authors and public intellectuals whose works that I admire, as well as educators and spiritual teachers who I have learned from — fellow cranks who don’t simply accept the way things are. They’re modern muckrakers who dare to question the unquestionable. But being cranky can be critically wise and compassionate. Casting a wide net around the impending meta-crisis, The Mindful Cranks also explores with leading thinkers how the problems of our times are deeply entangled with our ways of knowing and being. Rather than just retreating from such problems by sitting on cushion, doing yoga or listening to a meditation app, I believe using our minds is not necessarily a bad thing if it challenges the limits of human knowledge.