The Backyard Buddhist Podcast

”Game Changers”

Welcome back after a short break.  Look at all the things that have changed in the world around us in just a few weeks.  In today's podcast I am answering some great questions from listeners and talking about my own Game Changers.  It is important to take a look back from time to time to see the beauty of how our karma ripened to bring us into a new phase and understanding within our individual experiences.  So happy to be back!  

”The Big Gay Buddhist Episode”

On this episode of The Backyard Buddhist my guest Christopher Bayne and I talk about being part of the LGBTQIA and Buddhist communities.  How does being gay fit into our practice and how do we use that practice to overcome stresses and fears?  You get to hear it first from two Big Gay Buddhists. 

”Trust & Relief”

I have often been asked why Buddhism seems to focus on suffering.  My answer to that is that none of us showed up here to find relief from our overwhelming and ever present, persistent joy.  So, we focus on finding the relief from our suffering, discomfort, and dissatisfaction not to replace suffering with joy but to find a state of ease and perpetual Okay-ness. 
Truth number one is that suffering, discomfort & dissatisfaction exist in our experience even though we find a myriad of ways to distract ourselves from it. 
Truth number two is that there is a cause for this experience of discomfort and the cause for that very discomfort is our attachment (human attachment).
Truth number three is that there is a possibility of relieving that state of dissatisfaction. 
Truth number four is that by opening our minds and hearts to awakened awareness we can and will see the attachment as a human reaction and let go of our strangle hold on the reactive fear that is the nature of attachment.
There is no suffering, discomfort or dissatisfaction that cannot be relieved by this methodology. 
Turning directly toward our discomfort is simply to identify that we are experiencing a state of unrest regarding our individual experience.  Once we have identified the discomfort, we can seek the cause of it through insight and patient inquiry.  Then and only then can you effectively utilize the wisdom and compassion achieved through that exploration to relieve the tight grip of attachment causing this struggle.
There is not simply one issue to be relieved.  Each of us has a lifetime of conditioning that has compounded our unrest and developed in despair, anxiety, and depression.  The good news is that once you have released your grasp on your attachment mindfully and attentively then the path is paved for continued relief. 

”Belief in Nowness”

I am Ronn Pawo McLane and this is the Backyard Buddhist Podcast where we continually seek everyday enlightenment for the benefit of ourselves and all other beings.  I have invited my friend Brooke Beets to join us today in the backyard.  Welcome Brooke!
 
We often find ourselves in a state of dissatisfaction because our wants do not seem to add up to our haves.  I, like many of you, did my time attempting to manifest the life and the material things that I wanted only to find myself disappointed with the results.  So why does this happen? 

”The Refuge of Waves & Water”

We all feel separate sometimes.  Sometimes we believe we have been forgotten in the middle of no-where.  In this episode of the Backyard Buddhist Ronn Pawo talks about the contemplation of self and other.   What is relative and what is ultimate?  Why does it feel like a vast ocean of separateness?  
Are we separate? 

”Super Buddha”

I am Ronn Pawo McLane and this is the Backyard Buddhist Podcast where we continually seek everyday enlightenment for the benefit of ourselves and all other beings. 
You won’t often find me watching a movie or television show that has uncomfortable chaos or violence.  First it just feels disruptive to my experience and second, I have a belief that the experience of watching shows like this lodge them in your experience as real.  I am going to admit right here and now that my beliefs about this kind of material contains one small gap and that is the super-hero genre.  Maybe because I can understand that these are not real situations or maybe I am just making that up.   I have invited my friend Tod Meyers to talk about our spiritual super powers!  
 

”Forgive and Remember”

Welcome to the Backyard Buddhist Podcast where we continually seek everyday enlightenment for the benefit of ourselves and all other beings.  I am Ronn Pawo McLane.  Regret is a powerful obstacle when we are trying to balance our human experience and relieve suffering. Regret for our own behaviors and resentment associated with trauma caused by others or as a result of events that happened to us.  Today we are talking about how to let go of the past.  I invited my good friend Christopher Bayne to join me today.  Welcome Chris!

”Insight Through Hindsight”

Welcome to the Backyard Buddhist Podcast where we continually seek everyday enlightenment for the benefit of ourselves and all other beings.  I am Ronn Pawo McLane.  This week on the Backyard Buddhist Podcast we are talking about cultivating wisdom and compassion through the tools of insight.  We have so much to learn and understand but it always begins with understanding ourselves and our human/spiritual experiences.  Have you figured out how to access that insight?  
 

”Enough IS Enough”

Welcome to the Backyard Buddhist Podcast where we continually seek everyday enlightenment for the benefit of ourselves and all other beings.  I am Ronn Pawo McLane
The great Yogi Milarepa sang: “My Body is the holy mandala itself wherein resides the Buddhas of all times.  With their blessings I and freed from all needs and attachments.  By day and night, I offer them up; Happy am I to do without material things. Knowing that all beings in the six realms of samsara are inherently Buddhas, and all the three worlds-the self-creating measureless (Trikaya) palace. Whatever I do is the play of the Dharmadhatu (ultimate reality); Whoever I’m with is the Yidam Deity; Wherever I stay is the Buddha’s abode.
Happy am I to forego outer supports, rituals and symbols!”
This teaching reminds me that enough is enough and I have everything that I need to access peace and calm in my experience whenever I need it.

”Why I Am Not Good Enough”

Welcome to the Backyard Buddhist Podcast where we continually seek everyday enlightenment for the benefit of ourselves and all other beings.  I am Ronn Pawo McLane
One of my teachers reminded me that the pure light of awareness sanctifies everything.  What it means to me is that when I shine the spotlight of awareness on what is causing my suffering, discomfort, and dissatisfaction then I can truly see the condition, the cause, and the cure simultaneously.  The part of that which is the most difficult is remembering to flip on the switch of attentive awareness to illuminate those dark corners.   I also know that it is through difficulty that we have our most important understanding. 
All there is to do is be present awake and aware in this moment because it is the only moment that matters.  Hindsight is a powerful tool, but we have to be careful not to live our lives in the rearview mirror. In this moment I am enough, you are enough, we are all enough.  We are not damaged, not a failure and are all worthy of unconditional love.   Begin by cultivating unconditional love for yourself. Begin at home, on the spot, right now. 
Thanks for all the listeners from around the globe for tuning in and listening.  If you would like to keep in touch subscribe to The Backyard Buddhist on Facebook or twitter or drop your email address in the link at backyardbuddhist.com   
Email me directly at UrgyenPawo@gmail.com