‘This is a magnificent book [The Buddha Walks Into the Office] that just happens to be truly fun to read. Accessible, urgent, and life-changing.’
Lodro Rinzler is a practitioner and teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage, the founder of the MNDFL meditation studio (which New York Magazine just named the best place to learn meditation in NYC) and the author of numerous books including; Love Hurts: Buddhist Advice for the Heartbroken, the bestselling book, The Buddha Walks into a Bar…, and the book that is the focus of our conversation, The Buddha Walks into the Office. This episode was sheer delight and will be of significant interest for those seeking to engage a day at the office as place to cultivate fullness of being. We cover such areas as how a conference call can be an opportunity for virtue, how to relate to difficult coworkers and what we can learn from a man named Tilopa who reached full enlightenment in part by assisting a sex worker. Lodro Rinzler is a teacher who is thoughtful as he is funny. You can learn more about Lodro at lodrorinzler.com or connect with social media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube. (Also check out this article in the New York Times about MNDFL)
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EPISODE SHOW NOTES
Books by Lodro Rinzler
- Love Hurts: Buddhist Advice for the Heartbroken
- The Buddha Walks into a Bar…
- The Buddha Walks into the Office
- How To Love Yourself (and Sometimes Other People)
- Sit Like a Buddha: A Pocket Guide to Meditation
- Lodro Rinzler’s Amazon Page
Resources Mentioned
People
- Shambhala Buddhism
- Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche
- Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
- New York Shambhala Center
- Barack Obama
Drinks Pairings (51m)
Old Fashioned with a slice of orange
Highlights
2m30s When you hear the word “contemplative”, how does that moniker relate to you?
3m27s How does that manifest in your day-to-day life?
5m35s If someone were going to teach a class on the formation of Lodro Rinzler, what would be the 3 mandatory readings or works that formed you that would definitely be on that syllabus?
7m10s You grew up with a family who practices Buddhism. Were you drawn to deepening your practice at an early age, or did you go through a period of rebellion?
8m43s You mention that Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche is your meditation mentor, what has his presence in your life taught you?
12m30s How does one find a guru?
14m14s You are a helluva snappy dresser, do you have a style mentor?
16m25s You open up Ch. 4 with this quote from Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, “Work is also something real, just as much as spiritual practice. So work doesn’t have to have any extra meaning behind it, but it is spirituality in itself.” How has your path as a Buddhist shaped your approach to work?
19m05s A common encouragement to younger folks on a career search is to ‘find your passion’, what do you see as the limitations of that advice?
21m50s We all have people who grate against us at work, how do we cultivate that sense of empathy towards that person?
27m45s You define Bodhichitta as that experience of opening your heart, or being awake enough to allow your heart to be available to any experience, good or bad. Why is the workplace, thee place to cultivate Bodhicitta?
30m You emphasize that it is upon us as individuals to be positive changemakers. Does a story come to mind of a time when you were embodying a compassionate presence in a workplace that had a ripple effect on the work culture?
33m38s You name the six ways of ruling (leadership): benevolent, true, genuine, fearless, artful, and rejoicing; have you experienced a leader who embodied all six?
36m10s You share the story of Tilopa, the founding father of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. His story is an eccentric one, basically becoming a grinder of sesame seeds and a servant of a sex worker. What lessons come to you from Tilopa?
41m57s You are one of the founders of MNDFL, a meditation studio in New York City. What prompted you to throw your energy into starting MNDFL?
47m What do you think the importance is of meditating in a community like MNDFL?
48m20s What do you think the future of meditation is?
50m55s We always pair an episode with a drink, what drink of choice goes best with this conversation?
Photo credit: Death To Stock Photo
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