Ep168: Trust in Awakening - Stephen Snyder & Mark Mininberg

In this episode I host a dialogue between Stephen Snyder, meditation teacher and author of several books including ‘Buddha’s Heart’ and his new release ‘Trust in Awakening’; and Mark Mininberg, Zen master, dharma heir to Bernie Glassman, and founder CEO of Environ Energy. Stephen and Mark recount how they met and why they decided to become each others’ teacher, Stephen teaching Mark heart meditation methods while Mark completed Stephen’s Zen koan training. Stephen and Mark pull back the curtain to give us an intimate view into their mutual teaching relationship, including accounts of mind-to-mind transmission, powerful spiritual epiphanies, and a blossoming friendship. Stephen also announces his new book ‘Trust In Awakening’, a reworking with commentary of the classic Tang Dynasty Chan poem of awakening the XinXin Ming, and offers a teaching and commentary on two of the stanzas from the book. Stephen and Mark also discuss their rigorous new program for training the next generation of teachers, their plans to open a residential retreat centre, and reflect on the dharma politics of traditionalists vs innovators. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep168-trust-in-awakening-stephen-snyder-mark-mininberg Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics include: 00:00 - Intro 01:13 - First meeting 03:35 - Becoming each others’ teacher 06:47 - Adding heart to Zen 12:54 - Zen master learning heart practices from Stephen 17:09 - A powerful heart experience 20:50 - Receiving Dharma transmission in the Glassman-Roshi lineage 24:27 - Deepening koan practice 26:18 - Meeting the minds of the ancient masters 29:04 - Trust in Awakening 33:48 - Stephen and Mark teach about awakening from the 5th stanza of Stephen’s reworking of the Xinxin Ming 39:59 - How to practice with Xinxin Ming stanzas 43:40 - Stephen and Mark teach from the 8th stanza 50:17 - What is the Zen transmission process? 55:09 - Demonstration and the Mu koan 01:00:21 - Buddha’s Heart Meditation Centre 01:07:44 - Training the next generation of teachers 01:08:37 - Qualities needed in a trainee teacher 01:15:29 - The program for trainee teachers 01:18:45 - Respect for the Zen tradition 01:24:00 - Stephen’s in-person retreats 01:25:26 - Dharma politics and traditionalists vs innovators … Previous episode with Stephen Snyder: - https://www.guruviking.com/search?q=Stephen%20Snyder To find our more about Stephen Snyder, visit: - https://awakeningdharma.org/ To find out more about Mark Mininberg, visit; - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mininberg-3ba7b2a … For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - www.guruviking.com … Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James