Mindrolling Podcast Ep. 659 with Raghu Markus & Samuel Bercholz

Challenging our perceptions of reality, Samuel Bercholz and Raghu discuss loosening the ego’s grip through meditation and opening to the humor beneath it all. You can pre-order Samuel’s upcoming book, Rude Awakenings: An Unconventional Guide to the Buddhist Path This time on Mindrolling, Samuel and Raghu explore: - Dipping a toe into all religions and learning how to meditate - The humble beginnings of Shambhala Publications - Addictions to ego and so-called reality - Witnessing the beautiful emptiness within Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche - How Ram Dass moved within many different spiritual circles - Entering the mind of Buddha through meditation - Stepping out of the bureaucracy of ego - Not being too serious / blending love and humor About Samuel Bercholz: Sam Bercholz is a senior teacher in the Nyingma and Kagyu lineages of Tibetan Buddhism and the founder of Shambhala Publications. He was a close disciple of Kyabje Thinley Norbu Rinpoche and Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and was empowered by them to teach and given the title Acharya (religious instructor). He has taught extensively in North America, Europe, and Australasia. He was particularly empowered by Kyabje Thinley Norbu Rinpoche to teach from A Cascading Waterfall of Nectar. “What I’ve learned through Buddhist practice and being with great teachers is that the fixed ideas of reality and viewing the world were 180 degrees off. We experience things exactly backwards. Our habit of reality is so skewed that it makes all perceptions backwards. We choose our realities, and we become addicted to keeping that reality going.” –Samuel Bercholz