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Unfettered Questions
Podcasts & Audio Files
Several times per year, Ken McLeod meets with a small group of students for an in-depth question and answer session around Buddhism-related questions. These sessions are recorded and posted on the UM website for practitioners who may have similar questions but have limited access to a teacher.
You may attend in person or send in a question by e-mail. In either case, please send
an e-mail with your question to
.
These resources are free. Your support, through donations, will keep them available to everyone. To donate, please click here.
Below are links to .mp3 files of these podcasts. When you click on a link to an .mp3 file, a new window will open to play the sound file.
To listen online now click on a title below.
To download the mp3, right-click the title (if you are a Windows user) or option-click the title (if you are a Mac user).
To subscribe to this series as podcasts go to iTunes Music Store and, in the podcast section, look for "Unfettered Questions" under Religions/Buddhhism.
UQ 38: What is the purpose of empowerments?
What is the purpose of the highest tantra empowerments? What do they do for the mind? - James, northern California
Duration 00:07:49
UQ 01: How do I develop a practice that frees me from suffering?
Among Buddha's last words were: "Everything that comes together ends by falling apart. Work out your own freedom." How do I develop a practice that will free me from suffering? - Agnes, California
Duration 00:05:11
UQ 02: How do I work with a sense of self during practice?
In my Mahamudra practice, regardless of how stable my experience is in various degrees of non-separation, somewhere there’s always a trace of self. What do I make of it? How do I work with it? - Janaki, California
Duration 00:09:02
UQ 03: What of sexual misconduct between teachers and students?
Would you speak to the subject of sexual misconduct by some highly regarded lamas toward their female practitioners? - Chutso, France
Duration 00:10:01
UQ 04: How do I know what practice sequence to follow?
I’m following the meditation sequence in your book Wake Up To Your Life and was about to start on the Death & Impermanence meditations when I heard the 4 Immeasureables podcasts and feel inspired to do them instead. Is it all right to do this? - Rich, New York
Duration 00:07:59
UQ 05: Are mind and experience the same?
In the Mahamudra practice for increasing capacity in meditation, I’m starting to understand that mind and experience are the same. Are they? - Chuck, California
Duration 00:04:29
UQ 06: Explain shared and individual experience, awakening and conventional mind.
You say that there is no possibility of shared experience; there is only our own, individual experience. Would you explain this in the context of dependent origination? Also, please explain awakening mind and conventional mind in terms of practical application to meditation and everyday life. - Priscilla, California
Duration 00:20:35
UQ 07: Are doing the tantric visualizations necessary?
How important or valuable for mind training are the devotional practices given in tantric initiations? Is meditation alone an adequate practice to help us break emotional reactivity? - Sharon, California
Duration 00:09:12
UQ 08: Are the Four Immeasurables a way to non-self or self-cherishing?
In the 4 Immeasurables meditations, we start by wishing that we ourselves enjoy the benefits of the Immeasureables. But I’m uncomfortable with this – it’s too easy. Are these wishes the way to non-self or a way to solidify self-cherishing? - John, California
Duration 00:14:05
UQ 09: How does one work with the pain of doing internal work?
Please explain your recent statement that you wouldn’t wish the pain of doing internal work on anyone. How does one work with this pain? - Lisa, California
Duration 00:15:03
UQ 10: What considerations should go into choosing a dharma path?
For lay Western students with limited resources and busy lives, can one accomplish very much on the Vajrayana path? Should mundane considerations – personal, social, financial, logistical, and so on – influence one’s choice of dharma path? - Labsang, California
Duration 00:12:58
UQ 11: How do you dismantle patterns about one's self?
When you tell stories about yourself and you know that this is a reactive pattern, but you still act like the stories are real, what can you do to dismantle this? - Patricia, California
Duration 00:09:26
UQ 12: What differentiates the Bodhisattva vow from idealized longing?
What differentiates the Bodhisattva vow (“However innumerable sentient beings are, I vow to save them”) from the pitfall of idealized, spiritual longing (to be the most caring, most embracing, most understanding person you can be)? - Duane, Washington
Duration 00:04:45
UQ 13:How can I avoid falling into patterns of empty routine?
My meditation practice has become mechanical and soulless – an empty duty. How do I keep my practice alive? I stopped sitting regularly after realizing that in actuality, practice is in every moment, that there’s no separation between sitting practice and daily life. Nevertheless, how can I resume a formal practice without falling into the same patterns of empty routine? - Bertrand, Morroco
Duration 00:10:09
UQ 14: Is belief in reincarnation necessary?
Is a belief in reincarnation necessary for a serious Buddhist practice? - Art, California
Duration 00:12:25
UQ 17: Can you cultivate attention without a regular sitting practice?
How do you cultivate attention if you can’t keep a regular sitting practice? If you’ve developed stable attention in a non-sitting practice, can you engage in advanced meditation techniques? - Dave, California
Duration 00:09:42
UQ 15: Can I cultivate attention without a practice?
How would you recommend cultivating attention for those who can’t keep a regular sitting practice? Without having a sitting practice, can I still do advanced meditation practices in daily life? - Dave, California
Duration 00:09:39
UQ 16: How can you tell when the mind is leading to appropriate action or patterned tendency?
You have advised, “in the face of confusion, go to the body.” But sometimes the body knows just what to do and other times it’s simply reactive. How can one discern when the mind of the body is leading us to appropriate action, and when it is overcome by the force of patterned tendency? Also, In Wake Up To Your Life, you refer to “purpose, method, effect & result”. In this context, what are the results of meditating on death and dying? - Thomas, Ohio
Duration 00:03:05
UQ 18: How can I keep from getting lost in thoughts?
How do I recognize thoughts rather than identify with & get lost in them? - Kerry, Northern California
Duration 00:05:53
UQ 19: What is the relationship between practice, service and political engagement?
What is the relationship between practice, service and political engagement? - Thomas, Ohio
Duration 00:03:05
UQ 20: When we’re doing basic breath meditation, how do we work with what arises?
You say that we should experience what arises when we practice. When we’re doing basic breath meditation, how do we work with what arises? - Janaki, Los Angeles
Duration 00:04:07
UQ 21: Is life really about creating good karma for a better rebirth?
Creating good karma now in order to have a better rebirth – is this really what life is about? What am I really trying to do with this life? - Sharon, San Francisco Bay area
Duration 00:07:43
UQ 22: What is the purpose of secrecy in spiritual practice?
Where does the element of secrecy in spiritual practice come from and what purpose does it serve? - Bertrand, Moracco
Duration 00:04:48
UQ 23: What should I do when life's difficulties make practice difficult?
What do I do when difficulties in my life manifest in my practice and make it difficult? - Michael, Seattle
Duration 00:06:25
UQ 24: Who or what wakes up? Who or what makes the effort?
What does evolution hang upon? What does karma hang upon? Who or what wakes up? Who or what makes the effort? - Jeff, Colorado
Duration 00:04:44
UQ 25: What is the basis of the 6 Realms and the 5 Dakinis in your book?
In your book Wake Up To Your Life, you address the 6 Realms and the 5 Dakinis – what is their basis and origin? - Alex, Northern Virginia
Duration 00:09:50
UQ 26: I find the experience of being 'no thing' threatening. How I can work with this?
The experience of being “no thing” is the essence of Buddhism, yet I find it traumatic to stay with this experience because it threatens my survival. Would you please speak about this? - Joe, Los Angeles
Duration 00:07:43
UQ 27: I experience physical sensations after meditation. What's going on?
Following the meditation directions in your online Mahamudra lectures, I experience three distinct “shifts”: there’s a rest after each, plus the sensation that my heart is literally stopping, and also a feeling of refreshment. What’s going on? - Pat, California
Duration 00:05:07
UQ 28: How do I work with the "I" that wants to know?
Since there’s ultimately nothing to know, then how do I work with the “I” that ceaselessly insists on knowing itself? - Patrick, Montreal
Duration 00:04:45
UQ 29: What should the intention of a sangha be?
In my sangha experiences, I’ve noticed two opposing purposes: one is to enrich & deepen practice; the other is to enjoy the social interaction. What should the intention of a sangha be? - Joe, Los Angeles
Duration 00:05:39
UQ 30: What can I do about physical sensations during meditation?
I have an anxiety disorder, and during meditation I experience distinct physical sensations. Do you have any suggestions or explanations? - Bruce, Seattle
Duration 00:06:02
UQ 31: What practices include verbal interaction between people?
Meditation – especially Zen – is a solitary, mostly silent practice. Are there any traditional practices that include verbal interaction between individuals? - Patrick, Montreal
Duration 00:03:46
UQ 32: Is it permissible just to rest and not cultivate attention?
Are there ever times where it’s permissible to not be cultivating attention and just space out in order to rest? - Steve, Los Angeles
Duration 00:05:56
UQ 33: What does it mean to act with ‘skillful means’?
In our interactions with others, there is the Bodhisattva Vow to liberate all sentient beings. And there is the suggestion that we not be attached to results. So should we worry about whether we’ve acted effectively? What does it mean to act with ‘skillful means’? - Joe, Los Angeles
Duration 00:08:17
UQ 34: How important is developing stable attention?
In my practice, I don’t have stable attention, yet as I sit with the coming and going of experience, I still have some good results. So, how important is developing stable, sustained attention? and does Shamatha play a role in your teachings? - Brian, Los Angeles
Duration 00:05:02
UQ 35: How do I practice when ill?
How do I practice when ill? How do I work with the decreased energy? - Valerie, Washington
Duration 00:04:18
UQ 36: What is the relationship between energy and thought in practice?
I’ve noticed that some practices stimulate physical and energy states, while others are more conducive to resting in non-thought. Which practices should I work with? And what’s the relationship between energy states and thought states in practice? - Lynea, Los Angeles
Duration 00:08:28
UQ 37: What is meant by “all sentient beings are our mothers and fathers”?
What does it meant that “all sentient beings are in fact our own mothers and fathers from past lives”? I find this difficult to take literally. - Seth, Colorado
Duration 00:07:25
UQ 39: What is meant by flattening bad thoughts, turning the mind inward, etc.?
I’ve been reading your translation of “The Great Path of Awakening” by Jamgon Kongtrul. In the mind training tradition, what is meant by flattening thoughts, and turning the mind inward rather than outward? How does this lead to a state of emptiness? - Labsang, Claremont
Duration 24:03
UQ 40: What gives rise to hesitation when taking action?
In the samurai tradition, one must be prepared to lay down one’s life without a moment of hesitation. In my own life, there are some instances where I wouldn’t hesitate, but others where I would. What is it that gives rise to the hesitation? And how does this relate to practice? - Barry, Mexico
Duration 00:09:51
UQ 41: How can I be more attentive to my immediate surroundings?
How can I be more attentive to my immediate surroundings? - Greta, Los Angeles
Duration 00:10:01
UQ 42: How does one work with anger and other negative emotions?
How does one work with anger and other negative emotions as they come up, without suppressing them or acting them out? - George, Seattle
Duration 00:11:28
UQ 43: What is mantra practice and how does it work?
What is mantra practice, how does it work, and how can I work with it in my yidam practice? - George, New York City
Duration 00:08:54
UQ 44: Is there any purpose to practice beyond the cessation of suffering?
Is there any objective meaning and purpose to practice, beyond the cessation of my own and others' suffering? - Brian, Los Angeles
Duration 00:05:21
UQ 45: What do I do when my intention to be present is undermined?
What do I do when, in meditation, my intention to be present is undermined by my sense of self and my reactivity? - George, New York City
Duration 00:06:19
UQ 46: If I'm not struggling in my practice, is something wrong?
If I'm not struggling in my practice, is something wrong? - Meg, Toronto
Duration 00:06:24
UQ 47: What is the Tibetan Buddhist perspective on merit?
What is the Tibetan Buddhist perspective of chanting to accumulate merit? - Dwain, Seattle, WA
Duration 00:08:02
UQ 48: What is working at the edge?
What do you mean by finding and working at the edge of practice? - Ann, New Zealand
Duration 00:07:10
UQ 49: What is the Buddhist perspective on sex?
Why does buddhism "tip-toe" around sex, the principle driving force for human actions? - Phil, Fort Worth, Texas
Duration 00:05:47
UQ 50: What is your position on vegetarianism?
What is your position regarding vegetarianism and using products made from animals? - Thomas , Ohio
Duration 00:05:31
UQ 51: What relevance does dream yoga have to sleeping on one side or the other?
With regards to dream yoga, should women sleep on their left side and men on their right? Does this apply to dying? - Allonda, Louisiana
Duration 00:06:14
UQ 52: How do I work with patterns?
How do I give expression to the changes brought about as a result of practice, when coming up against old patterns operating in the workplace and family? - Leslie, Canada
Duration 00:08:30
UQ 53: How can meditation help with clinical depression?
How can meditation help with clinical depression? - James, Santa Rosa
Duration 00:06:47
UQ 54: What are the wrathful deities?
What are the wrathful deities?
Duration 00:05:22
UQ 55: What does the term “root guru” mean?
What does the term “root guru” mean? - Sharon, San Francisco
Duration 00:05:28
UQ 56: What is the remedy for lack of intention in one’s practice?
What is the remedy for lack of intention in one’s practice? - Bertrand, Morocco
Duration 00:07:13
UQ 57: What’s meant by “the corrupted form of equanimity is manipulation?”
You’ve stated that the corrupted form of equanimity is manipulation – what does this mean? - Alex, North Carolina
Duration 00:05:20
UQ 58: What are the differences between waking experience and lucid dreaming?
Is there any difference between the approach to waking experience and the approach to lucid dreaming? - Maia, Goleta CA
Duration 00:06:48
UQ 59: How does your “pragmatic Buddhism” relate to a more traditional approach?
Could you explain how your “pragmatic approach” to Buddhism relates to a more traditional approach? - Ryan, Baltimore
Duration 00:06:14
UQ 60: If one doesn't believe if reincarnation, how should they view karma and merit?
Karma and merit from past lives seem to explain how bad things happen to good people; but if one doesn’t believe in reincarnation, what then? - Linda, Laguna Beach
Duration 00:06:14
UQ 61: Are dreams just the play of reactive patterns?
Is it true that dreams are just the play of reactive patterns, and we should “get over” any interest in dream content? - Maia, Goleta, California
Duration 00:05:45
UQ 62: Can one have a long-term practice without it changing their life?
How can someone have a serious, long term meditation practice, yet not necessarily experience significant change in their life? - Ryan, Baltimore
Duration 00:13:00
UQ 63: Why does Mahayana imply it's superior to Hinayana?
Mahayana implies that it’s superior to Hinayana – isn’t this a manifestation of pride? - Sharon, San Francisco
Duration 00:08:50
UQ 64: What is the Dedication of Merit prayer about?
What is the Dedication of Merit prayer about? – Linda, Laguna Beach
Duration 00:05:50
UQ 65: What does it mean that "mind has no beginning"?
What does it mean that “mind has no beginning”? – Guy, Los Angeles
Duration 00:05:09
UQ 66: How do I learn from my illness?
In my practice, I keep trying and failing to learn the lesson that my chronic illness is trying to teach me. What’s going on? – Glenda, Daytona Beach
Duration 00:09:17
UQ 67: What are deities?
What are deities? – Art, Los Angeles
Duration 00:09:08
UQ 68: What is the relationship between psychotherapy and waking up?
How does traditional psychotherapy support – and perhaps interfere with – waking up? – Lisa, Los Angeles
Duration 00:13:21
UQ 69: Is it realistic to vow to save all beings?
In the Bodhisattva Vow, isn’t it unrealistic to vow to save all beings? – Santina, New Jersey
Duration 00:12:24
UQ 70: Is it better for one's practice to stay fully engaged with daily life?
Is it better for one’s practice to stay fully engaged with daily life or to withdraw from the world? – Art, Los Angeles
Duration 00:08:52
UQ 71: How do I experience regret?
How do I experience regret for bad behavior without falling into harsh self-judgment or paralyzing self-recrimination? – Guy, Los Angeles
Duration 00:08:02
UQ 72: If there is no self, then what reincarnates?
If there is no self, then what reincarnates? – Art, Los Angeles
Duration 00:09:18
UQ 73: How do I open to my bleeding heart?
My practice is taking me into my bleeding heart, but opening to the wound is too scary: what do I do? – Lynea, Los Angeles
Duration 00:13:00
UQ 74: What’s the difference between Mahamudra and Dzogchen?
What’s the difference between Mahamudra and Dzogchen, and how does one choose which to practice. – Guy, Los Angeles
Duration 00:08:08
UQ 75: Is there such a thing as burning off bad karma?
Is there such a thing as burning off bad karma? - Dana, Los Angeles, CA
Duration 00:05:03
UQ 76: What role do the Four Maras play in the process of dismantling reactive patterns?
What role do the Four Maras play in the process of dismantling reactive patterns? - Maia, Goleta, CA
Duration 00:06:25
UQ 77: What are the reasons for leaving a teacher?
What are the reasons for leaving a teacher? - Troy, South Korea
Duration 00:09:51
UQ 78: Where do all the qualities of the self go?
If meditation practice rids one of a sense of self, then where do all its qualities go? - Alan, Tacoma, Washington
Duration 00:07:11
UQ 79: What are the benefits of a three year retreat?
What are the benefits of a three year retreat, especially within the Western lifestyle? - James, Santa Rosa, CA
Duration 00:04:56
UQ 80: How can I question without falling into discursiveness?
My cerebral approach to practice results in doubt. How can I make it more feeling, and question in a way that isn’t counter-productive? - Vic, Knoxville, TN
Duration 00:09:42
UQ 81: How do I refresh my practice?
My old approach to practice no longer works for me but I don’t know how to find a new one. - Leslie, Brooklyn, NY
Duration 00:06:25
UQ 82: How do I balance daily and larger concerns?
How can I find a balance between being involved in daily life and taking the larger, detached perspective? - Jim, Holland, MI
Duration 00:05:34
UQ 83: How do I deal with likes and dislikes?
Regarding the use of mantras, prayers and dedications – some I like, some I don’t; so what do I do? - Mark, Calgary, Canada
Duration 00:06:06
UQ 84: How would you contrast resting in attention vs stability in attention?
How would you contrast the practice of resting and returning, versus the practice of cultivating stability of attention? - Mike, Germany
Duration 00:09:30
UQ 85: How can I navigate the disorientation and the openness in my life?
How can I navigate the disorientation and the openness in my life that have been created by dismantling patterns in my practice? - Caroline, England
Duration 00:09:13
UQ 86: How do I work with rampant thinking during mantra practice?
I have a solid mantra practice but a non-stop stream of thoughts runs rampantly through it, which is very distressing. - Rick, Providence, RI
Duration 00:06:55
UQ 87: How do I resolve imbalances as a result of my role as a group leader?
I’m sensing imbalances in my role as a group leader but can’t figure out whether my practice would tell me to drop this role and move on, or not. What to do? - Leslie, Canada
Duration 00:07:05
UQ 88: Can taking the bodhisattva vow help me develop awakening mind?
I question whether I really have the capacity to take on the Bodhisattva Vow, and I wonder if it can help me develop awakening mind. - Janet, Pacifica, California
Duration 00:06:25
UQ 89: Can one be drunk and still have realization experiences?
Can one be drunk and still have realization experiences? – Gary, Northern California
Duration 00:06:19
UQ 90: Is karma the result of previous lives or one’s current life?
Is karma the result of previous lives or one’s current life? – David, Santa Barbara, CA
Duration 00:09:24
UQ 91: How do I deal with the fear of death?
What meditation practice can help me work with my fear of death? – Elena, Los Angeles, CA
Duration 00:10:43
UQ 92: What’s the relationship between writing and clear-minded seeing?
What’s the relationship between writing and the clear-minded seeing that comes through the “perfection of wisdom”? – Erik, Ann Arbor, MI
Duration 00:03:40
UQ 93: How can my meditation practice help me cope with terrible nightmares?
How can my meditation practice help me cope with terrible nightmares? – Annet, Netherlands
Duration 00:06:46
UQ 94: How do you live true to your heart?
How do you live true to your heart and true to your mind at the same time? – Sharon, San Diego
Duration 00:09:48
UQ 95: What good does dedication do?
What does the dedication of activity signify? – Sharon, San Francisco, CA
Duration 00:04:53
UQ 96: How does “magnetization” work in conflict resolution?
How does “magnetization” work in conflict resolution? – Ann, New Zealand
Duration 00:04:39
UQ 97: Why does meditation increase attention?
Why does meditation increase attention? – Kareem, Los Angeles, CA
Duration 00:02:59
UQ 98: What compels me to act ethically?
Why should I feel compelled to act ethically and compassionately and not with indifference? – Matthias, Luxembourg
Duration 00:07:35
UQ 99: Can one completely eliminate a habituated pattern?
Can one completely eliminate a habituated pattern? – Kareem, Los Angeles, CA
Duration 00:04:21
UQ 100: Can one develop the qualities of a teacher through meditation?
What are the qualities of a teacher, and can these be developed via one’s practice? – Leslie, Canada
Duration 00:05:23
UQ 101: What does it mean to “combine Kadampa and Mahamudra”?
What does it mean to “combine Kadampa and Mahamudra”? – Janet, Pacifica, CA
Duration 00:08:53
UQ 102: How do I meet conflict and confrontation effectively?
How do I meet conflict and confrontation effectively? – Kenesha, Toronto, Canada
Duration 00:07:06
UQ 103: How does one find direction in practice without a teacher?
How does one find direction in practice without a teacher? – Caroline, Toronto, Canada
Duration 00:05:08