Ep198: Dudes of Dharma - Dhammarato & Dean Sluyter
I host a dialogue between Buddhist lineage teacher Dhammarato and best selling author Dean Sluyter.
Available on Youtube, iTunes, SoundCloud & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
In this episode I host a dialogue between:
Dhammarato, a lineage teacher in the Thai Buddhist tradition who is known for his unique 1-1 teaching style conducted over Skype.
Dean Sluyter, a meditation teacher and best-selling author of books such as ‘The Dharma Bum’s Guide to Western Literature: Finding Nirvana in the Classics’.
Dhammarato and Dean compare their presentations of the four noble truths, the 8-fold path, and discuss why the right way to practice the meditative path is to take the easy way out.
Dhammarato and Dean illuminate Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Hamlet, liken Dharma to the Boléro, and reveal why Henry David Thoreau was America’s first true yogi.
Dhammarato and Dean also critique the Goenka and Mahasi methods, expose the #1 meditation mistake, and express why recognising the sacredness of all things is the end of suffering.
Topics include:
00:00 - Intro
01:04 - Buddhism is the easy way out
03:43 - The practice of anapanasati
04:26 - Teaching assistant of meditation
05:26 - Fun and true nature
07:40 - Looking for love in all the wrong places
08:05 - Maharishi Mahesh yogi and Henry David Thoreau
10:05 - Dean’s presentation of the 4 Noble Truths
11:27 - Dhammarato’s presentation of the 4 Noble Truths
13:49 - Problems with Goenka and Mahasi methods
17:11 - What has worked in Dean’s practice
18:11 - Laziness vs scholarship
19:18 - Thoreau, America’s first real yogi
23:22 - Shakespeare’s Macbeth and turning the march into a waltz
25:35 - Boléro and changing you mental meter
28:26 - The art of conversation and true listening
31:32 - The sacredness of all things
34:53 - Living instinctually
38:48 - The #1 meditation mistake
41:55 - Stop running so hard
45:07 - Dodgeball Dharma
46:26 - Are Dhammarato and Dean outsiders?
51:49 - Liking and disliking, the lesson of Genesis and Hamlet
58:36 - The diet of Thai monks
01:01:25 -The Elf code
01:04:36 - Walking on holy ground
01:08:24 - Discussing death
01:11:51 - Dharma of Bugs Bunny
Previous Dhammarato Episodes:
Previous Dean Sluyter Episodes:
To find out more about Dhammarato, visit:
To find out more about Dean Sluyter, visit:
Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James