Ep373: Rude Awakenings - Samuel Bercholz
Samuel Bercholz is a senior teacher in the Nyingma and Kagyu lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, founder of Shambala publications, and author of “Rude Awakenings: An Unconventional Guide to the Buddhist Path”.
Available on Youtube, iTunes, SoundCloud & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
Samuel recalls his childhood as the son of holocaust survivors, his arrival in America as a refugee, his rapid ascent in the Democratic party as part of the Kennedy campaign, and his eventual disillusionment with politics.
Samuel describes his early spiritual seeking in theosophy and Buddhism, details his first experience of satori, and explains the process of learning to trust his gurus.
Samuel tells stories of his years of discipleship under controversial spiritual teachers such as Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, offers his insights about how to be a vajrayana student, and reflects on what it takes to be the disciple of tough masters.
00:00 - Intro
01:02 - Rude Awakenings
02:46 - Child of the holocaust
05:03 - Arriving in America
07:18 - Interest in literature and politics
08:21 - Working for Kennedy
09:32 - Disillusionment with politics
11:16 - Exploring spiritual traditions
12:36 - Theosophy and Buddhism
14:56 - First satori
15:42 - Samuel’s mother’s preference for Russia
17:24 - Difficulties in America as a refugee and becoming a citizen
10:26 - Samuel’s resilience and processing past trauma in meditation
22:22 - Becoming part of the Kennedy office
25:02 - Refugee confidence
26:16 - Samuel’s doubts about himself
28:57 - Witnessing politicians lying about Vietnam
30:42 - Having a breakdown
32:32 - Disappointing spiritual teachers and politicians
34:15 - Experience with Lama Anagarika Govinda
38:17 - Developing trust in spiritual teachers
39:42 - Founding of Shambala Publications
41:00 - Years of discipleship under Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
43:14 - Being with tough gurus
44:10 - Skepticism about Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
45:34 - Death of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
46:43 - How to be a Vajrayana student
49:56 - Samuel’s special relationship with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
51:37 - Stories about Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s personal teaching
54:44 - Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche’s dark side
58:20 - Comparing enlightened teachers
01:03:09 - Becoming a disciple of Thinley Norbu Rinpoche
01:11:24 - Lineage stories are real
01:12:31 - Lama’s commission to Samuel
01:13:19- So easy to miss spiritual opportunities
01:15:19 - Rude Awakenings, breadth and depth
01:16:12 - Why “Rude Awakenings”?
To purchase “Rude Awakenings: vist:
Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James.