I sit down with Dominic Steavu, a historian of Chinese religion and healing from UC Santa Barbara. We discuss the central role of the body in medieval Daoist practices, and talk about the Daoist use of psychedelics to facilitate mystical experiences. Along the way, we touch on talismanic tattoos, internal alchemy, and embodied nonduality. Plus, Dominic reveals what he thinks about aliens and the Wu-Tang Clan.
Remember, to hear from more experts on Buddhism, Asian medicine, and embodied spirituality, subscribe to Blue Beryl. Please enjoy!
Resources related to this episode:
- Christine Mollier, Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face (2009)
- Pierce’s blog “In defense of a little romanticism… or, how Mr Miyagi inspired me to become a professor”
- Pierce Salguero, Buddhish: A Guide to the 20 Most Important Buddhist Ideas for the Curious and Skeptical (2022)
- Dominic Steavu, The Writ of the Three Sovereigns: From Local Lore to Institutional Daoism (2020)
- Dominic Steavu, Transforming the Void: Embryological Discourse and Reproductive Imagery in East Asian Religions (2015)
- Dominic’s Academia.edu page
In this debut episode of Blue Beryl's second season on embodied spirituality, I sit down with Paul C. Wang, a healer and teacher of Chinese medicine and Daoism, and host of the Daology Podcast. We talk about Paul’s practices of “memetic healing” and “clinical cosmology,” and how he works with Chinese medicine, martial arts, neigong, and spirit healing. Along the way, we discover how to communicate with deceased spirits, and how to embody the Dao through everyday practices.
Please enjoy! And if you want to hear from more experts on Buddhism, Asian medicine, and embodied spirituality, subscribe to Blue Beryl for monthly episodes.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Welcome to the Blue Beryl, a podcast with intelligent conversations about Buddhism, Asian Medicine, and embodied spirituality. In this episode, host Dr Pierce Salguero sits down with BBP producer Dr Lan Li to reflect on Season 1 and look ahead to Season 2. We discuss showing up for scholarly work as a whole person, how studying Buddhist medicine challenges the academic status quo, and what do I mean by calling Season 2 “embodied spirituality”? Along the way, we touch on talismanic chants, poisonous centipedes, dissolving bodies, and the unfolding mystery that this podcast is pursuing.
Enjoy! And subscribe to Blue Beryl for monthly episodes.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- “Human•ities,” Pierce’s blog series on building a more humane culture in the humanities (see also this Facebook group)
- Pierce’s publications and blogs about pedagogy
- Pierce Salguero, "The Monk and the Centipede" Tricycle (2022)
- Pierce Salguero, Buddhish: A Guide to the 20 Most Important Buddhist Ideas for the Curious and Skeptical (2022)
Dr Pierce Salguero is interviewed by James Bae on the Buddhist Medicine & Yoga Podcast. In this extensive and in-depth conversation, we talk about differentiating religion from medicine, what Buddhist medicine can teach contemporary clinicians, current trends in the field of Buddhist studies, and hybridity versus tradition. We also explore Buddhist medicine in America, different kinds of Buddhist healers in the US, and how Buddhist medicine circulates in the contemporary era. Along the way, we dig into the promise of “metadisciplinary” collaborations, and what it means to engage in “pedagogy of the soul.” This episode combines two interviews, abridged and edited together.
Enjoy, and please subscribe to Blue Beryl so that you do not miss any episodes in the future!
Resources mentioned in the episode:
- Link to the original (non-abridged) interview, part 1
- Link to the original (non-abridged) interview, part 2
- Michael Stanley-Baker, Situating Religion and Medicine in Asia (2023)
- Pierce Salguero, Translating Buddhist Medicine in Medieval China (2014)
- Pierce’s “Pedagogy of the Soul” blog series
- Pierce Salguero, “Beyond Mindfulness: Buddhism & Health in the US” (2022)
- Pierce Salguero, “Varieties of Buddhist Healing in Multiethnic Philadelphia” (2019)
- Pierce Salguero, “The Role of Buddhist Studies in Fostering Metadisciplinary Conversations and Improving Pedagogical Collaborations” (2021)
- Pierce’s “Meta Approaches to Asian Medicine” blog series
Dr. Pierce Salguero is a transdisciplinary scholar of health humanities who is fascinated by historical and contemporary intersections between Buddhism, medicine, and crosscultural exchange. He has a Ph.D. in History of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (2010), and teaches Asian history, medicine, and religion at Penn State University’s Abington College, located near Philadelphia. www.piercesalguero.com.
Today I sit down with Amy Langenberg, a scholar of South Asian Buddhism, gender, sexuality, and the body. We focus on Amy’s work on misogyny in Buddhist texts, her book on Buddhist embryology, and her current project on sexual abuse in contemporary Buddhist communities. Along the way we discuss miscarriage, menstruation, and the importance of feminist scholarship . . . and also, what does the Buddha have in common with Michael Phelps?
Remember, if you want to hear from more experts on Buddhism, Asian medicine, and embodied spirituality, subscribe to Blue Beryl for monthly episodes. Please enjoy!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Amy Langenberg, Birth in Buddhism: The Suffering Fetus and Female Freedom (2017)
- Pierce Salguero, "'This Fathom-Long Body': Bodily Materiality and Ascetic Ideology in Medieval Chinese Buddhist Scriptures" (2018)
- Amy’s academic papers, free to download on Academia.edu
- Pierce Salguero (ed.), Buddhism and Medicine: An Anthology of Premodern Sources (2017)
- Amy Langenberg, "The Buddha Didn’t Teach Consent" (2021)
- The Buddhist Bodies Collective
- Ann Gleig and Amy Langenberg, “Survivor-Centered Solutions: #MeToo and Spiritual Abuse” (CBC Radio)
- Ann Gleig and Amy Langenberg, "Abuse, Sex and the Sangha: A Series of Healing Conversations” (video playlist)
- Ann Gleig and Amy Langenberg, “Sexual Ethics and Healthy Boundaries in the Wake of Teacher Abuse” (2023)
- Ann Gleig and Amy Langenberg, “Supporting Survivors of Abuse” (video)
- Amy Langenberg and Ann Gleig, "Sexual Misconduct And Buddhism - Centering Survivors" (2020)
- Amy Langenberg, “Late Night Phone Alerts And Other Intrusions: What To Expect When You Write About Sexual Violation In Religion” (2021)
Today I sit down with Pamela Boyce Simms, a Buddhist practitioner, herbalist, and cultural healer. We talk about how Pamela’s Buddhist practice enables her to facilitate self-care sovereignty for impoverished rural and urban communities. We also discuss how she uses deep meditation states to navigate the stark racial and political divides facing contemporary America. Along the way, we talk about the multidimensional nature of reality, plant spirits, and how the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa inspired her to get involved in environmental activism.
Enjoy, and don’t forget to subscribe to Blue Beryl to ensure that you don’t miss an episode!
Resources mentioned:
In this episode, I sit down with Kin Cheung, a scholar of contemporary Buddhism at Moravian University. We talk about his research on a Chinese American community healer who happens to be his father. We discuss how his father’s practice raises challenging questions for scholars, and reveals gaping holes in current academic approaches to Buddhism. Along the way, we talk about how code-switching between different ontologies is a feature of life for Asian Americans, and hear Kin’s father conduct a blessing ritual.
Enjoy, and please subscribe so that you do not miss any episodes in the future!
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
- First installment of Pierce's blog series on Meta Approaches to Asian Medicine
- Chenxing Han, Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists (2021)
- Duncan Ryūken Williams, American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Second World War (2019)
- Pierce Salguero, Buddhism and Medicine: An Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Sources (2020)
- Jivaka Project Philadelphia (documentary films on Asian American Buddhism in Philadelphia, by Pierce and Lan)
- Pierce Salguero, Kin Cheung, and Susannah Deane, Buddhism and Healing in the Modern World (2024)
- Pierce Salguero and Andrew Macomber, Buddhist Healing in Medieval China and Japan (2020)
Today I sit down with Rev. Nathan Jishin Michon, a postdoctoral fellow at Ryukoku University and an ordained priest in the Shingon Buddhist tradition. Our conversation touches on diverse Buddhist healing rituals and the role of light in Shingon practice and cosmology. We discuss the playfulness and innovation in modern Japanese Buddhism, and the rise of chaplaincy after the 3.11 tsunami and nuclear disaster. We also talk about Nathan’s ethnographic work in Japan, as well as their experiences volunteering in a “listening cafe.”
Resources mentioned in the episode:
- Pierce Salguero, Buddhism and Medicine: An Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Sources (2019)
- Jivaka Project
- Nathan’s dissertation: “Awakening to Care: Formation of Japanese Buddhist Chaplaincy” (2020)
- Nathan Michon, A Thousand Hands: A Guidebook to Caring for Your Buddhist Community (2016)
- Nathan Michon, Refuge in the Storm: Buddhist Voices in Crisis Care (2023)
Today I sit down for an in-depth conversation with my good friend, Michael Stanley-Baker, a scholar of Chinese religion and medicine. We talk about Mike’s international childhood and how his family history influenced his intellectual life, his training as a Chinese medical practitioner, and his book co-edited with Vivienne Lo, the Routledge Handbook of Chinese Medicine, which is groundbreaking... and open access! We also talk about Mike’s new book with Manchester University Press, Situating Religion and Medicine in Asia, which opens up a critical conversation about how we understand Asian medicine. Then, we look ahead to Mike’s digital humanities project, called Polyglot Asian Medicines. Along the way we talk rabbit-ducks and how fish know that they're underwater.
I hope that you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. And if you want to hear from more experts on Buddhist medicine and related topics, subscribe to Blue Beryl for monthly episodes.
Resources mentioned in the episode:
- Michael Stanley-Baker and Vivienne Lo (eds), Routledge Handbook of Chinese Medicine (2022).
- Michael Stanley-Baker, Situating Religion and Medicine in Asia: Methodological Insights and Innovations (2023).
- The Rabbit-Duck (image)
- Polyglot Asian Medicines project website
- Polyglot Asian Medicines intro video
- Mike's publications
Today I sit down with two guests, Ounkham Souksavanh and Elizabeth Elliott, to talk about community engagement and community health in Laos. We discuss how Elizabeth as a medical anthropologist, and Ounkham as a physician, work together to build trust and improve healthcare access across an ethnically and religiously diverse landscape. Along the way, we learn about Elizabeth’s experience of foraging for herbs and Ounkham’s memories of growing up with traditional medicine in his family. If you want to learn about the landscape of Lao traditional healers and medicinal plants — with a few snake bites and plant talismans thrown in — then this episode is for you!
Enjoy! And, if you want to hear from more experts on Buddhist medicine and related topics, subscribe to Blue Beryl for monthly episodes here.
Resources mentioned in the podcast:
- Elizabeth's dissertation: "Potent Plants, Cool Hearts" (2021)
- Pierce Salguero, Traditional Thai Medicine: Buddhism, Animism, Yoga, Ayurveda (2016)
- Richard Poitier, Yû dî mî hèng "être bien, avoir de la force" (2007)
- Elizabeth's documentary: Traditional Medicine in Southern Laos (2023)
- Brand new book released after the interview was recorded: Djaja Djendoel Soejarto et al, Medicinal Plants of Laos (2023)
Today I sit down with Willa Blythe Baker, a writer, translator, and teacher of meditation based on Himalayan Buddhist tradition. We talk about Willa’s early discovery of Buddhism with her mother, her time living as a nun, and our shared experience in graduate school at UVa. We then do a deep-dive into Buddhist tantra and the alchemical transformations of the body-mind that led to Willa’s most recent book, The Wakeful Body, published by Shambhala in 2021. If you find yourself in your head too much of the time, then this conversation is for you!
Enjoy! And, if you want to hear from more experts on Buddhist medicine and related topics, subscribe to Blue Beryl for monthly episodes here.
Willa's Publications and Activities
- Natural Dharma Fellowship and Wonderwell Mountain Refuge
- The Wakeful Body: Somatic Mindfulness as a Path to Freedom (2021)
- The Arts of Contemplative Care: Pioneering Voices in Buddhist Chaplaincy and Pastoral Work (2012)
- Everyday Dharma: Seven Weeks to Finding the Buddha in You (2009)
- Essence of Ambrosia: A Guide to Buddhist Contemplations (2005)
In this episode I sit down with Frances Garrett, a scholar of Tibetan culture, history, and language. We talk about Frances’s interests in embodiment and movement, and how her experiences as ballet dancer, surfer, and rock climber connect with her work on religion and healing. Our conversation focuses on her commitment to embodied and trauma-aware pedagogy, and how in the interest of flourishing, she engages the whole person in the learning process. Along the way, we talk about Tibetan bards, sacred mountains, and the importance of long walks.
Enjoy! And, if you want to hear from more experts on Buddhist medicine and related topics, subscribe to Blue Beryl for monthly episodes here.
Resources
- Michel Strickmann, Chinese Magical Medicine (2002)
- Frances Garrett, Religion, Medicine and the Human Embryo in Tibet (2008)
- Frances Garrett, Hidden Lands in Himalayan Myth and History (2020)
- Tsering Yangzom Lama, We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies (2022)
- Susan Hrach, Minding Bodies (2021)
- Jesse Stommel's ungrading website: www.jessestommel.com
- Susan D. Bloom, Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead) (2020)
- Cate J. Denial, “A Pedagogy of Kindness” (2019)
- Frances's website: www.francesgarrett.info
- Windvane Project: www.windvane.life
And now for something completely different! Today I sit down with Zachary Lui who is a practitioner of Chinese medicine, magic, and shamanism in the Toronto area. We start by talking about his early work with Chinese martial arts, traditional medicine, and qigong. We then get into Zac’s practice of chaos magic, diverse ritual practices, reiki, and esoteric Buddhist healing. Finally, we discuss his communication with different deities and spirits, as well as the potential dangers of working with them in his healing practice.
Enjoy! And, if you want to hear from more experts on Buddhist medicine and related topics, subscribe to Blue Beryl for monthly episodes here.
Resources
We'll periodically be sharing a bonus episode outside of our usual monthly schedule. This time, we're rebroadcasting an interview with me that aired on the Imperfect Buddha Podcast in late 2022. Host Matthew O'Connell asks me about my two recent publications, Buddhish and A Global History of Buddhist Medicine. In the first half of our conversation, we talk about why I'm not a Buddhist despite all of the value I've gotten out of the tradition, as well as Buddhism's fundamental commitment to a progressive path-based model. In the second half, we get into how Buddhism has advocated a multi-perspectival approach to health and wellbeing that combines diverse paradigms of healing, even when they seem to contract one another. Along the way, you'll hear about why I think the concept of non-self isn't a good fit for college students and how to balance critique with engagement in the classroom.
Enjoy, and please subscribe so that you do not miss any episodes in the future!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Dr Pierce Salguero sits down with Paula Arai, a scholar of Japanese Zen, gender, and healing ritual. Paula is an inspiration in the way she blends critical analysis and compassion in her work. In this episode, we talk about how her journey into Zen began with her relationship with her Japanese mother, as well as her work on everyday Japanese healing rituals. Our discussion focuses on the ethics of empathetic scholarship and how Paula’s care for relationships has shaped her five books. Along the way, we touch on the centrality of women in Buddhism and the challenges of facing misogyny and sexism in academia.
Enjoy the conversation! And, if you want to hear from more experts on Buddhist medicine and related topics, subscribe to Blue Beryl for monthly episodes here.
Resources:
- Article about Paula by Karma Lekse Tsomo in Challenging Bias Against Women Academics in Religion (2021)
- Women Living Zen: Japanese Soto Buddhist Nuns (1999)
- Bringing Zen Home: The Healing Heart of Japanese Women's Rituals (2011)
- Painting Enlightenment: Healing Visions of the Heart Sutra (2019)
- The Oxford Handbook of Buddhist Practice (2022)
- The Little Book of Zen Healing: Japanese Rituals for Beauty, Harmony, and Love (2023)
Dr. Pierce Salguero chats with Nephyr Jacobsen, a traditional Thai medicine practitioner based in Portland Oregon. Nephyr is the founder and director of the Naga Center, and a long time student and teacher of traditional Thai medicine. We talk about Nephyr's experience training in Thailand and some of her writing projects. We focus on the broad diversity of practices and the role of Buddhism in Thai medicine. We also get into social issues, such as ethically engaging with cultural practices in a non-extractive way and her experiences as a practitioner of traditional medicine during Covid.
Enjoy the conversation! And, if you want to hear from more experts on Buddhist medicine and related topics, subscribe to Blue Beryl for monthly episodes here.
Resources:
- The Naga Center
- Jacobsen & Salguero, Thai Herbal Medicine: Traditional Recipes for Health and Harmony, 2nd edition (2014)
- Jacobsen, Seven Peppercorns: Traditional Thai Medical Theory For Bodyworkers (2015)
- Salguero & Roylance, Encyclopedia of Thai Massage: A Complete Guide to Traditional Thai Massage Therapy and Acupressure, 2nd edition (2011)
- Ajahn Pichet's website
- Nephyr's Cultural Awareness Course
- Salguero, Traditional Thai Medicine: Buddhism, Animism, Yoga, Ayurveda, 2nd edition (2016)
- Veterans study (with 50K, not 500K subjects)
Dr Pierce Salguero sits down with Venerable Soorākkulame Pemaratana, chief abbot at the Pittsburgh Buddhist Center and a scholar of modern Buddhism in Sri Lanka. We talk about his role in adapting Buddhist practices to address social and mental health needs during the Covid-19 pandemic. We also compare Buddhist responses to Covid in Pittsburgh and Sri Lanka. Along the way, we talk about how he became a monk, the health benefits of drinking boiled coriander water, and the dire situation in his home country.
Enjoy the conversation! And, if you want to hear from more experts on Buddhist medicine and related topics, subscribe to Blue Beryl for monthly episodes here.
Resources:
In this episode, I sit down with my friend Wakoh Shannon Hickey, who is a Soto Zen priest, hospice chaplain, scholar, and activist. We talk about Wakoh’s early experiences with social violence in the 1980s, her work as a hospital chaplain, and her 2019 book Mind Cure, which is a groundbreaking social history of religion and mindfulness in the U.S.
Resources:
- Wakoh's Academia.edu page
- Hickey, Mind Cure: How Meditation Became Medicine (2019)
- Helderman, Prescribing the Dharma: Psychotherapists, Buddhist Traditions, and Defining Religion (2019)
- Brown, Debating Yoga and Mindfulness in Public Schools: Reforming Secular Education or Reestablishing Religion? (2019)
- Purser, McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality (2019)
Find all episodes of the Blue Beryl Podcast at www.piercesalguero.com
In this episode, I sit down with my friend Bill McGrath, a historian of Tibetan Buddhism and medicine. He's one of the most knowledgeable people in the world on this subject, and we get deep into the weeds in an academic conversation about traditional Tibetan medicine, the category of Buddhist medicine, and Bill's perspectives on magic, religion, and science. We also reminisce about the time that Bill once used a Tibetan mantra to save the day when we ran out of gas driving home from a conference!
Resources mentioned in the pod:
- Bill's website (ww.wmcgrath.com)
- Yoeli-Tlalim, ReOrienting Histories of Medicine: Encounters along the Silk Road (2022)
- Gerke, Taming the Poisonous: Mercury, Toxicity, and Safety in Tibetan Medical Practic (2021)
- Janet Gyatso's review of Pierce's 2014 book
- Salguero, A Global History of Buddhism and Medicine (2022)
- Gyatso, Being Human in a Buddhist World: An Intellectual History of Medicine in Early Modern Tibet (2017)
- McGrath, Knowledge and Context in Tibetan Medicine (2019)
- Saxer, Manufacturing Tibetan Medicine: The Creation of an Industry and the Moral Economy of Tibetanness (2013)
- Reassembling Tibetan Meicine (www.ratimed.net)
- Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905)
Meet your host Dr. Pierce Salguero and producer/editor Dr. Lan Li as we inaugurate the Blue Beryl podcast and kick off our first season dedicated to Buddhist medicine. We discuss Pierce's background as a practitioner of Theravada Buddhism and traditional Thai medicine, some interesting experiences he had at Thai temples and meditation centers, and his work as an academic researcher of Buddhist medicine globally. We also chat about tensions between scholarship and practice, our previous multimedia collaborations related to Buddhism and Asian medicine, as well as our goals for the first season of the podcast.
Resources mentioned in the pod:
- Pierce's website (www.piercesalguero.com)
- Lan's website (www.lan-a-li.com)
- Salguero, Buddhish: A Guide to the 20 Most Important Buddhist Ideas for the Curious and Skeptical (2022)
- Pierce's blog about 1980s movies
- Pierce's centipede article in Tricycle, (2022)
- Strickmann, Chinese Magical Medicine (2002)
- Salguero, Translating Buddhist Medicine in Medieval China (2014)
- Salguero, A Global History of Buddhism & Medicine (2022)
- Salguero, Buddhism & Medicine: An Anthology of Premodern Sources (2017)
- Salguero, Buddhism & Medicine: An Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Sources (2020)
- Medicine | Race | Democracy Lab (www.mrdlab.org)
- Jivaka Project (www.jivaka.net)
Psychedelics, Mysticism, Aliens, and the Dao, with Dominic Steavu
58:17
Embodying the Dao, with Paul C. Wang
50:52
Intro to Season 2: Embodied Spirituality
53:57
BONUS: Buddhist Medicine in Contemporary Times, with Pierce Salguero (rebroadcasted from the Buddhist Medicine & Yoga Podcast)
1:16:14
Women & the Body in Buddhism, with Amy Langenberg
1:08:01
A Buddhist Approach to Self-care Sovereignty, with Pamela Boyce Simms
45:03
A Chinese American Buddhist Healer, with Kin Cheung
53:18
Buddhist Healing in Contemporary Japan, with Rev. Nathan Jishin Michon
1:01:00
Situating Religion and Medicine, with Michael Stanley-Baker
1:03:05
Traditional Medicine in Laos, with Elizabeth Elliott and Ounkham Souksavanh
45:59
Awakening the Body, with Willa Baker
57:45
Embodiment and Pedagogy, with Frances Garrett
1:00:58
Buddhist Ritual Magic, with Zachary Lui
49:45
BONUS: "Buddhish" and "Buddhist Medicine," with Pierce Salguero (rebroadcasted from the Imperfect Buddha Podcast)
1:23:37
Healing Buddhist Studies, with Paula Arai
52:15
Buddhism and Traditional Thai Medicine, with Nephyr Jacobsen
1:05:47
Buddhist Responses to Covid, with Ven. Pemaratana
51:52
Zen Chaplaincy, Activism, and Scholarship, with Wakoh Shannon Hickey
51:48
Buddhist Medicine in Tibet, with Bill McGrath
1:18:35
Introducing Season 1 "Buddhist Medicine," with Pierce Salguero & Lan Li
58:12