Episode Details

In the year 794 a populist, liberating, and some might say threatening brand of Buddhism spreads like wildfire in the countryside forcing a Tibetan king to convene a great debate with enormous consequences that will shape the spiritual fate of nations, end in exile, death, or centuries of power and prestige for the participants, and shape our questions and understanding of what we’re practicing here down to the present day. Is enlightenment something that can be trained? Or is it something innate that no one can take away? Can Buddhism give us happier, healthier brains, or does trying to improve our thinking just get in the way? Can drugs help us see what Buddha saw? Find out here!