Today I’m super excited to share with you my conversation with Claire Villarreal who is our first non-Abrahamic religious guest on the podcast who shares with us about her experience with Buddhism. She wondered about the nature of reality most of her life and has practiced various forms of Buddhism since 1997. She has meditated her way around India, Nepal, and Thailand, with pilgrimages to Tibet. She completed a PhD on Tibetan Buddhism and contemplative ways of knowing in 2015 at Rice University, worked for Dawn Mountain Center for Tibetan Buddhism, and is now a digital nomad and meditation instructor. Things that blow her mind include science, great storytelling, and Spinning.

Understanding reincarnation 3:55
What Buddhism is to Claire 6:55
Finding your true Buddha nature level of awareness 14:19
Why pursue professional success when your value isn’t tied to that? 19:46
Does Buddhism believe in a higher power? 26:05
Why is Buddha always portrayed as a big fat man? 32:09
The 4 noble truths 34:56
Some principles that apply to and benefit everyone 40:35
Some final thoughts 47:01

“So as you start applying those principles in meditation, maybe you’re sitting and you have a thought that comes up ‘Oh no, I have to do this thing tomorrow,’ or ‘What if this presentation doesn’t go well?’ It’s an opportunity to notice ‘Oh wow, I’m building my sense of my own self worth on how this goes, not on who I am.’ If I’m actually this luminous being, whether you want to use the word Buddha nature or put it in your own tradition’s language, it doesn’t really matter. If I’m this deeply luminous being and I go out and I totally screw up my presentation, it has consequences, but it doesn’t mean I’m worthless.” 16:04

https://www.clairevillarreal.com/