18. IBP: David Chapman on stages of maturation, Dzogchen & the future of Buddhism - a podcast by The Imperfect Buddha Podcast

In this episode of the imperfect Buddha podcast, we finally get round to speaking to David Chapman. For those familiar with David’s work, there is so much that could have been discussed as he writes on all manner of fascinating topics ranging from Buddhism to philosophy, psychology to Vajrayana, artificial intelligence and more. Our interests converged on the topic of maturation outside of religious and spiritual discourse with David’s recent exploration of adult development and maturation just the sort of topic that we like to explore here on the podcast.
David has built on the work of Robert Keagan, an important living psychologist, in exploring adult development and maturation through five key stages. David focuses on three of them, aligning the final stage with Buddhism, in particular Dzogchen. An understanding of these stages has important consequences for Buddhists, especially considering the potential conflict between self-development, maturation and concepts such as no self, impermanence and so on.
We cover additional topics such as the present and future of Buddhism in the West, the current state of university campuses in the Anglo-American world, the problem with SJW’s and post-modern theory, nihilism and determinism, practices that may shift people onwards through the last three levels of maturation and more.
Enjoy!

Sponsor
The imperfect Buddha podcast is sponsored by O’Connell Coaching. If any of the topics in the podcast are personally relevant and/or problematic, or if you wish to explore life after Buddhism and are looking for support and guidance in personal development, an exploration of spiritual practice and transformative practices within a coaching context, follow the link to find out more: https://oconnellcoaching.com/about/

Music
The imperfect Buddha podcast supports up-and-coming musicians in Bristol groups. Oliver Wilde, a Bristol musician on the Howling Owl label, provides this episode’s music. Do have a listen and if you like what you hear, support the artist at the band camp site: https://oliverwilde.bandcamp.com/track/curve-good-grief

Links
David’s main site is a treasure trove for the discerning explorer of personal-development, spirituality and intelligent practice. A great act of generosity designed at clearing up much confusion in the realm of spirituality, David communicates clearly and concisely. Highly recommended, Meaningness: https://meaningness.com
Another of David’s sites, Vividness features an article on the podcast’s main topic: https://vividness.live/2015/10/12/developing-ethical-social-and-cognitive-competence/
Arot-ter site managed by David. Lots of good resources here: https://approachingaro.org/

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