Recommended Podcast: Zencast

Gil Fronsdal is a wonderful meditation teacher in the Vipassana tradition. I have long been a big fan of his, both because he is an excellent teacher, and also because he has gone to the time and effort to make his own teaching and that of others available for free, on the web. I often refer students to his website to download dharma talks and guided meditations. Despite being familiar with Gil's work, I was unaware until today of the podcast series he is involved with. It's called Zencast, and you can find it here. Although it's called "Zencast," it is certainly not limited to materials related to Zen Buddhism; it includes talks given by Buddhist teachers from all traditions, and some talks by teachers who are not formally Buddhist, at all (Eckhardt Tolle, Alan Watts). And the talks are often interspersed with music, making the usually dry podcast experience much livelier. So far, my favorite is Podcast #92, a talk given by Alan Watts called "What Is." Watts died in 1973... but this talk is beautifully recorded, and his ideas are absolutely clear and fresh. I highly recommend it.