From Doing to Being, with Eli Brown-Stevenson
From Open Ground · 01:18:33
Show by Erik Irvin
What happens when we let the felt sense of care, rather than the managing mind, sit in the driver's seat? Eli Brown-Stevenson, a Soto Zen priest at San Francisco Zen Center, joins Erik to talk about moving from doing to being, and what that might mean for kids, communities and a society reshaped by AI.We talk about:How a book about the Singularity led Eli to invest in humanity, and eventually to ZenBeing handed a sponge at Tassajara and told: just cleanThree capacities kids will need for the future, which Buddhism has been addressing for 2,600 yearsSuzuki Roshi's "main office and branch office," and why our inner managers find it scary"To control a cow, give it a wider pasture"How strangers become a "sangha body" during a 90-day practice periodUsing AI as a mirror for personal reflection (Eli's own practice, not a recommendation)Meeting a restless student with a smile instead of correctionPublic abundance, and hope that is "not blind optimism"About Eli Brown-Stevenson: Eli (dharma name So-on) is a Zen priest at San Francisco Zen Center, ordained in 2019, who lives and practices at Green Gulch Farm. Before Zen he worked in business and management. He has taught mindfulness to young children and brings Internal Family Systems (IFS) into conversation with Zen practice.Chapters0:00 Open Ground intro0:07 Welcome, Eli0:29 Why Zen? A book about the Singularity5:24 Arriving at Zen: Tassajara and a sponge12:59 What should we cultivate in the next few years?20:39 Care, Buddha nature and Waldorf26:31 From doing to being: the main office and the branch office32:53 Releasing control: the sangha body37:40 Abundance, equity and what AI can't do for us42:55 AI, brain science and alignment47:35 AI as a mirror58:25 Kids: being seen, not managed1:07:21 Public abundance and hope1:18:10 ClosingOpen Ground exists to spread encouragement and enthusiasm for planting seeds of wisdom with others. For reflection and education, not therapy or medical advice.
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