We are excited to introduce the very first episode of our podcast, The Game of Zen. In this episode, we will dive into the core teachings of Buddhism, exploring the Four Noble Truths and the concept of attachments, while also sharing personal experiences of how Zen principles have impacted our lives and businesses.

We begin by discussing the Four Noble Truths, which highlight the nature of suffering in our lives and the path towards liberation.

(00:30) The podcast hosts, Scott Berman and Sensei Paul Gyodo Agostinelli, introduce the "Game of Zen" podcast. They discuss their shared interest in Zen Buddhism and how they will explore ways in which Zen practices and principles can be applied in everyday life and business.

The Beginnings of Their Partnership: (2:05) Scott and Paul recount how they first met on LinkedIn, and developed a coaching relationship. They discuss how incorporating Zen principles into daily life can lead to profound transformations and growth in various aspects of life.

The Purpose of the Podcast: (3:42) The practical aspects of Zen, the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and other core teachings of Buddhism. The importance of integrating Zen principles into daily life for personal and professional development.

Applying Zen in Daily Life: (7:37) Personal experiences of applying Zen principles in everyday life, leading to improved relationships and a deeper understanding of ourselves. 

Transformation and Growth: (9:29) The potential for transformation through Zen practices, both personally and professionally. Listeners are encouraged to reflect on their own situations and apply Zen principles in their lives.

Upcoming Features  (11:08) The podcast will cover a different subject each week, providing in-depth discussions on how Zen principles apply to various aspects of life and business. Scott will recommend relevant books, and Paul will provide a guided meditation at the end of each episode.

Email us: GameofZenpodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMJ2A-vZkd5ba7bW_8KNFgdkXiSfQh_xv

Zen@Work (Paul's Site): https://www.zenatwork.org/

Zen@Work Today (Paul's newsletter) https://zenatwork.substack.com/

(Scott's LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-berman-3901022/

(Paul's LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-agostinelli/

Hello and welcome. Thanks for joining us for the first episode of the Game of Zen podcast. I'm happy to be here in Boulder, Colorado, with my good friend Sensei Paul Gyodo Agostinelli. In this podcast, we'll explore ways in which the practices and principles of Zen help us in life and business. Paul, why don't you start with a little introduction?

I will, and I'm happy to have you here, Scott, in Boulder. So my name is Paul Gyodo Agostinelli. I'm a Sensei, a transmitted teacher in the Zen Buddhist lineage, and I've been practicing Zen for over 30 years, and I've been teaching formally for over ten years. For the last 25 years, I've been integrating my practice and my teaching of Zen with a long entrepreneurial career, mostly in technology, but also in a few other ventures that I've started over the years. And what is most kind of fruitful and interesting to me right now is integrating the practices and principles of Zen into our daily life, especially in entrepreneurial work. So I've joined together with Scott to put this podcast together and share those with you. Yeah.

And I'm Scott Berman. I'm an entrepreneur with a background in jewelry, digital marketing, venture capital, NBA, basketball. Got a bunch of things that I've done over the years, and I've spent a lot of time focusing on the journey with Zen Buddhism and spirituality, and I've learned how to incorporate it more into my work and business life. I was very fortunate to meet Paul a couple years ago. And so, Paul, why don't you talk about how we first met and came together?

Yeah, it was really fortuitous. I had hung out my shingle as a professional coach on LinkedIn, and Scott was one of the first people who just really resonated with what I was putting out there, and I was very grateful for that because he has a very deep spiritual aspiration as well as a very high functioning professional kind of career. And that's exactly the people that I want to work with and the people in the world who I think can make a really big difference in the world by actualizing themselves in their work in a way that's really wise and really informed by the compassionate principles of Buddhism. So it was really great to get together, and we worked together as coach and coachee for a couple of years, and we've been kind of keeping in touch ever since then. And you had the idea for this podcast not that long ago, and it just felt like the right thing to do. It did.

And what I'm grateful for is I've been very interested in this for many years, but the last couple of years since we met, it's really taken me to another level. And it happened at the beginning of COVID actually, and I was sitting at home and reading a lot of books about Buddhism, trying to do work in different projects that I was working on. And then we started working together, and I realized very quickly that my learning could go to another level and I could apply it daily. We would talk about things, and then the next day, I would be working on some project, and I would think about something that you talked about, and I would incorporate it right into the conversation. And it really helped a lot.

Yeah.

So tell us more about what the podcast is going to be about and the subject matter that we're going to talk about and how we're going to structure this.

Yeah, well, Zen is a lineage of Buddhism, which is very practical. It's maybe the most practical of all of the lineages of the spiritual traditions that have come from the east. It's really focused on everyday life, waking up in everyday life and waking up in terms of whatever the work it is you're doing, whether it's in the household or whether it's in a business that somebody else owns, or whether it's in a venture that you've created yourself, everything is always very relevant to the daily life. So if you learn these principles of Zen and Buddhism about compassion and generosity, but you're not actually practicing those on an everyday basis, really bringing them alive, then they're completely meaningless. And that's what when we look at the Zen teachings and the Buddhist teachings with this understanding, how can we put this into practice every day in our work? We can really bring alive a more fulfilling life, and it does tend to produce greater success in your professional life. And something about this will probably be a subject for us to talk about, what does success mean, really? But when we orient ourselves to being successful in our inner sphere, our deepest values, if you will, and we put those into practice in our work, then we can thrive altogether. So we'll be looking at the practices and the principles and the vows and the directions around really practically putting these into play in our professional lives. Yeah.

What I think I found most valuable too, is that really, it is everyday life. And so there's things that happen in personal life or business life where these principles can really help you in so many different ways. And as my practice has gotten deeper, I've learned how to incorporate it really multiple times a day. My meditation has gotten stronger, but also how I'm dealing with other people. And so I think what's really important to learn is that we can work with people that we're working with. We can improve relationships, our family, our friendships, just people we meet randomly, and we can incorporate these teachings into every part of our life. And so since I've been studying with you and reading more, I've learned how to do this, like, multiple times a day. And I've noticed that it gets better over time. So I think one thing that there's a cumulative effect of this practice where it gets stronger the more I learn, the more I incorporate it, and then it grows.

Yeah, exactly. And I want to say I'm not perfect. I'm not an expert in all these things. So I've just traveled a path of trying my best to bring these wisdoms and practices alive in my personal life. So we're all works in progress, and I think if we look at our lives with a healthy sense of humor and be willing to fail and make mistakes, amazing things happen. Yes.

And definitely we will try and bring a sense of humor to this. I find Zen stories to be funny sometimes, but there's always a meaning. And I really like talking to you about what is the meaning of a particular passage or something that the Buddha taught. And what I also find interesting and this is what the podcast is going to do. We're going to dive really deep into the teachings of the Buddha, the Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the Paramitas, and we're going to really talk about them on an individual basis and really figure out what they mean in general. But how do they apply to various aspects of life? And so talk about how you've brought those into your coaching over the years.

Yeah, well, we can sometimes look at these teachings of the Buddha, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Four Noble Truths, and they seem to be really daunting in a way. Life is suffering, but there's a way to eliminate suffering. And it seems like kind of a big deal. And it is a big deal, but it's actually a really deep deal because it just speaks to our true natures, the nature of this human existence and what's happening in our lives every day. So there's a way to look at these, but with just a sense of recognition. These aren't commandments in any way. They're actually observations that the Buddha made from his deep reflection. And if we can look at them with that kind of eye, the eye of curiosity, and them into ourselves, not to believe them, but to investigate whether, oh, is that what's actually happening within my own life? Right? How am I creating suffering through craving, through aversion? Oh, is there a way to do something about that? Right? I mean, modern understanding, modern neuroscience is more and more learning that through neuroplasticity that we really can change our experience dramatically. We know this through neuroscience just in the last ten or 20 years, that we're much more malleable and changeable than we thought we were, certainly in Western science, even 25 and 30 years ago. So this is a really powerful way of self reflecting on these things with this sense of curiosity and say, well, what can I do here? And it's tried and true that these practices of reflection actually can change our experience.

I'm fascinated by the potential for transformation, and part of it is, I've noticed it in my own life, and my own career. A lot of things have happened and I've transformed. I've become a different person and I've grown, and I've reached a higher level of enlightenment, but I'm also still working on it all the time, which is why I appreciate working with you so much, because I'm evolving through self reflection. I'm spending a lot more time thinking about these things and reading about them. And I've noticed a difference in myself. I also notice a difference in the reaction of other people to me, especially in business situations when I handle things differently than I may have 20 years ago or so. And so we want to encourage you, the listener, to really think about your own situations as we give these lessons and how to apply the Zen principles in your life. I think that that's something I've learned a lot from you, is really to put this out there. And the results have been great, and I'm looking forward to growing more with you and with our listeners.

Yes. So am I.

Cool. So let's talk a little bit about some of the features of what we're going to be doing. We're going to tackle a subject each week. We're going to go through in detail on how it applies. We're going to give you some assignments. We're going to ask you to practice on your own. We encourage feedback. We'd love you to comment on any of our podcasts. We'll be reading some of those comments. I'll also be recommending. I love reading, and I have a lot of books to talk about, so I will be talking about that. And also let's talk about your meditation at the end of how you're going to bring this all together for us at the close.

Yeah, I'll bring a specific guided meditation to practice at the end of every episode, and it'll be something that's related to the topic of the episode, and it'll be something short and sweet, and I hope that everyone will get a lot out of it.

Yes, and speaking of getting a lot out of things, this is a great coach right here. I've gotten an awful lot from working with Paul, and we encourage you to contact him to talk about your own coaching needs. We really want to help you, educate you, and bring enjoyment. We want to provide entertainment. So thank you all for listening, and we'll be back soon with our next episode.

Glad you're here, Scott. That was fun.

Thanks, Paul.

See ya.