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This podcast site shares thoughts and perspectives concerning practical notions and methodologies for all -- regardless of level of experience or knowledge -- who are curious, interested or an ongoing student/practitioner of Himalayan (aka Tibetan) Buddhism.
These podcasts are products of The Chenrezig Project, a Buddhist study/discussion group located in Northern Colorado, USA. Mark Winwood, a member of the undergraduate Psychology teaching faculty at Naropa University in Boulder, is the Chenrezig Project’s founder, resident Dharma sharer and host of these broadcasts. We are involved in an ongoing variety of teachings, writings, community events, etc. To learn more, please visit our website at www.ChenrezigProject.org.
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Our podcasts feature music composed and performed by Bobby Vega. Bobby has been playing and creating music for more than four decades. He began his professional career as a bass player in 1973 (at the age of 16) on Sly Stones’ single “I Get High on You.” A Bay Area musician’s musician, Bobby has played with artists ranging from Joan Baez and Etta James to Santana and the Jefferson Starship and was included on Bass Player Magazine’s list of ”Top 100 Bassists of All Time” in 2017.
An accomplished composer, Bobby has collaborated on the soundtracks for the TV documentary Vietnam: A Television History, the Francis Ford Coppola film One from the Heart, and the Sega video game Sonic The Hedgehog. Four decades and nearly 5,000 gigs after he first began playing bass, Bobby Vega continues to develop his complex and heady blend of rhythm & blues, rock, funk, technique, and tone, “laying it down” with incredible feeling and groove. More about Bobby and his music may be found at www.bobbyvega.com.
Elegant Mind Podcasts.
© 2018-2025, Mark Winwood.
All Rights Reserved.
Contact:
mwinwood@gmail.com
Episodes

Saturday Sep 25, 2021
The UPS Sutra
Saturday Sep 25, 2021
Saturday Sep 25, 2021
An ordinary package delivery . . . refreshing iced tea accompanied by an awakening conversation between a United Parcel Service driver and the 21st Century Bodhisattva.
The topics: timeless interconnection and deeply felt gratitude.
(Length: 8 minutes)
Presented by Mark Winwood of the Chenrezig Project, recorded in collaboration with Claire Van Bergen. With music composed and performed by the renowned SF Bay-area musician Bobby Vega.

Wednesday Sep 15, 2021
Warriors? Indeed!
Wednesday Sep 15, 2021
Wednesday Sep 15, 2021
It seems there are some who see Buddhist practice as a path of tame irrelevance: a way that promotes peace (aka passivity), gentleness (aka weakness) and non-violence (aka non-action) . . . docile, inconsequential, tuned-out.
Of course, anyone who has gazed -- and plunged -- into the deep, fiercely loving eyes of a trusted lama, or who lives and practices in accordance with the empowering intensity of Dharma teachings, knows a reality that is quite different.
(Length: 11 minutes)
Presented by Mark Winwood of the Chenrezig Project, accompanied by music composed and performed by the renowned SF Bay-area musician Bobby Vega.

Sunday Aug 29, 2021
Wearing the Natural Face
Sunday Aug 29, 2021
Sunday Aug 29, 2021
I have heard stories of a man, regarded by some to be odd in his ways, who lives camped on a small ridge overlooking a creek near the bottom of a particularly deep watershed ravine deep in the mountains . . . a wilderness man who is said to be a deeply awakened Buddhist practitioner, perhaps even a burgeoning Buddha.
And so, early one morning, I set out . . .
(Length: 13 minutes)
Presented by Mark Winwood of the Chenrezig Project, accompanied by music composed and performed by the renowned SF Bay-area musician Bobby Vega.

Wednesday Aug 25, 2021
On Imagination (and Buddhism)
Wednesday Aug 25, 2021
Wednesday Aug 25, 2021
Beginning with a discussion about the Pineal gland -- and prompted by aspersions of "narrow-mindedness" -- here are some thoughts on the nature of imagination and its role on the path of Buddhist study, practice and engagement.
According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of imagination includes "the ability to think of new and/or familiar things in new ways."
And so, consider imagination not to be something unreal or perhaps even magical, but rather quite practical in terms of how to cultivate and empower our potential(s) . . . both intellectual/rational and creative.
(Length: 12 minutes)
Presented by Mark Winwood of the Chenrezig Project, accompanied by music composed and performed by the renowned SF Bay-area musician Bobby Vega.

Tuesday Aug 17, 2021
Buddhists Cry Too
Tuesday Aug 17, 2021
Tuesday Aug 17, 2021
Some people look upon crying as an indication of self-pity or weakness, a loss of self-control or indication of some sort of emotional disorder or infirmity . . . or perhaps merely a means of manipulation.
But for those on the Buddhist path, tears often emerge for reasons quite different; signaling a profound opening to a richer embrace of our range of experience.
Sometimes we cry on the outside, our eyes filling with tears . . . but the crying of which we're speaking here occurs inside, in that aspect of mind we refer to as heart. And the Buddhist heart cries not tears of weakness but of understanding and strength . . . tears of compassion.
As such, crying can be a wonderful moment, the physical effect of a quantum spiritual step, akin to breaking out of the shell of self-cherishing and preparing to fly.
(Length: 12 minutes)
Presented by Mark Winwood of the Chenrezig Project, accompanied by music composed and performed by the renowned SF Bay-area musician Bobby Vega.

Sunday Aug 08, 2021
Understanding and (Practical) Wisdom
Sunday Aug 08, 2021
Sunday Aug 08, 2021
The question of how to most effectively communicate Dharma insights and sensitivities with those not familiar with Buddhist perspectives was raised at a recent gathering.
Some ideas on how notions such as Interpersonal Relationships, Navigating Impermanence, Patience, Joy, Confidence and Well-Being arise through understanding-born wisdom . . . and might be demonstrably shared . . . are presented.
(Length: 9 minutes)
Presented by Mark Winwood of the Chenrezig Project, accompanied by music composed and performed by the renowned SF Bay-area musician Bobby Vega.

Monday Aug 02, 2021
The Journey Is the Prize
Monday Aug 02, 2021
Monday Aug 02, 2021
Tibetan Buddhism is a path of accumulated wisdom, a path of practice and engagement . . . leading away from ignorant self-centeredness toward true virtue and happiness.
It is the way of Dharma, of honesty -- beautiful, challenging, perhaps scary at times and always beneficial.
It leads to a reality so intuitively correct and freeing that, upon encountering it, one's only remaining element of disbelief is wonder at how we could have been unaware of its presence for so long.
(Length: 11 minutes)
Presented by Mark Winwood of the Chenrezig Project, accompanied by music composed and performed by the renowned SF Bay-area musician Bobby Vega.

Thursday Jul 22, 2021
Emanations Everywhere
Thursday Jul 22, 2021
Thursday Jul 22, 2021
There are countless Buddhas throughout the universe continuously working for our benefit by emanating in every sort of fashion . . . bringing about insights, realizations and perhaps even moments of progressive awakening.
In Buddhism these experiences are known as blessings, and the only thing that restricts our direct knowledge of them is our own narrow-mindedness.
In this podcast, the 21st Century Bodhisattva explains . . .
(Length: 10 minutes)
Presented by Mark Winwood of the Chenrezig Project, recorded by Kathy Ambrose. Accompanied by music composed and performed by the renowned SF Bay-area musician Bobby Vega.

Tuesday Jul 06, 2021
"Dear Mother": a letter from the 21st Century Bodhisattva
Tuesday Jul 06, 2021
Tuesday Jul 06, 2021
(Written and inspired by the joy of HH Dalai Lama's 86th birthday.)
An excerpt: "Things are going well for me, Mother. I am in good health and enthusiastic in my work. Intellectual, imaginative, stimulating, virtuous and joyous is this path; I am profoundly appreciative to you for providing me with the life force that has enabled me to journey upon it.
Always I am reminded of the precious foundations of well-being and confidence your love and compassion birthed in me, and which have continued to blossom with purpose and clarity in the years since. For you, dear one, my enduring gratitude . . . " (Length: 12 minutes)
Presented by Mark Winwood of the Chenrezig Project, recorded in collaboration with Kathy Adams. Accompanied by music composed and performed by the renowned SF Bay-area musician Bobby Vega.

Tuesday Jun 29, 2021
"I Want to Learn How to Meditate"
Tuesday Jun 29, 2021
Tuesday Jun 29, 2021
Most Westerners equate Mind with thinking, but in Buddhism it is acknowledged to be vastly more . . . Mind is the entire spectrum of our inner experiences: thoughts, feelings, perceptions, consciousness, subconsciousness, unconsciousness. It is our perceiver, translator, reflector and mirror.
Without it there is nothing . . . within it is everything.
To begin a meditation practice is to embark on a journey, an adventure of sorts, during which we learn how to observe -- and best 'use' -- our Mind. (Length: 10 minutes)
Written by Mark Winwood of the Chenrezig Project, accompanied by music composed and performed by the renowned SF Bay-area musician Bobby Vega.