Ep.7 - Steve Todd & Cesare Saguato: Death, Change and What Comes Next

What happens between moments of change, loss and uncertainty?

In this episode, Marc Salmon is joined by Steve Todd and Cesare Saguato to explore the Buddhist idea of the bardo, often associated with death, but also something that may be happening all the time.

Drawing on Tibetan Buddhist teachings, including The Tibetan Book of the Dead and the Six Bardos, the conversation explores death, impermanence, consciousness and how we respond to change in everyday life.

This is a thoughtful and grounded conversation about death, Buddhism, awareness and how to live with more presence in the in-between.

In this episode we explore:

• The bardo as everyday experience, not just death
• The Tibetan Book of the Dead and the Six Bardos
• Death, impermanence and the nature of change
• Buddhist perspectives on consciousness and mind
• Letting go, grasping and emotional reactivity
• Compassion, karma and responding to difficulty
• Meditation and awareness in daily life
• The “in-between” as an opportunity for transformation

Texts referenced

The Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bardo Thodol)

The Six Bardos (Root Verses of the Six Bardos – Karma Lingpa)
https://www.lotsawahouse.org/tibetan-masters/karma-lingpa/root-verses-six-bardos

The Tibetan Book of the Dead A Way of Life (1994) Narrated by Leonard Cohen https://youtu.be/VyPwBIOL7-8?si=SeVsZCZg61nKdD_o

Guests

Steve Todd is a theoretical physicist with a PhD in high-energy particle theory and a long-time Buddhist practitioner within the Drukpa Kagyu tradition. He explores the intersections of science, Buddhism, and Western esotericism.
Steve’s Meta-Modern Rosicrucian Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/464647772026730/

Cesare Saguato is a Buddhist practitioner, psychotherapist, mindfulness teacher, and clinical supervisor. He works in private practice, education, and organisational settings, and is Chair of Bodhicharya UK.
Cesare’s work:
https://www.cesaremindfultherapy.com/

https://bodhicharya-kent.org/

Marc's WIP - We’ve Got to Do Something 2nd April - London

A work-in-progress comedy show about trying to respond to a world that feels politically and emotionally unstable and not always knowing how.
🎟️ Tickets:
https://wegottickets.com/f/17538/

Online Meditation Sessions

Second and fourth Sundays at 10:30am UK time. If you're interested in joining, send Marc a message

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The Bardo Podcast is a podcast about comedy, philosophy, spirituality and new ways of thinking in uncertain times.

Hosted by comedian Marc Salmon, the show features thoughtful conversations with comedians, philosophers, Buddhist thinkers and other curious minds — not about certainty or expertise, but about questioning assumptions and sitting with ambiguity together.

Episodes explore comedy, meditation, philosophy, creativity and alternative ways of living.

https://www.marcsalmoncomedy.com/

Music - Marc and Robert Fuller
Art - Zoe Brownstone