Tricycle Talks

Buddhism’s four noble truths start with the truth—and the inevitability—of suffering. So what does that mean for an activist? For Michael Kink, suffering became the fuel to power action for justice. The executive director of the Strong Economy for All Coalition, a labor-community organization focused on income inequality and fighting for a fair wage for all workers, Michael has been on the frontline of changemaking for decades. But Michael found that practicing Buddhism radically improved how he showed up to work. Meditation, he discovered, is something that is always helpful and always available—even in the midst of chaos. In this episode, Tricycle’s Editor and Publisher James Shaheen sits down with Michael and Sharon Salzberg to discuss how Michael’s practice empowers his work. It’s part of Tricycle Talks’ Real Change podcast series based on Sharon’s new book Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World, which offers a new perspective on how activism and meditation practice can uplift each other. Their conversation is the third in the five-part series featuring Sharon’s book and the people in it who are creating change in their communities. Tricycle Talks will be releasing the other episodes throughout the month. Stay tuned to hear conversations with Daisy Hernandez and Arian Moayed—and make sure to check out our episodes with Sharon Salzberg and Shelly Tygielski.

Since the pandemic began earlier this year, mutual aid funds have become a major resource for people suffering from the burden of job loss and financial strain. One mutual aid fund, Pandemic of Love, has helped thousands of people access funds for things like food, health insurance payments, and even money for funerals for loved ones who have died from COVID-19. The fund, started by mindfulness teacher, writer, and organizer Shelly Tygielski, has matched over 292,000 individuals and families with patrons, garnering over $38.4 million in direct transactions since March 14. But Shelly never expected an organization that she started for her local community to have such a nationwide reach. In this episode, Tricycle’s Editor and Publisher James Shaheen sits down with Shelly and Sharon Salzberg to discuss how Shelly turned grief into action. They also talk about the retreats the two of them have held for victims of mass shootings. It’s part of Tricycle Talks’ Real Change podcast series based on Sharon’s new book Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World, which offers a new perspective on how activism and meditation practice can uplift each other. Their conversation is the second in the five-part series featuring Sharon's book and the people in it who are creating change in their communities. Tricycle Talks will be releasing the other episodes throughout the month. Stay tuned to hear conversations with Michael Kink, Daisy Hernandez, and Arian Moayed.

Some Buddhists would say that the proper response to the current suffering of the world is to turn inward—to use the tools of meditation to develop skillful states of mind. Others might say this isn't enough, that we should be out there—helping others in our communities and demanding action from our representatives. But these two options do not preclude each other, says meditation teacher and author Sharon Salzberg. Her new book, Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and Our World, provides a guide to freeing ourselves from negative emotions in order to summon the courage to act against injustice, as well as ways we can sustain ourselves through activist burnout and feelings of despair. In this episode, Tricycle’s Editor and Publisher James Shaheen speaks to Sharon about the making of the book and how her meditation practice provides an emotional anchor in difficult times. This month, Tricycle Talks is releasing five podcasts featuring people who are creating change in their communities. Stay tuned for episodes with four other changemakers—Shelly Tygielski, Michael Kink, Daisy Hernandez, and Arian Moayed—who are using their unique platforms to bring about real change in the world.

What does it mean to belong? Many of us come to Buddhist practice because we feel we don't. But Sebene Selassie, a meditation teacher in the Insight meditation tradition, uses Buddhist teachings to explain how we can be—wherever we are—truly at home in the world. Growing up in the nation's capital as the daughter of Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrants, Selassie herself spent much of her life on the outside looking in. In her new book, You Belong: A Call for Connection, she mixes personal narrative with classical Buddhist teachings on interconnectedness to make a compelling case for why we all—without exception—do belong. Coming to know this is like coming home—to our deep connection to others and, most importantly, to ourselves. In this episode, Tricycle’s Editor and Publisher James Shaheen talks with Selassie to discuss You Belong and what it means to be alive in a time when our separateness is more emphasized than our connection.

For many of us, the past several months have been a time to get reacquainted with one of the Buddhist truths that has always guided our lives: impermanence. But while this may provide a philosophical compass to help us weather the storms of a pandemic, pronounced racial and economic inequality, and acts of police brutality, we may still find ourselves asking: how do we help the next generation? In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s Editor and Publisher James Shaheen sat down with Charles “Chuck” Johnson to discuss his latest work, Grand: A Grandparent’s Wisdom for the Next Generation, a book of advice for his grandson, Emery. Much of the advice is rooted in Buddhist wisdom. Charles Johnson is a scholar, an award-winning novelist, an essayist, a cartoonist, and a martial arts teacher, whose works include Middle Passage and The Way of the Writer.

As this episode goes live on May 9, 2020, many of us have been sheltering in place for the past few months, and some of us are experiencing the myriad effects of solitude on the human psyche. Stephen Batchelor’s new book, The Art of Solitude, was released in mid-February of this year, right before most of us were forced into isolation due to COVID-19. The book documents his explorations of solitude—and how he learned to live in ease with our fundamental aloneness. Stephen is co-founder of Bodhi College, a UK-based organization dedicated to contemplative learning, and is the author of many books on what he has called secular, or agnostic, Buddhism, including After Buddhism: Rethinking the Dharma for a Secular Age. Tricycle’s Editor and Publisher James Shaheen sat down with Stephen in front of a live audience at New York Open Center in Manhattan on February 19—a few weeks before social distancing measures went into effect.

In recent weeks, reporters, activists, and others have drawn parallels between the global pandemic and the climate crisis. It seems early to say, but we can sense that the two problems are more related than we think, as they are both challenges that we all must face together. Despite the fear, panic, and pain that rages on in our world, Joanna Macy says that she’s lucky to be alive in this moment—because when everything starts to unravel, we have an opportunity to rediscover our deep belonging with the Earth. No voice has been as clear or as compelling as Joanna Macy's in the intersection that lies between Buddhist practice and ecological movements. An environmental activist, author of eight books, and a scholar of Buddhism and deep ecology, Joanna has been on the front lines of the environmentalist movement for decades. In recent years, as our impact on the environment has become both more apparent and more perilous, activist groups like Extinction Rebellion and others have been turning to Joanna’s work as a source of inspiration. A new book, A Wild Love for the World: Joanna Macy and the Work of Our Time, out today, celebrates her contributions with a selection of Joanna’s essays as well as writings by the many people she has inspired. Tricycle’s Editor and Publisher James Shaheen talks to Joanna about how she believes we can move forward in a time of great despair—and how we can transform our despair into action.

Many in the Buddhist world were shocked at the death of Insight Meditation and yoga teacher Michael Stone in 2017. He was only 42 years old, and few were aware that he had been struggling with bipolar disorder. It was later revealed that he had died from an opioid overdose. His death brought up many questions about the stigmas against mental illness, and the responsibility of teachers to reveal their personal challenges. Here, Michael’s wife Carina Stone sits down with Tricycle’s Editor and Publisher James Shaheen to discuss Michael’s legacy. Last year, Carina finished working on "The World Comes to You: Notes on Practice, Love, and Social Action," a collection of Michael’s teachings. While editing the book, Carina grappled with difficult questions about Michael’s life, all while working through her own grief around his death.

Buddhism is not a religion at all––at the same time, it’s the true essence of all religions. And yet it is also compatible with science, or even a “mind science” itself. Do these ideas sound familiar? They’re part of a constellation of claims that scholar Evan Thompson calls “Buddhist exceptionalism,” the idea that Buddhism stands apart from all other religions as uniquely rational. Evan is a professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia as well as a longtime fellow at the Mind and Life Institute, which examines the intersection of science and contemplative wisdom. However, in his new book—provocatively titled Why I’m Not a Buddhist—Evan argues that Buddhism and science are not uniquely compatible, despite what many have claimed, and challenges the popular modernist belief that science can validate Buddhism’s soteriological and ontological goals. Here, Evan talks with Tricycle Editor and Publisher James Shaheen to discuss the problems with Buddhist modernism, his own spiritual and philosophical journey, and why he is, in fact, not a Buddhist.

Many of us struggle to silence our inner critic on a daily basis. According to meditation teacher Tara Brach, that’s because we are living in a “trance of unworthiness,” and are addicted to self-judgment. Tara is the the founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, D.C., a best-selling author, and a clinical psychologist who has been at the forefront of blending Buddhist meditation and therapeutic methods. She is perhaps best known for her teachings on RAIN, an acronym that stands for Recognize, Acceptance, Investigation, and Nurturing, and that describes a method for applying mindfulness to difficult emotions. In her new book, Radical Compassion, she focuses on using RAIN to cultivate compassion—beginning with compassion for ourselves.