Everyday Buddhism: Making Everyday Better

I am delighted to share this conversation with Roshi Eve Myonen Marko about The Book of Householder Koans: Waking Up in the Land of Attachments, which she co-wrote with Roshi Wendy Egyoku Nakao. It was released in 2020 but I'm sure glad I finally found it! It's become one of my new favorite books and a real treasure as a practice tool. Roshi Eve Marko is a Founding Teacher of the Zen Peacemaker Order, with her late husband, the renowned Roshi Bernie Glassman. She is also the resident teacher at the Green River Zen Center in Massachusetts. Roshi has trained spiritually-based social activists and peacemakers in the US, Europe, and the Middle East, and has been a Spiritholder at retreats bearing witness to genocide at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Rwanda, and the Black Hills in South Dakota. Before that she worked at the Greyston Mandala, which provides housing, child care, jobs, and AIDS-related medical services in Yonkers, New York. Koans have always been a favorite practice of mine but I had drifted away from them off and on … and off for the last few years until this book. If you've listened to earlier episodes of this podcast, then you may have heard my back-to-back episodes about Zen Koans. This is unlike any book about koans I've ever read. It drills deep into your "hiding places" … doing what koans do perfectly: They stop you in your tracks, as they mess with your conceptual thinking, and shake your false trust in the stability of what we think we know. Being drawn into questions, without the comfortable ground of "knowing" offers a practice that can help us pause in our everyday rush to stress and anxiousness caused by trying to be somewhere other than where we are at this moment. I just loved this conversation with Roshi Eve! Among many other things, we talked about…The importance of "not knowing" … About the surprise factor in the situations we find ourselves in life and how they help the mind "make leaps" … And about how we should try to enter life with out whole selves—our bodies, not just our minds. So, don't miss this one! One of my favorite Buddhist subjects and one of the best books I've read in a very long time.   Buy the book, read the reviews, and learn more about Roshi Eve:   https://www.monkfishpublishing.com/products-page-2/buddhism/book-householder-koans/   Website and Blog: https://www.evemarko.com/   Zen Peacemakers: https://zenpeacemakers.org/   Green River Zen Center: http://www.greenriverzen.org/   Interview with Roshi Eve Myonen Marko: https://www.zlmc.org/blog/interview-with-roshi-eve-myonen-marko     Become a patron to support this podcast and get special member benefits, including a membership community and virtual sangha:https://www.patreon.com/EverydayBuddhism   If this podcast has helped you understand Buddhism or help in your everyday life, consider making a one-time donation here: https://donorbox.org/podcast-donations   Support the podcast through the affiliate link to buy the book, Everyday Buddhism: Real-Life Buddhist Teachings & Practices for Real Change: Buy the book, Everyday Buddhism

This is a special encore episode with Rev. Marvin Harada, the Bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America. It also includes a new introduction highlighting the upcoming study of The Pure Land Sutras in our Everyday Sangha ... and why sutra study is so important in Buddhist practice. Come join us!   In the re-released episode with Rev. Harada, we discuss what makes Shin Buddhism a truly "everyday Buddhism", meditation, mindfulness, chanting, ritual, and about the teachers we have in common and what made them special.   I know you'll enjoy this talk with Rev. Harada as much as I did talking with him. He is down-to-earth and delightful, if you can't tell by his giggle! if you've never heard of Shin Buddhism—or don't know too much about it—this episode is for you.   Pure Land Buddhism is one of the most widely practiced forms of Buddhism in East Asia, and in Japan, Shin Buddhism, or Jodo Shinshu, is actually the largest school of Buddhism in Japan.   CORRECTION TO THE INTRODUCTION OF REV. HARADA: Rev. Harada served as a minister for the Orange County Buddhist Church, but did not serve as head minister throughout the entire 33-year period.   Find out more about the Buddhist Churches of America: https://www.buddhistchurchesofamerica.org/   Find out more about the BCA "Everyday Buddhist" program mentioned by Bishop Harada: https://www.everydaybuddhist.org/       Join the Everyday Sangha: https://donorbox.org/supporters-bonus-content-membership   Join the Membership Community: https://donorbox.org/membershipcommunity   Find out more about or register for the Introduction to Buddhism Course: https://www.everyday-buddhism.com/p/introduction-to-buddhism-course-and-registration-1/   Become a patron to support this podcast and get special member benefits, including a membership community and virtual sangha:https://www.patreon.com/EverydayBuddhism   If this podcast has helped you understand Buddhism or help in your everyday life, consider making a one-time donation here: https://donorbox.org/podcast-donations   Support the podcast through the affiliate link to buy the book, Everyday Buddhism: Real-Life Buddhist Teachings & Practices for Real Change: Buy the book, Everyday Buddhism

I am thrilled to share this conversation with Rainn Wilson—Yes, that guy … the actor best known for his role as Dwight Schrute in The Office. In the conversation we talk about his recent book, Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution. Rainn Wilson is a NY Times Bestselling author and three-time Emmy nominated actor best known for his role in NBC’s The Office. Besides his many other comedic and dramatic roles on stage and screen, he is the co-founder of the media company SoulPancake and host of the docuseries Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss. Rainn is the author of the New York Times Bestseller Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution, The Bassoon King: My Life in Art, Faith, and Idiocy, as well as the coauthor of SoulPancake: Chew on Life’s Big Questions. Some of this you may already know about Rainn, I'm sure, but something you may not know—but will learn from this conversation—is that, in addition to Rainn being a practitioner of the Baha'i faith, he is deeply spiritual, has studied many religions, and has a unique ability to capture the deepest of existential philosophy and social behavior in common cultural references and everyday language. Among many other things, we talked about what spirituality is ... what soul is ... who or what God is or isn't ... The two aspects of spirituality as demonstrated by the 1970's TV shows, Kung Fu and Star Trek ... What is sacred and where can we find it? Rainn's new book took me deep into reflection but also kept me giggling. It's the same with our conversation. So, keep listening … I promise Rainn will open your mind, open your heart, and—of course—make you laugh. The conversation starts now …   Buy the books (Amazon affiliate links): Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution   Soul Pancake: Chew on Life's Big Questions The Bassoon King: Art, Idiocy, and Other Sordid Tales from the Band Room   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/RainnWilson/   Twitter: https://twitter.com/rainnwilson   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rainnwilson/       Become a patron to support this podcast and get special member benefits, including a membership community and virtual sangha:https://www.patreon.com/EverydayBuddhism   If this podcast has helped you understand Buddhism or help in your everyday life, consider making a one-time donation here: https://donorbox.org/podcast-donations   Support the podcast through the affiliate link to buy the book, Everyday Buddhism: Real-Life Buddhist Teachings & Practices for Real Change: Buy the book, Everyday Buddhism

You're in for a treat in this episode. At least it was a treat for me to have a conversation with Clark Strand. Clark is a former Zen monk, author, Haiku teacher, and communicator of all things spiritual and religious. He has studied and actually practiced within many, many spiritual and religious traditions so he speaks from actual experience. The focus of today's conversation is on his book, Waking the Buddha: How The Most Dynamic and Empowering Buddhist Movement in History is Changing Our Concept of Religion, but Clark is also the author of Seeds From a Birch Tree: Writing Haiku and the Spiritual Journey, Now Is the Hour of Her Return: Poems In Praise of the Divine Mother Kali, co-author, with Perdita Finn, of The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary, and many other books on poetry, spirituality, and ecology. He is the co-founder of an international, non-sectarian rosary fellowship with members across the world. I invited him on the podcast to talk about Nichiren Buddhism, Soka Gakkai, and chanting, in general. It is a subject I haven't covered on this podcast and the timing was sparked by the recent passing of Tina Turner who was a very public Soka Gakkai practitioner. Although the focus of the conversation began with the Soka Gakkai, it became a fascinating journey to many other areas, due to Clark's wide reach and his spiritual depth. Among many other things, we talked about the folk traditions within all religions. Or, as Clark said, "there is always a religion within a religion." … About how the Soka Gakkai became virtually the only ethnically and  racially diverse Buddhist organization religion in the world… About why Clark states that spirituality needs to be about "ecology not theology" and that the reason the thread that runs through his spiritual experience IS ecology and the folk traditions… And, for fellow Pure Land and Shin practitioners, about how the Pure Land tradition is the only tradition deeply grounded in ecology… About Haiku… About the divine feminine, the Divine Mother, and the rosary as a spiritual and NOT a religious practice … and is, essentially, a tantric mantra practice… About the 12-Steps program… About chanting and how it gives voice to one's intentions, dreams, or hopes … and is the most ancient form of spiritual practice… Listen and enjoy the journey... Learn more about Clark: https://wayoftherose.org/   https://tricycle.org/author/clarkstrand/   Buy the books: Waking the Buddha: How the Most Dynamic and Empowering Buddhist Movement in History Is Changing Our Concept of Religion   Seeds from a Birch Tree: Writing Haiku and the Spiritual Journey: 25th Anniversary Edition: Revised & Expanded   The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clarkstrand/   https://www.instagram.com/way_of_the_rose/     Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clarkstrand/       Become a patron to support this podcast and get special member benefits, including a membership community and virtual sangha:https://www.patreon.com/EverydayBuddhism   If this podcast has helped you understand Buddhism or help in your everyday life, consider making a one-time donation here: https://donorbox.org/podcast-donations   Support the podcast through the affiliate link to buy the book, Everyday Buddhism: Real-Life Buddhist Teachings & Practices for Real Change: Buy the book, Everyday Buddhism

A special mini episode, celebrating our interdependence. Listen as I share a reflection on what I call my "Buddhist-Born-Again moment." I finally learned what the Buddha taught. I finally saw that one of—if not THE most important foundations of Buddhist practice—is becoming aware of your inherent ignorance and the limitations of self. It is surprisingly freeing to realize that we are NOT really the masters of our destiny, because the choices we make about the thoughts we think and the actions we take are a product of a complex web of experiences, surroundings, and relationships—of which everyone else is a part. It is a seeming paradox that accepting our dependence on others can provide our ultimate freedom. In that humble, yet active acceptance we embrace what my late teacher, Rev. Koyo Kubose, expresses as “acceptance IS transcendence.” In doing so, we are declaring our interdependence.   Become a patron to support this podcast and get special member benefits, including a membership community and virtual sangha:https://www.patreon.com/EverydayBuddhism   If this podcast has helped you understand Buddhism or help in your everyday life, consider making a one-time donation here: https://donorbox.org/podcast-donations   Support the podcast through the affiliate link to buy the book, Everyday Buddhism: Real-Life Buddhist Teachings & Practices for Real Change: Buy the book, Everyday Buddhism

In this episode, I begin with a brief celebration of the 5th anniversary of this podcast and 1 million unique downloads, then move to a reflection on conditioned existence through the lens of climate change and the pandemic. The Buddha taught that we suffer because of change and conditioned existence. In other words, we suffer because we have a nature that is impermanent and and changeable, based on the conditions that affect us. Because of the truth of conditioned existence, there is nothing for sure ... absolute ... unchanging. We suffer because we expect and/or desire things to be otherwise. In thinking about the smoke from wildfires and the Covid pandemic, we see that we're collectively facing the truth of life: that we have little control over the things that happen to us. The only thing we can control is our response to the things that happen to us. Listen as I share a reflection on how these times of change and uncertainty are a time of opportunity. An opportunity to change our perspectives from habits of fear, despair, grief, or anger to more noble, compassionate responses to everyone and every being we share our world with.   Become a patron to support this podcast and get special member benefits, including a membership community and virtual sangha:https://www.patreon.com/EverydayBuddhism   Check out my Substack posts for more everyday Buddhism: https://wendyshinyohaylett.substack.com/   If this podcast has helped you understand Buddhism or help in your everyday life, consider making a one-time donation here: https://donorbox.org/podcast-donations   Support the podcast through the affiliate link to buy the book, Everyday Buddhism: Real-Life Buddhist Teachings & Practices for Real Change: Buy the book, Everyday Buddhism

In this episode I am honored to talk with Satish Kumar, a peace-pilgrim, life-long activist, and former monk, who has been inspiring global change for more than 50 years. As a child, Satish renounced the world and became a wandering Jain monk. Then in his 20s, he undertook a pilgrimage for peace, walking for two years without money, from India to America, for the cause of nuclear disarmament. Now in his 80s, Satish has devoted his life to campaigning for ecological regeneration, social justice, and spiritual fulfillment. Over the decades, he has been the guiding spirit behind a number of internationally respected ecological and educational ventures, as well as a world-renown author and international speaker. But the focus of today's conversation is his new book, Radical Love: From Separation to Connection with the Earth, Each Other, and Ourselves. You will be inspired and uplifted by this conversation with Satish, where he talks about life as a pilgrimage … and the Trinity of soil, soul, and society … How we are "soil beings"… and how activists must become optimists—wonderful inspiration in this age of doom scrolling and climate despair. Learn more about Satish and the book: https://www.parallax.org/authors/satish-kumar/   https://www.resurgence.org/satish-kumar/   Buy the book: https://bookshop.org   https://shop.resurgence.org/product/view/REBK111/radical-love   Browse more books by Satish Kumar: https://bookshop.org/search?keywords=Satish+Kumar   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqSqU_pPRPR/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/page/52728482105/search/?q=Satish%20Kumar     Become a patron to support this podcast and get special member benefits, including a membership community and virtual sangha:https://www.patreon.com/EverydayBuddhism   Check out my Substack posts for more everyday Buddhism: https://wendyshinyohaylett.substack.com/   If this podcast has helped you understand Buddhism or help in your everyday life, consider making a one-time donation here: https://donorbox.org/podcast-donations   Support the podcast through the affiliate link to buy the book, Everyday Buddhism: Real-Life Buddhist Teachings & Practices for Real Change: Buy the book, Everyday Buddhism

In this episode, I celebrate May Day with a re-release of Episode 13 of this podcast, Right Effort: Joyful Balance. I originally released the episode for Labor Day 2018. I thought back on it during the last couple of weeks as I struggled to be still and relax, while recovering from oral surgery during the first week of warm weather. I was restless because, despite the beautiful smells, sounds, and feelings of the NOW of spring around me, I wasn't really there. My attention was on another time where I was accomplishing things on my mental to-do list. I narrate my recent experience trying to understand Right Effort in an intro to the longer episode from 2018. In this chock-full episode, I review the whole Eightfold Path but focus on ways to create a joyful balance around effort. I talk about the Five Hindrances, especially one of my own battles: restlessness. I think many of you will agree. Even in meditation, we can't wait to "get at it." We are bored while we're working and agitated while relaxing. Let my restlessness and inability to relax and enjoy the beginning of summer serve as an example for you. A time to pause and consider whether your "efforts" in life are "right"? Are they in balance? Are you trying to be perfect? Are you so consistently acting from the habit of self-perfection and achievement that you're unable to relax? It all hinges on paying attention; about noticing. That is the hard part. Adjusting your habits isn't as hard. Listen to find ways to help in creating "joyous effort" through "The Five Daily Guidelines" offered by The Bright Dawn Center of Oneness Buddhism: The Five Daily Guidelines: 5 Daily Guidelines   Join me and Bob Unyo Ahlander Sensei, virtually on Zoom, for the first session of the next Introduction to Buddhism Course starting Wednesday, May 17th, 2023 at 7:30PM. Find out more:Introduction to Buddhism info and registration   Become a patron to support this podcast and get special member benefits, including a membership community and virtual sangha:https://www.patreon.com/EverydayBuddhism   Check out my Substack posts for more everyday Buddhism: https://wendyshinyohaylett.substack.com/   If this podcast has helped you understand Buddhism or help in your everyday life, consider making a one-time donation here: https://donorbox.org/podcast-donations   Support the podcast through the affiliate link to buy the book, Everyday Buddhism: Real-Life Buddhist Teachings & Practices for Real Change: Buy the book, Everyday Buddhism

Don't miss this fascinating episode where I talk with Cindy Rasicot, an award-winning author of Finding Venerable Mother: A Daughter's Spiritual Quest to Thailand and creator of Casual Buddhism, a weekly YouTube series that welcomes people from all walks of life to explore their spiritual practice in conversation with Venerable Dhammananda Bhikkhuni. The focus of the conversation is Cindy's spiritual life—especially her relationship with Venerable Dhammananda Bhikkhuni, the first woman to be ordained in Thailand. We talk, of course, about Venerable Dhammananda and her amazing and inspirational life journey from academic to activist to spiritual leader ... and about women in Buddhism. We discuss how Buddhism can be "caught not taught" to be, first, experiential, then conceptual, which is Cindy's experience with Buddhism. We also talk about the importance of healing the mother-daughter relationship … And the riches of experiencing multiple spiritual traditions, as is modeled by Venerable Dhammananda. Learn more about Cindy Rasicot and the book: https://cindyrasicot.com/   Buy the book (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/3KnnM5s   Instagram: https://instagram.com/cindy.rasicot Facebook: https://facebook.com/cindy.rasicot.author   Casual Buddhism YouTube Series: Casual Buddhism - Youtube.com   Casual Buddhism with Wendy Shinyo & Venerable: https://youtu.be/9jjq_jKnYX8   Ted Talk with Venerable Dhammanada: Ted Talk: Dhammananda Bikkuni, "Empowering Our Potentiality"   Learn more about Venerable Dhammananda: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhammananda_Bhikkhuni   Venerable Dhammananda's Songdhammakalyani Monastery: https://www.thaibhikkhunis.com/en/     Become a patron to support this podcast and get special member benefits, including a membership community and virtual sangha:https://www.patreon.com/EverydayBuddhism   Check out my Substack posts for more everyday Buddhism: https://wendyshinyohaylett.substack.com/   If this podcast has helped you understand Buddhism or help in your everyday life, consider making a one-time donation here: https://donorbox.org/podcast-donations   Support the podcast through the affiliate link to buy the book, Everyday Buddhism: Real-Life Buddhist Teachings & Practices for Real Change: Buy the book, Everyday Buddhism

In this episode I talk with Sensei Koshin Paley Ellison, an author, Zen teacher, and Jungian psychotherapist who has devoted his life to the study and application of psychotherapy and Buddhism.    In our conversation, we discuss Koshin's latest book, Untangled: Walking The Eightfold Path to Clarity, Courage, and Compassion.  Among many other things, we talk about: * The needy Cookie Monster in him, myself, and maybe many of you. * The power of perspective in helping you to recognize when your old stories resurface. * The 3 kinds of minds: Grandmotherly Mind, Great Mind, and Joyful Mind. * Self-clinging as a deep form of stealing. * And how everything, everywhere is a  "place of practice."   I was thrilled to have this conversation with Koshin. Keep listening and you'll know why … you can actually hear the twinkle in his eyes and his beaming smile.     Learn more about Koshin and the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care:   About Koshin: https://zencare.org/sensei-koshin-paley-ellison/   New York Zen Center: https://zencare.org/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/zencare   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newyorkzencenter/   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/new-york-zen-center-for-contemplative-care/   Twitter: https://twitter.com/nyzencenter   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@newyorkzencenterforcontemp4985   **************   Check out my Substack posts for more everyday Buddhism: https://wendyshinyohaylett.substack.com/   If this podcast has helped you understand Buddhism or help in your everyday life, consider making a one-time donation here: https://donorbox.org/podcast-donations   Become a patron to support this podcast and get special member benefits! https://www.patreon.com/EverydayBuddhism   Support the podcast through the affiliate link to buy the book, Everyday Buddhism: Real-Life Buddhist Teachings & Practices for Real Change: Buy the book, Everyday Buddhism