Banyen Books ~ Branches of Wisdom

@Banyen Books & Sound  joins Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo for a special discussion of her book: The Heroic Heart. JETSUNMA TENZIN PALMO was raised in London and became a Buddhist while still in her teens. At the age of twenty she traveled to India, becoming one of the first Westerners to be ordained as a Buddhist nun. The international bestseller Cave in the Snow chronicles her twelve years of seclusion in a remote cave. Deeply concerned with the plight of Buddhist nuns, she established Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery in India. In 2008 His Holiness the Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa, head of the Drukpa Kagyu lineage, gave her the rare title of Jetsunma (Venerable Master).

Deepen your awareness through the Tibetan practice of sleep and dream yoga with Bön Buddhist meditation master Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche with this  Banyen Books & Sound  event. Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche is a respected and beloved teacher and meditation master in the Bön Buddhist tradition of Tibet. He is the founder and director of Ligmincha International, an organization dedicated to the study and practice of the teachings of the Bön tradition. With students in more than 25 countries, Rinpoche resides in the US and teaches around the world. He is the author of several highly influential books on Bön, spiritual practice, and manifesting the fruit of awareness and positive qualities in one’s life.

Banyen Books & Sound speaks to activist, nun, and esteemed spiritual voice, Joan Chittister on her new book, The Monastic Heart: 50 Simple Practices for a Contemplative and Fulfilling Life. Joan Chittister is one of the most articulate and influential spiritual leaders of our time. The award-winning author of over 60 books, she is an international lecturer who has appeared with the Dalai Lama, on “Now with Bill Moyers”, and on “Super Soul Sunday” with Oprah Winfrey. A founding member of The Global Peace Initiative of Women, a partner organization of the UN, she works to develop a worldwide network of women peace builders. As co-chair of this group she has facilitated gatherings of spiritual leaders throughout the world in an effort to spread an interfaith commitment to peace building, equality, and justice for all peoples. She has received numerous awards for her activism and peace initiatives. A Benedictine Sister of Erie, Pennsylvania, she served as president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), and as prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie for 12 years. She received her doctorate from Penn State University in Speech Communications Theory, and in 1996 was an elected fellow at St. Edmund's College, Cambridge University.

​Banyen Books & Sound  and Word Vancouver host Naomi Shihab Nye for a conversation on the art of poetry and creativity, with readings from her new inspirational collection, 'Voices in the Air — Poems for Listeners'. Naomi Shihab Nye, Palestinian American, was born in St. Louis, Missouri and grew up there, in Jerusalem, and in San Antonio, Texas. A graduate of Trinity University, Nye is the recipient of numerous honors and awards for her work, and was recently the Young People's Poet Laureate for the United States (Poetry Foundation.) She has received the Ivan Sandrof Award for Lifetime Achievement from the National Book Critics Circle, and the Lon Tinkle Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Texas Institute of Letters, along with many other awards, and has served as a Chancellor for the Academy of American Poets, as well as a National Council Member for the National Endowment for the Humanities. She was poetry editor for the New York Times from 2019-2020.

Join Sharon Blackie, renowned mythologist and author of If Women Rose Rooted, for a conversation with Q&A on her new book, Hagitude. Dr. Sharon Blackie is an award-winning writer, psychologist and mythologist. Her highly acclaimed books, courses, lectures and workshops are focused on the development of the mythic imagination, and on the relevance of myth, fairy tales and folk traditions to the personal, cultural and environmental problems we face today.

Banyen Books & Sound joins Phil Cousineau for a conversation about his newly updated bestselling classic The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker's Guide to Making Travel Sacred. Phil Cousineau is an award-winning writer and filmmaker, teacher and editor, lecturer, storyteller and TV host. With more than thirty-five books translated into more than ten languages and 15 scriptwriting credits to his name, Cousineau has also appeared alongside mentors Joseph Campbell and Huston Smith. He is co-writer and host of Global Spirit and has also appeared on CNN, The Discovery Channel, NFL Films, and more. He has been interviewed for stories in Time, Newsweek, and The New York Times . Currently, Cousineau lives with his family in North Beach in San Francisco, California. Learn more about his work at https://www.philcousineau.net.

Banyen Books & Sound converses with Zoketsu Norman Fischer on his new book 'When You Greet Me I Bow: Notes and Reflections from a Life in Zen'. Norman Fischer is a Zen priest, poet, and translator whose writings, teachings, and commitment to interfaith dialogue have supported and inspired Buddhist, Jewish, and other spiritual practitioners for decades. 'When You Greet Me I Bow' spans the entirety of Norman Fischer's career. Broken into four sections--the joy and catastrophe of relationship; thinking, writing, and emptiness; cultural encounters; and social engagement--this book allows us to see the fascinating development of the mind and interests of a gifted writer and profoundly committed practitioner.

Banyen Books & Sound joins Alan Clements and Reverend Bodhi Be in conversation on their new book, Facing Death. Alan Clements is founder of World Dharma and a former Buddhist monk in Burma, where he trained in Buddhist psychology and mindfulness meditation. He is the author of several books, including A Future To Believe In and The Voice of Hope. Alan's work has been endorsed by eight Nobel Peace laureates, including the Dalai Lama, in addition to Dr. Vandana Shiva, Dr. Helen Caldicott, Joanna Macy, Derrick Jensen, former US President Jimmy Carter and numerous others. He been interviewed for Nightline, CBS, CBC, ABC, BBC, Talk to America, the New York Times, Time and Newsweek, Utne Reader, and Yoga Journal.   Reverend Bodhi Be is an ordained interfaith minister and teacher in the Sufi lineage of Samuel Lewis and Hazrat Inayat Khan. He is the founder and executive director of Doorway Into Light, a nonprofit organization on Maui, which provides conscious and compassionate care for the dying, their families and the grieving. For many years Bodhi collaborated with Ram Dass and is continuing the work Ram Dass helped birth in the fields of conscious dying.

Banyen Books & Sound joins Debbie Frank for a conversation on her new book 'What’s Your Soul Sign?', sharing astrological guidance for personal transformation. Debbie Frank is a world-renowned Master Astrologer with decades of experience in sharing, teaching and providing life-healing to her personal clients, celebrities, CEOs and royalty (she was Princess Diana's personal astrologer from 1989 onwards). Debbie is currently the weekly astrology columnist for Hello magazine, and has also written horoscopes and columns for some of the UK's biggest publications including the Daily Mail online, Sunday Express, Hello, Instyle, Sunday Mirror and Daily Mirror. https://www.debbiefrank.com

Banyen Books & Sound joins Sandor Katz for a discussion on his new book 'Sandor Katz's Fermentation Journeys'. Sandor Ellix Katz is a fermentation revivalist. A self-taught experimentalist who lives in rural Tennessee, his explorations in fermentation developed out of his overlapping interests in cooking, nutrition, and gardening. He is the author of four previous books: Wild Fermentation, The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved, The Art of Fermentation—which won a James Beard Foundation Award in 2013—and Fermentation as Metaphor. The hundreds of fermentation workshops he has taught around the world have helped catalyze a broad revival of the fermentation arts. The New York Times calls Sandor “one of the unlikely rock stars of the American food scene.” For more information, check out his website:  https://www.wildfermentation.com.