This episode of the Wisdom Podcast features Shaila Catherine, who has been practicing meditation since 1980, with more than eight years of accumulated silent retreat experience. She has taught insight meditation since 1996 in the U.S. and internationally, dedicating several years to studying with masters in India, Nepal, and Thailand. She is the founder of Bodhi Courses—an online Dhamma classroom, and Insight Meditation South Bay—a Buddhist meditation center in Silicon Valley. Shaila has completed a one-year intensive meditation retreat and trained in jhana, metta, samadhi, and vipassana practices. Shaila is also the author of Beyond Distraction, Focused and Fearless: A Meditator’s Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity, and Wisdom Wide and Deep: A Practical Handbook for Mastering Jhāna and Vipassanā. Beyond Distraction is also available as an upcoming Wisdom Academy online course! In this episode, host Daniel Aitken and Shaila discuss  what distraction and intention mean for meditators at every level of experience; ‘wholesomeness’ and mental states rooted in greed, hate, and delusion; mindfulness, the construction of identity, and recognizing conditioning; realistic strategies for overcoming restlessness and distraction as presented in her new book Beyond Distraction; her experience with deep meditative states and practical wisdom we can apply now; shifting habitual patterns and thoughts by identifying and examining them gently; wisely approaching concentration and the joyful cultivation of insight;  and much more! Remember to subscribe to the Wisdom Podcast for more great conversations on Buddhism, meditation, and mindfulness. And please give us a 5-star rating in Apple Podcasts if you enjoy our show—it’s a great support to us and it helps other people find the podcast. Thank you! The post Shaila Catherine: Beyond Distraction (#158) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, features Cortland Dahl speaking with host Daniel Aitken. Cortland is a scientist, translator, and meditation teacher who offers workshops and leads retreats around the world. He has practiced meditation for nearly three decades and has spent time on retreat in monasteries and retreat centers throughout Japan, Burma, and India, including eight years spent living in Tibetan refugee settlements in Kathmandu, Nepal. In addition to his work as an Instructor for the Tergar community and Executive Director of Tergar International, Cortland serves as Research Scientist and Chief Contemplative Officer at UW-Madison’s Center for Healthy Minds and the center’s affiliated non-profit, Healthy Minds Innovations. Cortland is actively involved in scientific research and has published articles on the impact of meditation practices on the body, mind, and brain. He has also published twelve books of translations of classical texts on Buddhist philosophy and meditation. Cortland and Daniel discuss: Cort’s journey to the Dharma, struggling with childhood anxiety;  discovering relief through establishing a meditation practice; Cortland’s years in Asia, connecting with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche and Chatral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche; returning to the West and academia via the emerging contemplative sciences field; using technology to support the unfolding of inner experience; and much more! Remember to subscribe to the Wisdom Podcast for more great conversations on Buddhism, meditation, and mindfulness. And please give us a 5-star rating in Apple Podcasts if you enjoy our show—it’s a great support to us and it helps other people find the podcast. Thank you! The post Cortland Dahl: Meditation and Neuroscience (#157) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, features Susan A. Landesman interviewed by Prof. Robert Thurman and host Daniel Aitken. Susan A. Landesman, independent scholar and educator in New York City, is the author and translator of “The Tārā Tantra: Tārā’s Fundamental Ritual Text (Tārā-mūla-kalpa),” “Goddess Tārā: Silence and Secrecy on the Path to Enlightenment,” “Tara” (in the Oxford Bibliographies), and “The Tārā Tantra: Part II: The Uttara-tantra” (forthcoming). Having completed her doctorate in Indian and Tibetan languages and cultures at Columbia University, she specializes in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan art, and women in Buddhism. Robert Thurman is an American Buddhist author, academic, and former Je Tsongkhapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University, before retiring in June 2019. Graduate of Philips Exeter and Harvard, he studied Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism as a personal student of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He has lectured widely all over the world, is President of the American Institute for Buddhist Studies, and is also a founding trustee of Tibet House New York. Susan, Robert, and Daniel discuss: Susan’s background in visual arts and pathway to Tibetan Buddhism with Prof. Alex Wayman; translating with Geshe Lobsang Jamspel at Columbia and her dissertation on the Tārā Tantra; the vivid, inspiring imagery of the tantras; Tārā’s important role as a Buddha and enlightened protector; Susan’s upcoming translation “The Tārā Tantra: Part II: The Uttara-tantra;” contemporary Tibetan artist Samten Dakpa; and much more. Remember to subscribe to the Wisdom Podcast for more great conversations on Buddhism, meditation, and mindfulness. And please give us a 5-star rating in Apple Podcasts if you enjoy our show—it’s a great support to us and it helps other people find the podcast. Thank you! The post Robert Thurman & Susan A. Landesman: The Tārā Tantra (#156) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This Wisdom Podcast features Sensei Koshin Paley Ellison. Koshin is an author, Zen teacher, Jungian psychotherapist, and Certified Chaplaincy Educator. He has six years of training at the Jungian Psychoanalytic Association as well as clinical contemplative training at both Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center and New York Presbyterian Medical Center which culminated in his roles as an ACPE Certified Educator, chaplain, and Jungian psychotherapist. He began his formal Zen training in 1987, and he is a recognized Soto Zen Teacher by the American Zen Teachers Association, White Plum Asanga, and Soto Zen Buddhist Association. He serves on the Board of Directors at the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, Soto Zen Buddhist Association and Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. Koshin is a dynamic and original leader and teacher. He is the author of Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up as well as the co-editor of Awake at the Bedside: Contemplative Teachings on Palliative and End of Life Care. His work has been featured in the New York Times, PBS, Tricycle and others. In this episode, Koshin Paley Ellison and host Daniel Aitken and discuss  learning about the courage to be still; his new book Untangled: Walking the Eightfold Path to Clarity, Courage, and Compassion; suffering, stillness, and nobility; mythology and the afflictions of the mind; therapy and honoring experiences lovingly; care, compassion, and the delusion of self; and much more! Remember to subscribe to the Wisdom Podcast for more great conversations on Buddhism, meditation, and mindfulness. And please give us a 5-star rating in Apple Podcasts if you enjoy our show—it’s a great support to us and it helps other people find the podcast. Thank you! The post Koshin Paley Ellison: Untangled (#155) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

In this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, host Daniel Aitken is joined by Khandro Kunzang Dechen Chodron, student of the great Nyingmapa Tsa-Lung and Dzogchen master, Kunzang Dorje Rinpoche. Khandro Kunzang left behind a promising career in the early 1990’s to pursue her practice of the Dharma and became a novice nun in the Drikung Kagyu lineage, studying under Khenchen Konchog Gyaltsen and H.E. Garchen Rinpoche. In 1998 she met Acharya Dawa Chhodak Rinpoche while attending a Dharma healing seminar. Between 1999 and 2009, Khandro Kunzang received the entire cycle of teachings and empowerments of the Rigdzin Sogdrub lineage from Kunzang Dorje Rinpoche, and completed many retreats under his direct supervision. In 2011, Acharya Dawa Chhodak Rinpoche bestowed the Tri-Don (enthronement ceremony) conferring authority to guide and teach others, and giving her the title of Khandro. Since the passing of Lama Dawa Rinpoche in 2017, Khandro Kunzang divides her time between teaching and traveling tours throughout Europe and Mexico, serving as the Executive Director for Saraswati Bhawan, leading retreats and teachings at P’hurba Thinley Ling in Iowa; heading the P’hurba Peace Mandala Project International; and offering teachings, guidance, and support to students world-wide. Khandro Kunzang and Daniel discuss Khandro Kunzang’s early Buddhist journey, beginning in Vermont with the book Sky Dancer about Yeshe Tsogyel; Dharma Protectors and drive on the spiritual quest; nature spirits, omens, and divination; the Ngagpa ordination tradition in Dolpo and throughout the Himalayan region; meeting Acharya Dawa Rinpoche in Oregon and her enthronement as a Khandro; her reckoning with Himalayan cultures and patriarchal traditions; and much more! Remember to subscribe to the Wisdom Podcast for more great conversations on Buddhism, meditation, and mindfulness. And please give us a 5-star rating in Apple Podcasts if you enjoy our show—it’s a great support to us and it helps other people find the podcast. Thank you! The post Khandro Kunzang Dechen Chodron: Immersion in the Ngagpa Tradition (#154) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This Wisdom Podcast episode features Geshe YongDong Losar. Geshela is a Tibetan Bön lama, or spiritual teacher, in the Yungdrung Bön lineage, which is rooted in the indigenous spiritual tradition of the Himalayas. He lives in Courtenay, British Columbia, where he established and directs Sherab Chamma Ling, the only Tibetan Bön Buddhist Center in Canada. He teaches in many centers and universities around the world and has also founded the Bon Da Ling center in Costa Rica. In this episode, Geshe YongDong and host Daniel Aitken discuss Geshela’s early life and training with his family and in monasteries in Tibet and India; an overview of the Bön monastic curriculum and training path; sacred deity dancing; English lessons from H. H. the 33rd Menri Trizin Lungtok Tenpai Nyima; Geshe YongDong’s book “Calm Breath, Calm Mind;” the power of sound, breath, and mantra; special Tsa Lung Trul Khor yogic exercises; and much more! Remember to subscribe to the Wisdom Podcast for more great conversations on Buddhism, meditation, and mindfulness. And please give us a 5-star rating in Apple Podcasts if you enjoy our show—it’s a great support to us and it helps other people find the podcast. Thank you! The post Geshe YongDong: Calm Breath, Calm Mind (#153) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This Wisdom Podcast features translator and philosopher Mark Siderits, trained in Asian and Western philosophy at the University of Hawaii and Yale University. Mark  has taught both Asian and Western philosophy for many years at Illinois State University, and as Professor of philosophy at Seoul National University. He is the author or editor of five books including “Nāgārjuna’s Middle Way” and has published numerous articles on a wide variety of subjects in Indian Buddhist philosophy and comparative philosophy. Much of his work aims at building bridges between the classical Indian tradition and contemporary philosophy, by using insights from one tradition to cast light on problems arising in the other. In this episode, host Daniel Aitken and Mark discuss  Mark’s introduction to Western and Asian philosophy through D.T. Suzuki, Alan Watts, and Ludwig Wittgenstein; metaphysics and soteriology in Buddhist and western philosophy; tensions between modern Buddhism and the cognitive sciences; Nāgārjuna and Zeno’s paradoxes; Mark’s comparative work in Abhidharma, Mādhyamaka, and Wittgensteinian philosophies; the two truths and practical soteriology in by Bhāvaviveka and Candrakīrti; and much more! Remember to subscribe to the Wisdom Podcast for more great conversations on Buddhism, meditation, and mindfulness. And please give us a 5-star rating in Apple Podcasts if you enjoy our show—it’s a great support to us and it helps other people find the podcast. Thank you! The post Mark Siderits: Buddhism as Philosophy (#152) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, features Thupten Jinpa Langri and host Daniel Aitken. Thupten Jinpa, educated in the classical Tibetan monastic academia and Geshe Lharampa, equivalent to a doctorate in divinity. Jinpa also holds a BA in philosophy and a PhD in religious studies, both from the University of Cambridge, England. Since 1985, Jinpa has been the principal English translator to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Jinpa and Daniel discuss: details about the Wisdom Academy online course, Tsongkhapa’s Mādhyamaka; further courses in the broader program Jinpa will teach on the Wisdom Academy; navigating Tsongkhapa’s unique view of Mādhyamaka philosophy and the classical Indian masters; the psychological dimension of Tsongkhapa’s theory of emptiness; Jinpa’s new translation of the Stages of the Path and the Oral Transmission; and much more. References Mentioned in Chat At the start of the conversation, Jinpa mentions several texts and translations. They can predominantly be found in the Library of Tibetan Classics series and the Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics series. In answer to Jinpa’s question about Tsongkhapa’s five great Mādhyamaka treatises, he lists: Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path, Vol.III, Tsongkhapa (Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2002) The Central Philosophy of Tibet, Robert Thurman (Princeton University Press, 1984) Ocean of Reasoning, Tsongkhapa, translated by Geshe Ngawang Samten and Jay Garfield (Oxford University Press, 2006) Illuminating the Intent, Tsongkhapa, Thupten Jinpa (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2021) Middle–Length Treatise on the Stages of the Path, Tsongkhapa (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2021) Jinpa stated that for introductory materials for the Wisdom Academy online course Tsongkhapa’s Mādhyamaka, he recommended reading either Essence of the Heart Sutra or The Middle Way by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. During the Wisdom News segment, Daniel mentioned the free conference Dharma in Daily Life conference, and Ligmincha Internationals‘ retreat and dialogues, The Five Element Retreat and Serenity Ridge Dialogues.   Remember to subscribe to the Wisdom Podcast for more great conversations on Buddhism, meditation, and mindfulness. And please give us a 5-star rating in Apple Podcasts if you enjoy our show—it’s a great support to us and it helps other people find the podcast. Thank you! The post Thupten Jinpa: Tsongkhapa’s Mādhyamaka (#151) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast features James B. Apple, Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Calgary. James’ research focuses upon critical analysis of Mahāyāna sūtras and topics within Indian and Tibetan Buddhist scholasticism. His numerous books and articles include Stairway to Nirvāṇa, A Stairway taken by the Lucid, Jewels of the Middle Way, Atiśa Dīpaṃkara Illuminator of the Awakened Mind, and An Old Tibetan Dunhuang Manuscript of the Avaivartikacakrasūtra. In this episode, host Daniel Aitken and James discuss  how college athletics set James on his path to Buddhism and academia; his investigations into the root of suffering with teachers such as Bhante Gunaratana, Gelek Rinpoche, and Geshe Lhundub Sopa; the unique lineage and views of the highly influential Indian master Atiśa Dīpankara Śrījñāna; fine points of Atiśa’s contemplative Madhyamaka philosophy and emphasis on meditation; Kadampa systems of Tantric practice and the Twenty-One Taras; Atiśa’s Mahamudra lineage and interactions with some of the Mahasiddhas; the secret stages of the path of Dromtonpa; and much more! Remember to subscribe to the Wisdom Podcast for more great conversations on Buddhism, meditation, and mindfulness. And please give us a 5-star rating in Apple Podcasts if you enjoy our show—it’s a great support to us and it helps other people find the podcast. Thank you! The post James B. Apple: Stairway to Atiśa (#149) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, features host Daniel Aitken joined by Malcolm Smith—translator in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and long-time practitioner of Dzogchen. Malcolm Smith has been a student of the Great Perfection teachings since 1992, his main Dzogchen teachers being Chögyal Namkhai Norbu and the late Kunzang Dechen Lingpa. He is a veteran of a traditional three-year solitary Tibetan Buddhist retreat, a published translator of Tibetan Buddhist texts, and was awarded the Ācārya degree by the Sakya Institute in 2004. He graduated in 2009 from Shang Shung Institute’s School of Tibetan Medicine, and has worked on translations for renowned lamas since 1992, including H.H. the Sakya Trichen Rinpoche, Kyabgön Phakchok Rinpoche, Kunzang Dechen Lingpa, Khenpo Migmar Tseten, Tulku Dakpa Rinpoche, Khenchen Könchog Gyaltshen Rinpoche, and more. In this lively discussion, Malcolm and Daniel talk about: Malcolm’s new translation on Sakya Lamdre, Sakya: The Path with Its Result; yantra yoga (trul-khor) and Dzogchen in the Sakya yogic tradition; translating the commentary on the Seventeen Tantras of the Great Perfection; Candrakīrti and the Prāsaṅgika Mādhyamaka view in Dzogchen; systems of medicine and elemental compatibility in the tantras;   trekchö, tögal, and two types of dharmatā in Dzogchen teachings; and much more. Remember to subscribe to the Wisdom Podcast for more great conversations on Buddhism, meditation, and mindfulness. And please give us a 5-star rating in Apple Podcasts if you enjoy our show—it’s a great support to us and it helps other people find the podcast. Thank you! The post Malcolm Smith: Dzogchen, Sakya, and Translation (#148) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.