The Wisdom Podcast

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, features contemporary Tibetan artist Rabkar Wangchuk. Traditionally trained, Rabkar studied for seventeen years at Gyudmed Tantric University, where he also received training in Tibetan thangka painting and arts. After moving to the West, Rabkar’s style has continued evolving into its own unique form, bringing humor and a depth of meditative searching and self-awareness to the work. We’ll be celebrating the launch of Rabkar’s first solo exhibit, Mystery of Life, which includes his colorful pop-art acrylic paintings, mineral pigment on silk pieces, and 3D installations.  In this episode, Rabkar and Daniel discuss Rabkar’s youth in South India, balancing family and monastic life; being selected for the artisan path and his apprenticeship in the tantric arts; the role of art and artistic training in Buddhist contexts; his architectural projects and other works with the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA); traditional Tibetan painting materials and techniques and contemporary influences; Rabkar’s journey in life and work leading to his current show, Mystery of Life;  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 Rabkar Wangchuk: Mystery of Life (#141) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, features special guest His Eminence the 12th Zurmang Gharwang Rinpoche as he and host Daniel Aitken celebrate the launch of Rinpoche’s most recent book, Mahāmudrā: A Practical Guide. H.E. Gharwang Rinpoche was born into the Sikkimese Royal Court and was recognized by H.H. the 16th Karmapa as the incarnation of the Gharwang Tulku. Rinpoche is the supreme lineage holder of the Whispered Lineage of the Zurmang Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. As head of the Zurmang Kagyu School, Rinpoche is the spiritual leader of monasteries and nunneries in Tibet, India, Nepal, and Bhutan. In this episode, H.E. Gharwang Rinpoche and Daniel discuss the story behind the new book and its unique structure; a verse that encapsulates the essence of the book’s teachings; what it means to tame the mind; renunciation in terms of our relationship with others; the connection between mahāmudrā and non-attachment; defining the word mahāmudrā; faith and devotion in mahāmudrā practice; 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 Mahāmudrā: A Practical Guide (#140) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast features an interview with special guest Matthew Kapstein Ph.D., Numata Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Chicago, director of Tibetan Studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études Paris, and co-editor of the online Oxford Bibliographies of Buddhism. His numerous publications include Buddhism Between Tibet and China, Reason’s Traces,  Contributions to the Cultural History of Early Tibet, and The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism. Matthew Kapstein and host Daniel Aitken discuss Matthew’s fascinating introduction to the languages, landscape, and philosophy of Asia; his pivotal journey to India and Nepal in the early 1970’s, meeting Lama Yeshe, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and Zina Rachevsky; Sanskrit and Tibetan language learning on the ground in Nepal, India, and the United States; studying with masters such as Kalu Rinpoche, Chögyam Trungpa, Dudjom Rinpoche, the 16th Karmapa Rangjung Dorje, and Khenpo Sangye Tenzin; Matthew’s pursuits in Western philosophy as well as Madhyamaka traditions such as Mipham Rinpoche’s; the seminal Tibetan King Gesar epic; 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 Matthew Kapstein: The Reluctant Professor (#139) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

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. 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 (#138) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, features an interview with host Daniel Aitken and special guests Venerable Robina and Venerable Chokyi, discussing their work with the Liberation Prison Project. The Liberation Prison Project offers spiritual advice and teachings, as well as Dharma books and materials, to people in prison interested in exploring, studying, and practicing Buddhism. Since 1996 the project has supported the Buddhist practice of over 20,000 men and women in prisons around the world to transform their lives. Daniel discusses with Ven. Robina and Ven. Chokyi: the foundation and development of the Liberation Prison Project; moving examples of prisoner experiences; the Tibetan astrological calendar, pilgrimage, and other fundraising efforts; Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s book Enjoy Life Liberated from the Inner Prison how students provide support to prisoners through the Project; a new opportunity in the Liberation Prison Project Director role; 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 Venerable Robina and Venerable Chokyi: Liberation Prison Project (#137) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast features an interview with Daniel A. Hirshberg, who earned a PhD from Harvard University in 2012 and was associate professor in the Department of Classics, Philosophy, & Religion at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Since recording this podcast, Dan left his tenured professorship to found SŌTERIC.  In this episode, host Daniel Aitken and Dan discuss Dan’s path to the academic Dharma world through studying with Professor Jan Willis, Naropa University, and study and practice in Asia; studies with Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche’s Nalandabodhi Community and the Nitartha Shedra curriculum; Dan’s engagement in historical studies of the influential Nyingma teacher Nyangrel (Nyangrel Nyima Özer, c.1124–1192), King Trisong Detsen, and the Padmasambhava lineage and lore; the foundation and culture of the terma/tertön tradition and the sacred world throughout Tibetan history and into today; practical perspectives on the future of Buddhist literary traditions in the modern age, and the nature of validation in authentic teachings; modern contemplative research and application through secular pedagogical techniques; Dan’s recent book, Remembering the Lotus-Born: Padmasambhava in the History of Tibet’s Golden Age; 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 Daniel A. Hirshberg: Nyingma Lore and Lineage (#136) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast features an interview with Dr. Alejandro Chaoul, who has studied Tibetan yoga for thirty years with the tradition’s greatest masters, including Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche and Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. Dr. Chaoul and host Daniel Aitken explore Tsa Lung Trul Khor (“channel/wind obstacle-clearing techniques”) yoga practice and its place in Dzogchen meditation; the practice of “Body Buddhism,” integrating the body with the mind and breath; the benefits of purification practices like Tsa Lung Trul Khor and the subtle body; practices to help restore “dimmed awareness” to clarity; quick techniques that can be applied immediately in practice and daily life for balancing;  his book with Wisdom, Tibetan Yoga: Magical Movements of Body, Breath, and Mind; and 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 Alejandro Chaoul on Body Buddhism (#135) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live at the 2021 Serenity Ridge Dialogues features a conversation between H. H. the 42nd Sakya Trizin, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, & B. Alan Wallace, moderated by Daniel Aitken. Topics discussed include body, breath, mind, and the nature of consciousness in scientific and spiritual paradigms; views on the source of mind and the influence of the brain; integration of science and spirituality in the understanding of the nature of the mind; introspective techniques such as vipassana and samatha, and the cultivation of attention, insight, and compassion; Alaya consciousness, primordial mind, Rigpa, and the differing Mahayana interpretations of Buddha nature; awe, devotion, and faith in the experience of dream-like reality; and 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 H. H. the 42nd Sakya Trizin, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, & B. Alan Wallace in Conversation (#134) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, features a discussion with special guests Venerable Bhikkhu Anālayo and Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. Ven. Anālayo, Rinpoche, and host Daniel Aitken discuss many Buddhist ideas and practices, comparing what different Buddhist traditions have to say about them, including how the Buddha practiced; understanding mindfulness across different Buddhist traditions; the difference between mindfulness and awareness and how we translate the original terms for these practices; defining terms like space and emptiness and how we think about emptiness; emptiness and compassion; 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 Ven. Bhikkhu Anālayo and Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche: Early Buddhism and Dzogchen (#133) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast features an interview with Alexander Berzin. Alex is a translator and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism. A prolific author and translator, he has published seventeen books and is also the founder of StudyBuddhism.com, an extensive source of authentic Buddhist teachings, presented in a down-to-earth and practical way. Alex and host Daniel Aitken discuss his journey into Buddhism, which started with practicing yoga at thirteen; how he was impacted by meeting the Dalai Lama; his encounters with great teachers like Serkong Rinpoche, Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, and others; the special training he received in the Kalachakra Tantra; his adventures teaching Buddhism around the world, including giving some of the first public Buddhist teachings in eastern Europe after the Soviet Union broke up; and much more. Alex began his study of Buddhism in 1962 at Rutgers and then Princeton Universities, and he received his PhD in 1972 from Harvard University. His main teachers have been His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tsenzhab Serkong Rinpoche, and Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey. Practicing under their supervision, he completed the major meditation retreats of the Gelug tradition. 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 Alexander Berzin: Dharma for Everyone (#132) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.