The Wisdom Podcast

Guy Armstrong, a respected teacher and author, shares his insights after leading meditation retreats for decades. He discusses his journey from intellectual understanding of Buddhism to profound Vipassana practice in Southeast Asia. Listeners will enjoy his reflections on Mahasi Sayadaw's teachings and the contrasts between Western retreat structures and traditional monastic training. Armstrong also illuminates the concept of choiceless attention in mindfulness, while exploring the evolution of Buddhist thought and its embrace of compassion and emptiness.

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, features a conversation with Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche, the lineage holder of Shangpa Kagyu. Rinpoche and Daniel discuss  what it means to be a lineage holder; how lineage helps preserve the Dharma; the difference between tradition and lineage; how to connect with a lineage; how to think about doubt in the practice; how and why renunciation is important for our lifelong practice, including how Rinpoche has applied the practice of renunciation in his own life; what it’s like to be recognized and trained as a tulku in today’s world; Rinpoche’s latest social engagement projects; why retreat is important, and the kind of joy you can discover on long retreat; 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 Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche: Lineage, Renunciation, and Engaged Buddhism (#120) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, features a conversation with Ven. Sangye Khadro, a Tibetan Buddhist nun and author of the bestselling book How to Meditate: A Practical Guide. Ven. Khadro (Kathleen McDonald) tells us how she discovered Buddhism and how she wrote How to Meditate, including how she teaches meditation to Westerners who typically come to Buddhism in adulthood. She also describes different varieties of meditation and offers suggestions for those with little experience trying to begin their own practice. Ven. Khadro speaks on her favorite aspects of monastic life, and how it allows for an enhanced practice of ethics within a supportive community. 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. Sangye Khadro: How to Meditate (#119) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, features a conversation with Lama Alan Wallace, author, scholar, president of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies, and Founder, President, and Director of Contemplative Training at the Center for Contemplative Research. Lama Alan has also edited, translated, written, and contributed to more than forty books on Tibetan Buddhism, medicine, language, and culture, as well as the interface between science and religion. In this conversation, recorded in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lama Alan gives timely teachings on the benefits of inner and outer solitude. He offers advice on how to not feel like a victim of circumstances, but instead reframe periods of involuntary solitude as opportunities to slow down, practice cultivating the mind, and reassess both personal and societal trajectories. You’ll hear about this and so much more in this truly inspiring episode You may also like: The Joy of Solitude: An Excerpt from Focused and Fearless by Shaila Catherine   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 Lama Alan Wallace: Solitude and Resilience (#118) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, features a conversation with distinguished translator and scholar Donald S. Lopez Jr. Donald is the Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies in the department of Asian languages and cultures at the University of Michigan. He is the author and translator of numerous books, including Beautiful Adornment of Mount Meru, Opening the Eye of New Awareness, and In the Forest of Faded Wisdom: 104 Poems by Gendun Chopel (University of Chicago, 2009). He and host Daniel Aitken discuss his translation work, amazing encounters he has had with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other lamas, 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 Donald S. Lopez Jr. : Encounters with Great Texts and Great Lamas (#117) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

In this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken interviews artist and author Rima Fujita. You’ll hear about Rima’s upbringing in Japan and how she became Buddhist; a dream she had which helped her discover the ways she could support Tibet; how her friendship with His Holiness the Dalai Lama developed; dreams as a part of her creative process; the stories behind her new book with Wisdom, The Extraordinary Life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama; and much more. Be sure to keep up with Rima’s work and events: Buy The Extraordinary Life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama Visit Rima’s website: https://rimafujita.com/ Follow Rima on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rimafujita 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 Rima Fujita: Illustrating the Dalai Lama’s Life (#116) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast features a conversation with writer, professor, and Wisdom author Christopher Ives. Chris has published two books with Wisdom: Zen on the Trail: Hiking as Pilgrimage and Meditations on the Trail: A Guidebook for Self-Discovery, which came out on May 11, 2021. In this conversation, Chris and host Daniel Aitken explore the idea at the heart of these two books: that the hiking trail and the spiritual path can often be one and the same. When we bring a certain presence to our time in nature—whether it’s a city park or the Appalachian trail—that time can become a profound and spiritual experience. And our time in the outdoors can also lead to insights and wisdom that we can then take with us to the cushion, or wherever our spiritual practice takes place. Topics discussed include how to turn preparing for a hike into a mindfulness practice; shared values between spiritual practice and hiking, such as simplicity; how to prepare a mindful and respectful mind-state for entering the hiking experience; how to be more fully present while hiking; the difference between various terms that can be helpful for practicing mindful hiking, such as mindfulness, immersing yourself, and presencing; 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 way to support us and it helps other people find the podcast. Thank you!   The post Christopher Ives: Meditations on the Trail (#115) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, features a conversation with Lama Migmar Tseten. In this episode, we celebrated the launch of Lama Migmar’s first major book, The Play of Mahamudra. In it, Lama Migmar provides essential commentary on the mystical songs of the Indian Buddhist rebel-saint Virupa. One of the most celebrated tantric masters of Buddhist India, Virupa’s songs describe his realization of mahamudra, the ultimate nature of reality. Intimate and highly engaging, The Play of Mahamudra unpacks these songs with meticulous clarity, making Virupa’s insights accessible to modern readers. Topics discussed include the life of Virupa, Virupa’s connection to different deities and practices, Virupa’s dohas, or songs of experience, mystical experiences of mahamudra, the difference between flow states and mystical experiences, the connection between the completion stage and mahamudra 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 way to support us and it helps other people find the podcast. Thank you!   The post Lama Migmar Tseten: The Play of Mahamudra (#114) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, features a conversation with Thupten Jinpa Langri, renowned scholar, translator, and interpreter for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In this conversation, Jinpa gives wonderful advice on how to read Dharma texts and integrate them with your practice. He also discusses the art of memorization, which texts most need to be translated, the importance of chanting, and some advice to translators. 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: Inspiration for Practice and Study (#113) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, features a conversation with Sarah Harding, a translator and qualified lama in the Shangpa Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Sarah and host Daniel Aitken discuss many topics including her new book with Wisdom, Four Tibetan Lineages. In 1972, Sarah became a student and translator of Kalu Rinpoche (1905-1989), one of the first Tibetan masters to teach in the West. She works as a teacher, oral interpreter, and translator, and has taught in the religious studies department of Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. Sarah translated Creation and Completion: Essential Points of Tantric Meditation by Jamgön Kongtrul and is currently working on translations of Tibetan Buddhist texts as a fellow of the Tsadra Foundation.Sarah recalls how she began reading Buddhist texts, including The Life of Milarepa, when she was in high school. In subsequent years, she traveled across the world, eventually ending up in the Darjeeling region of India, where she became a student of Kalu Rinpoche in the Shangpa lineage along with a handful of other Westerners. Following time spent traveling back and forth between India and Nepal, Sarah went to northern Thailand and attended a retreat with Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw, and she comments on the differences of practice in a Theravada context. Finally, after a return to America, she embarked on a three-year retreat in France and recounts what daily life was like there and the difficulty of integrating back into society afterwards. Sarah and Daniel also get into a discussion of Sarah’s experiences with the traditional practice of chöd.To learn more about some of the tantric meditation practices that Sarah mentions, please check out her translated work, Creation and Completion, available through Wisdom. Remember to subscribe and give the Wisdom Podcast a 5-star rating in Apple Podcasts if you enjoy our show! The post Sarah Harding: Dharma Journeys of Practice & Translation (#112) appeared first on The Wisdom Experience.