Tibet’s first religion is not Buddhism. The authors of a new book on Bön, Tibet’s indigenous religion, talk to Melvin McLeod about the history of Bön, its influence on Tibetan Buddhism, and why its earth-centered spirituality is so important for the earth today.
East Bay Meditation Center teacher Arisika Razak talks to associate editor Mihiri Tillakaratne about loving-kindness, intergenerational trauma, recognizing our shared humanity, and the vulnerability in “ugly crying.” Razak then leads a loving-kindness meditation practice for ourselves, those who have supported our journeys, and even the difficult people in our lives.
The Insight Meditation Society celebrates the 80th birthday of one of its co-founders, Joseph Goldstein this year. In his conversation with Buddhadharma editor Rod Meade Sperry, Goldstein applies the “harmonized understanding” approach he championed in his book One Dharma to the concept of buddhanature, to uncover the concept’s relevance to Buddhist practitioners. In the end, he argues, what matters is not who’s right or wrong about what buddhanature is; it’s whether or not engaging with it leads us to less clinging.
Lion’s Roar editor-in-chief Melvin McLeod talks with Shantum Seth, a teacher in the Thich Nhat Hanh tradition who leads the In the Footsteps of the Buddha pilgrimages. They discuss Thich Nhat Hanh's own pilgrimage to India, how visiting the places where the Buddha lived brings him to life, and bringing Buddhism back to the country where it was born. In partnership with Shantum Seth's company, 11 Directions, this year's Lion's Roar pilgrimage destinations include include India and Vietnam. Learn more at lionsroar.com/pilgrimages This episode is sponsored by Saint John’s College. Find out more at https://www.sjc.edu/lion
White Lotus and Sopranos actor Michael Imperioli is also a novelist, screenwriter, director and musician. He and his partner Victoria Imperioli, a well-known interior designer, talk about how Buddhism informs their life together as artists and entrepreneurs. The Lion's Roar Podcast is taking a momentary pause. In the meantime, enjoy our library of 126 interviews, practices, talks and panels on a diverse range of topics.
Judy Lief, a Buddhist teacher in the Tibetan tradition, talks about how you can work with your desires to find peace. Then Cheryl Fraser, a sex therapist and dharma teacher, shares her article, How to Have Mindful Sex. To close, professor, minister, and author of Living Nembutsu: Applying Shinran’s Radically Engaged Buddhism in Life and Society, Jeff Wilson, talks about the radically inclusive founder of the Jodo Shinshu tradition, Shinran.
Sam likes to chill, and Rex likes to play. When Sam wants to take a break from playing, Rex wonders ‘what’s so great about being still?’ Author Catherine Bailey talks about these characters in her children’s book, Dinos Don’t Meditate, and shares a thirty second practice you can do with your kids. Then, Vanessa Zuisei Goddard talks about her book, Weather Any Storm, in which “the Wildering Billies”serve as a metaphor for waves of emotion that create an inner storm. Plus, Zuisei shares a short breathing practice for kids.
Feelings of grief, panic and helplessness can lead one to do unpredictable, irrational things. In this selection from Lion’s Roar’s online course, Medicine for Fear, dharma teacher Mushim Patricia Ikeda of the East Bay Meditation Center talks about the art of “feeling all the feelings” without causing harm to yourself and others, and why the smallest act of kindness can be a powerful form of activism.
The Center for Humane Technology is featured in the Emmy award winning Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, and co-founded by Randima Fernando. He talks about the promises and pitfalls of artificial intelligence; the existential questions it inspires, how Buddhism is uniquely suited to answering them, and how you can approach this new technology that has the power to change what it means to be human. For more on the future of technology and spirituality, find What A.I. Means for Buddhism at lionsroar.com.
Jane Hirshfield is the author of ten collections of poetry, the most recent being The Asking: New and Selected Poems. She talks about creativity in the liminal state, then Anouk Shambrook—an astrophysicist turned meditation teacher—talks about the intersections between science and spirituality. First, a short reading from Buddhadharma’s Rod Meade Sperry of an article by world-renowned meditation teacher, Mingyur Rinpoche. Explore the rest of the November 2023 issue of Lion's Roar.
Dean of Students at the Institute of Buddhist Studies, Scott Mitchell, talks about his book, The Making of American Buddhism and how Western scholarship has largely ignored the role of Japanese immigrants and their American descendants in the development of Buddhism in America.
Internal medicine physician and founder of the End Well Project, Shoshana Ungerlieder talks about the taboo of death and dying among medical professionals and the importance of taking time to ask what really matters to you and your loved ones, while you still can. For more Buddhist wisdom on death and dying join the free, 5 day online event, Death, Love and Wisdom from October 12-16th.
New York Times bestselling author and pop culture writer, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, talks about the film’s unexpected lessons in suffering impermanence, and awakening.
Buddhist teacher, author, and founder of Tara Mandala retreat center, Lama Tsultrim Allione, talks with Lion's Roar magazine's editor Andrea Miller about the meaning — and urgency — of embracing the sacred feminine as a way to resist the destructive aspects of patriarchal society. Plus, a reading of "Green Tara: You Are the Divine Feminine" written by Lama Döndrup Drölma from the September 2023 "Women of Wisdom" issue of Lion's Roar magazine. Explore what's inside the issue on lionsroar.com
Award winning Sri-Lankan Canadian novelist and author of Funny Boy, talks about his latest historical fiction, Mansions of the Moon—the difficult and creative process of using fact and imagination to create an intimate tale of the Buddha’s wife, her relationship with him, their inevitable separation, and her own path to enlightenment.
Religious studies professor Brooke Schedneck is the author of Living Theravada: Demystifying the People, Places, and Practices of a Buddhist Tradition. She talks about Theravada Buddhism in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, from ordinary lay people to elite monks.
Psychologist and teacher Tim Burkett was ordained in 1978, but his path began in 1964, when he met Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, the famed author of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. He talks about learning the nature of enlightenment from Suzuki Roshi, and why the pursuit of enlightenment is futile.
Teacher and co-founder of the BIPOC Sangha at Common Ground Meditation Center, Stacy McClendon talks about how mindfulness can transform the way we think about how we work.
Visiting professor of Buddhism and Black Studies at Union Theological Seminary, and author of Black Buddhists and the Black Radical Tradition: The Practice of Stillness in the Movement for Liberation, Rima Vesely-Flad talks about her book on the connection between the practices of Buddhism, and the Black tradition of radical activism.
Writer, filmmaker, actor, singer, and meditation teacher, Kevin Townley talks about his latest book featuring women whose work exemplifies each of the five wisdom energies in Tibetan Buddhism, how the energies can show up in daily life, and how the spiritualist abstract artist Hilma af Klint embodied the wisdom energy of emptiness.