The Wisdom Seat Podcast

Welcome to this very special edition of the Wisdom Seat Podcast. In August 2026, Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche traveled to Halifax, Nova Scotia to give a week of empowerments and abhishekas. A number of us from The Wisdom Seat traveled there to attend. It was a celebratory, wonderful week, and Rinpoche agreed to an interview with Joanna Rotté. Joanna asks Rinpoche about his life and upbringing. He talks about being born in Chandigarh, growing up with his grandfather Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche from the age of four or five, and learning one on one instead of attending a monastic college. He explains how the tulku system works, tells the story of his enthronement at Rumtek with the 16th Karmapa, and shares memories of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. He also describes becoming responsible for Shechen Monastery as a teenager. Near the end, he talks about his plans for Bhutan. Recorded by Bill Moriarty on August 6, 2026 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Interview by Joanna Rotté. Audio and video editing by Alec Simmons. About Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche is the grandson and spiritual heir of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and the seventh in the line of the Rabjam succession. He began receiving teachings from his grandfather at a young age and was raised by him. Since 1991 he has carried responsibility for transmitting Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche's teachings. He is the abbot of Shechen Monastery in Nepal, where about 450 monks study and practice, and he oversees schools, a nunnery, and other humanitarian projects. His book, The Great Medicine, is available in English. About The Wisdom Seat The Wisdom Seat is a group of Buddhist teachers and practitioners in the Mid-Atlantic region who sponsor meditation retreats and support those on the Buddhist path. Learn more: https://thewisdomseat.org/

Michele Martin has two graduate degrees in literature from Yale University and has been a Buddhist practitioner in the Karma Kagyu lineage for over forty years. She is a founding board member of the Tibetan Buddhist Research Center and has spent more than thirty years studying with and translating for Tibetan lamas in Nepal and India. She is the author and translator of Music in the Sky: The Life, Art, and Teachings of the Seventeenth Karmapa, and translator of Gaining Certainty in the View. She divides her time between Woodstock, New York and Nepal This interview was conducted in person by Joanna Rotté before a live audience at Sky Lake Shambhala Meditation Retreat Center in Rosendale, New York. Audio equipment and assistance: Steve Gorn. Audio editing: Alec Simmons.

Larry Mermelstein has been a close student of the Venerable Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche since 1971. He is a founding member and Executive Director of the Nalanda Translation Committee, a senior teacher in the Vajradhatu-Shambhala community, and a consultant for Shambhala Publications. He resides in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This interview was conducted in person by Joanna Rotté before a live audience at Sky Lake Shambhala Meditation Retreat Center in Rosendale, New York.   Audio equipment and assistance: Steve Gorn. Audio editing: Alec Simmons.   Sky Lake Shambhala Meditation Land Center https://skylake.shambhala.org/   Nalanda Translation Committee https://nalandatranslation.org/   The Wisdom Seat https://www.thewisdomseat.org/upcoming-events  

Host Bill Moriarty introduces a 2019 public talk from Anam Thubten: "The Wisdom of Meditation and Everyday Life" in the Dzogchen tradition. Anam Thubten describes meditation with an object (breath, body sensations, mantras, ordinary objects, sound) and meditation without an object (open awareness: "rest in the natural state of your mind"). Anam Thubten grew up in Tibet and at an early age began to practice in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Among his many teachers, his most formative guides were Lama Tsurlo, Khenpo Chopel, and Lama Garwang. He is the founder and spiritual advisor of Dharmata Foundation, teaching widely in the U.S. and abroad. He is also the author of various articles and books in both the Tibetan and English language. His books in English include: Choosing Compassion, No Self No Problem, Into the Haunted Ground, and The Citadel of Awareness. To view Anam Thubten's teaching and retreat schedule, please visit www.dharmata.org/events-calendar. Through the essential wisdom of Buddhism and his personal experience on the spiritual path, Anam Thubten brings alive the timeless teachings and invites everyone to participate. His collection of translations into English can be found at dharmatreasury.org. https://dharmata.org/teachers/  

Andrew is a consultant at Bain & Company, a firm that provides advice to public, private, and non-profit organizations. He's also the president of Applied Mindfulness Training. Andrew and Michael talk shop about "what exactly does a consultant do?" and reminisce about Andrew's father Patton Hyman, founder of AMT and a close friend of Michael's. This episode was originally produced by Applied Mindfulness Training as part of their Mindful Voices series. Learn more at https://www.appliedmindfulnesstraining.org This episode was originally produced by Applied Mindfulness Training as part of their Mindful Voices series. Learn more at https://www.appliedmindfulnesstraining.org