Shaila Catherine Shaila Catherine returns to the podcast to speak about her new book Beyond Distraction: Five Practical Ways to Focus the Mind. Hi, everyone. You may have noticed this podcast has been on pause. After ten years of weekly episodes, this or Present Moment Mindfulness, I needed a break to shift my focus to teaching. There will be occasional releases like today’s new episode, and I’m very happy to break the silence with Shaila Catherine. Shaila has practiced meditation since 1980, studied with founders of Western insight meditation centers, and accumulated more than nine years of ..read more

Paul Keddy Paul Keddy joins us to speak about Darwin Meets the Buddha: Human Nature, Buddha Nature, Wild Nature. The interconnectedness of all life sometimes takes a back seat in Buddhism, with the spotlight going to lists in service of release from rounds of rebirth. The earning of that freedom, however, happens in samsara, and deep insights about interdependent origination and all the gems of Buddhist thought, can be found in the direct experience of the natural world. Dr. Paul Keddy has been a professor of ecology for 30 years, and has published over 100 scholarly papers and six books. He ..read more

Ajahn Sona Ajahn Sona joins us to speak about Bloom: Buddhist Reflections on Serenity and Love. While not all of us will choose the monastic path, those who do have an amazing opportunity to live a life steeped in thousands of years of tradition. And from that foundation, the rest of us get to learn and practice from them, and how Buddhism can mean living with love. Ajahn Sona is a first-wave Western Theravada ordained monk and the Abbot of Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery (‘Birken’). After several years of practice as a lay hermit, Bhikkhu Sona took full monastic ordination in 1989 with Bhan ..read more

Matteo Pistono Matteo Pistono returns to the podcast to speak about his new book Roar: Sulak Sivaraksa and the Path of Socially Engaged Buddhism Buddhism is ostensibly about ending suffering by extinguishing attachment, and that may seem in conflict with the complexities of social justice, inextricably part of samsara or conditioned existence. That doesn’t look closely enough; Buddhism also has much to contribute to how each of us lives this very life. Matteo Pistono is a writer and meditation teacher. His photos and writings about meditation, Buddhism, yoga, and Himalayan and Southeast Asian ..read more

Pamela Weiss Pamela Weiss joins us to speak about A Bigger Sky: Awakening a Fierce Feminine Buddhism. One of the challenges to Buddhism in its encounter with modernity is its relationship to gender equality. The ordination of Bhikkhunis during Gotama’s lifetime was certainly ground breaking and progressive for the time, but times have changed, and in some branches of the Buddhist tree, feminist ideals remain under the thumb of patriarchal norms. Pamela Weiss is the first and only layperson in the Suzuki Roshi Soto Zen lineage to receive full Dharma Transmission, and is among the few Buddhist ..read more

Lama Rod Owens Lama Rod Owens returns to the podcast to talk about Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger. This topic reminds me of a meme I’ve been seeing for several years and agree with, “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.” Anger is frequently condemned in Buddhism, confused with hatred — but it’s not the same thing. Anger the emotion is, like other emotions, informing us about something in the world, often something that needs attention, and change. Lama Rod Owens is an author, activist, and authorized Lama in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism and is cons ..read more

Barbara Bonner Barbara Bonner joins us to speak about Inspiring Forgiveness. Forgiveness is a term that can mean different things to different people, whether we’re Buddhists or not, from welcome lightening of burdens to harmful judgments about having to practice it. From the guest in today’s interview, “As we go through this time and we all, to one extent or another, face our own mortality, forgiveness is the quality that comes up over and over again in working with people in the end of their lives — those they want to forgive and those from whom they want to ask for forgiveness. The only mes ..read more

Devon and Craig Hase Devon and Craig Hase join us to speak about their new book, How Not to Be a Hot Mess: A Survival Guide for Modern Life. Many Buddhist books focus on teaching and practice, but sometimes get caught up in their own perspective. That view may be influenced with a bias about the monastic life as being “better” than the householder’s path. The fact is, most of us are not monastics, and the way we meet life’s struggles can be supported by clear words about the lives we live. Devon and Craig Hase mentor dharma practitioners online, teach meditation on the Simple Habit app, and l ..read more

Seth Zuiho Segall Seth Zuiho Segall joins us to speak about Buddhism and Human Flourishing: A Modern Western Perspective. As Buddhism has encountered different cultures through the ages, it has contributed new ways of thinking and being, and itself been influenced by the people who resonate with it. Perhaps most extraordinary is the ways in which the sasana is touching and being touched by modernity, science, and an increasingly global community. What is meant by “enlightenment” to say a Western Buddhist may be very different from the deep spirituality of heritage Buddhism. So how to do we st ..read more

Alex Kakuyo Alex Kakuyo joins us to speak about Perfectly Ordinary: Buddhist Teachings for Everyday Life. There can be a tremendous allure to leading the monastic life, relinquishing wordly possessions, and fully immersing in learning and practice. But sometimes during this very different way of living one’s life, another realization occurs: Zen is not separate from life, even the householder’s life. Sensei Alex Kakuyo is a former marine, author, and Buddhist teacher with a B.A. in philosophy from Wabash college. Alex’s journey into Buddhism began when he had a quarter-life crisis in January ..read more