[This episode originally aired on January 3, 2023] In exploring the idea of transmission, we're looking into how the teachings are passed on, how the teachings are taught, and how the student can access the teachings • but what do we mean by transmission? • a helpful analogy is to think of music: you can learn to play all the notes in a song, but the music is not there • so what makes the actual music? • there's a famous jazz phrase: “it d...

[This episode originally aired on December 27, 2022] I'd like to introduce three simple short meditation practices that help us tune in to the rich and ongoing process of exchange that marks our lives altogether • we're always giving something out to the world and receiving something from it • we are affected by others and we affect others in so many ways; and we're also quite susceptible to the energies and the outpourings from those around us • in t...

[This episode originally aired on December 20, 2022] One of my favorite nursery rhymes contains quite a bit of wisdom: “Row row, row, row your boat gently down the stream; merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream” • if we think of the stream as a stream of teachings, then we could consider the Buddha as the source of the stream • from that beginning a great river continues to flow over thousands of years • where does this stream flow? It flows into an...

[This episode originally aired on January 15, 2024] The phrase, “When you lose your mind, come back” describes a lot of what happens in meditation: repeatedly losing our minds, and repeatedly bringing ourselves back • the moment we’ve noticed we’ve lost it is the moment we can return • what are we returning to? the simplicity of the present moment • another phrase Trungpa Rinpoche used quite a lot was, “Don’t think too much” • what are the...

[This episode originally aired on January 8, 2024] At our core is our tender heart, tinged with a touch of sadness • it is sweet and vulnerable • this soft spot may be deeply buried, but it is always there • even very simple or momentary experiences can connect us with this heart: you might watch a pair of swallows fly back and forth, over and over, bringing food to their hungry chicks, and something melts or softens in you • it is so beau...

[This episode originally aired on January 1, 2024] Trungpa Rinpoche emphasized the importance of understanding space • he encouraged us to explore our experiences of boredom, our discomfort with stillness, and our tendency to fill space • he pointed out that the basic energy pervading all of space is love and kindness; so to cultivate greater kindness and love, it makes sense to relate to space and its qualities • he introduced three aspects or qualit...

[This episode originally aired on December 25, 2023] Today I'd like to explore the topic of space • the idea of space as it relates to meditation practice is connected with the notion of “gap” — noticing gaps at the end of each outbreath, noticing the little refreshing moments between things, which we often miss • our connection with space can be an almost embodied or physical sense of things: we can sense when a space seems threatening or welcoming • ...

[This episode originally aired on December 18, 2023] In this episode, I'd like to explore the idea of walls — our internal walls, as well as the walls we create between ourselves and others • we're told we need to have clear boundaries; at the same time, we have the challenge of how to bridge the gap between self and others • the wall between ourselves and others is not always so visible; it can take us by surprise as we try to connect in some way • there a...

[This episode originally aired on December 11, 2023] I've been thinking a lot recently about peace, especially the Buddhist view of peace • it's one of those ironic things: throughout history people have longed for peace and prayed for peace, yet we seem unable to free ourselves from conflict, war and struggle • what’s more, our desire for peace can actually manifest as aggression: “if I can defeat my enemy, then I'll be able to finally have some peace” •&n...

[This episode originally aired on December 4, 2023] Buddhist training has two sides, somewhat parallel to pure science and applied science • there is the meditation aspect, the inward journey; and there is the application of that in the world, or meditation in action • we all have the capacity to help; we all have the capacity to cultivate compassion and also to cultivate wisdom and insight, so that compassion is intelligent • but each of us has...

[This episode originally aired on Nov. 27, 2023] Lately I've been thinking about the slogan, “Always maintain only a joyful mind” • at the same time, I've been haunted by the teachings that describe samsara, the nature of reality, as an ocean of suffering • if the world is marked by endless suffering, how can you be joyful? and if the world is fundamentally good and wholesome, how do you account for suffering? • the Buddha's earliest teachings o...

[This episode originally aired on Nov. 20, 2023] In this episode, I'd like to explore such things as resistance, avoidance, procrastination — and why it’s so hard to keep going • I think such things are connected with expectations and its partner, disappointment • in one form or another, or at one time or another, I think most of us have had these kinds of experiences • but we don't need to view such things as character flaws or annoying obstacles; th...

[This episode originally aired on Nov. 20, 2023] This episode is about groundlessness and uncertainty • how do we respond when we are no longer on familiar ground, when we feel insecure? • it can feel so uncomfortable that we might begin to panic; and often, when we reach that point, we scramble — we scramble to find some new secure ground to replace the one that we have left • so we go on a search to find some basis that is reliable, something...

[This episode originally aired on Nov. 13, 2023] One function of meditation practice is the quality of exposing and uncovering what's going on inside our thoughts and feelings • when we practice, the basic fundamental pattern that becomes obvious is how much our thinking revolves around our own needs and wants and desires • we look at what is there without judgment, without being embarrassed, without trying to prove anything • all of this provides gr...

[This episode originally aired on Nov. 6, 2023] The “five powers” are five supports for your practice • they are: determination, familiarization, seed of virtue, remorse, and aspiration • with determination, you're willing to do what it takes to get from here to there; it is connected with having some sense of why we're doing this all together; with determination, we just keep going • familiarization is becoming familiar with our own potential of awa...

[This episode originally aired on Oct. 30, 2023] All beings truly want to be happy and content; so why do we continually and repeatedly create situations for ourselves and others that only lead to greater suffering? • so many large-scale problems in the world, such as warfare, famine, hatred, injustice, poverty, can be traced back to just four simple patterns: grasping, greed, hatred and ignorance • they are tricky, because they start out so simply and innocently ...

[This episode originally aired on Oct. 23, 2023] Many classical Buddhist texts on meditation say that the best place to meditate or to practice is a quiet place in the forest, free from distractions, pleasant and refreshing • but what if you're a busy mother? what if you're struggling to pay the bills by taking on three jobs? what if you're dealing with a chronic illness? what then? • if we spend all of our time resenting the circumstances we're in, we will be fr...

[This episode originally aired on Oct. 16, 2023] In Buddhist psychology, even large scale events and large emotional upheavals can be traced back step-by-step to simple little things • just a thought, just an idea, just a memory, just a little emotional undertone can quickly expand and expand until it's out of control • you could view this as bad news in seeing how quickly things escalate beyond our control, or you could think of this as good news in that even di...

[This episode originally aired on Oct. 9, 2023] The Mahayana path, the path of the Bodhisattva warrior of wisdom and compassion, has a great deal to do with how we relate to ourselves and to one another • what kind of others do we include in our world? • what kind of underlying feelings do we honestly have about the people in our lives and the people we encounter? • everybody is worthy of our attention, but usually we engage in a lot of picking and c...

[This episode originally aired on Oct. 2, 2023] The Mahayana, or open path, is the path of the Bodhisattva — the enlightened warrior of wisdom and compassion • at the core of the Mahayana path is an outrageous vow, called the Bodhisattva vow, where we vow to emulate the great Bodhisattvas of wisdom and compassionate action • the Bodhisattva vow, conventionally speaking, makes no sense at all • you vow to save all sentient beings as vast as they are th...