Getting Unstuck With Pema Chodron

This video is about getting unstuck with Pema Chodron. The talk was sponsored by Sounds True and was titled, “Fear and Fearlessness.” Pema is an American born nun in the Shambhala Tibetan Buddhist tradition of Chogyam Trungpa Rimpoche. She is the abbess of Gampo Abbey on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Her life experience as a […]

Who Are You?

“Who are you?” asked the Caterpillar of Alice in a puff of smoke in the famous book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll. Do you remember what Alice said? She said, “I — I hardly know, sir, just at present — at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, […]

Roshi Joan Halifax Talked About Compassion

Roshi Joan Halifax talked about compassion when she visited Capital University in Columbus, Ohio in 2011. She opened with some words of wisdom from Barry Lopez. He writes about environmental and social concerns. She read a piece of his related to the role of compassion-based ethics in our lives. Arctic Dreams is the name of his […]

Just Be Ordinary

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is simple monk in the long line of teachers in the lineage of Chinese Zen teacher Master Linji, founder of the Rinzai school of Zen. Linji’s teaching were quite simple. He said, “As I see it, there isn’t so much to do. Just be ordinary—put on your robes, eat your […]

Lincoln And Enlightened Leadership

This week’s Words of Wisdom chosen by Lama Surya Das is about the movie, Lincoln. The movie stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Jackie Earle Haley, Tommy Lee Jones, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt and was directed by Steven Spielberg. I’ve heard that Sally Field gained a lot of weight to play the part of Mrs. Lincoln. Lincoln’s struggle to […]

Roshi Joan Halifax Is Coming To Stanford

Roshi Joan Halifax is coming to Stanford University in one week on February 20, 2013. She will be in conversation with Dr. Jim Doty, Stanford neuroscientist and founder of The Center for Compassion And Altruism Research And Education (CCARE). When I met Roshi Joan Halifax sixteen years ago, I had no idea she was such an […]

“The Magic Word Is Stillness”

Ajahn Brahm teaches meditation retreats at Jhana Grove Meditation Retreat Centre, Serpentine, Western Australia. Ajahn Brahm was born Peter Betts in London. He trained in theoretical physics. When he went to Thailand, he became a monk in the Thai Forest tradition with Ajahn Chah. Ajahn Chah was the teacher of Jack Kornfield. One of Ajahn Chah’s […]

Phase Shift In The World Religions

During the summer of 1997, when I was on retreat with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh in Santa Barbara, California, I met Roshi Joan Halifax. I was immediately struck by her presence and her beauty. Who would think that she could accomplish so much in her lifetime. She is the founder and abbess of the Upaya […]

Jon Kabat-Zinn Speaks To The Greater Good

The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley was founded by research psychologists Dacher Keltner, Phil and Carolyn Cowan, and Steve Hinshaw. Dacher Keltner was a featured presenter in the Sounds True series, The Compassionate Brain. In his interview with series founder and presenter, Dr.Rick Hanson, Dr. Keltner spoke a lot about his […]

Believe In Nothing!

Shunryu Suzuki Roshi was the founder and abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center beginning in 1962. He practiced in the Soto Zen tradition, which teaches that direct understanding comes from just sitting zazen (zen meditation) and does not rely on doctrine or sutras (scriptures). Under his guidance, additional properties were acquired: the Green Gulch […]