Podcasts about zen buddhist

The Zen Buddhist Master and the Gargoyles - All the Winds of Heaven - Absolute Dissolution, 6 4, Season 4, Out-of-Body Travel FilmsBased on the Book Series 'The Mysteries of the Redemption: A Treatise on Out-of-Body Travel and Mysticism,' by Marilynn HughesThe Out-of-Body Travel Foundation - https://outofbodytravel.org – Astral Travel and Astral Projection: Download Books, Films, Seminars, Livestreams, Music, Art, Vignettes, Radio and TV Appearances and More on Out-of-Body Experiences. (Ghosts, Reincarnation, Initiations, Heaven, Hell, Angels, Demons.) Out-of-Body Travel Author, Marilynn Hughes (Copyright)Out of Body Travel, Out of Body Experiences, Out of Body, Astral Travel, Astral Projection, Near Death Experiences, Mystical Experiences, OBE, OOBE, NDE

All Home Care Maters and our host, Lance A. Slatton were honored to welcome Roy Remer as guest to the show.   About Roy Remer:   Roy Remer is the author of Zen Caregiving: How to Care for Yourself While Caring for Others. An educator and end-of-life caregiver since 1997, he is executive director of Zen Caregiving Project in San Francisco and lead creator of the Mindful Caregiving Education curriculum.   A dedicated practitioner in the Soto Zen tradition, Remer is a student at San Francisco Zen Center.     About the Zen Caregiving Project:   Formerly Known as Zen Hospice Project was founded in 1986 to address suffering in San Francisco. Rooted in Zen Buddhist tradition, we began training volunteer caregivers to serve dying residents at two sites of service.   Their world renowned volunteer caregiver training has evolved to become the foundation of our Mindful Caregiver Education, which we teach nationally. In 2015, we began taking our unique approach to care out into the world in order to allow caregivers anywhere to benefit from our course offerings.

Greetings Friends,We are moving through this wonderful collection of encounters with Buddhist Women found in the book The Hidden Lamp for our Summer Read. This week we met Keizan Zenji and Mokufu Sonin engaged in the dialogue below:Hidden Lamp Case 20: Sonin's Shadeless TreeMaster Keizan Jokin asked the nun Mokufu Sonin, “The winter is coming to an end and the springtime is arriving. There is an order to this. What is your understanding?” Sonin replied, “In the braches of a tree without shade, how could there be any seasons?”These two people are very important figures in the history of Zen Buddhism. They are direct Ancestors in our Soto Zen lineage tree. So, they are our Ancestors. What is an Ancestor? One way we understand Ancestor in Buddhism is someone who aligns their heart and mind with the aspiration to awaken and liberate all beings from suffering. So, someone who wants to help us wake up! But one Zen teacher says in actuality —all beings are your ancestor.What would it be like to truly see the world this way?Are all beings trying to awaken us?Is everyone we meet helping us on this path of liberation from suffering?Are they, through their words, thoughts and actions aiding us in opening our own hearts and minds to the love, compassion and wisdom of this universe?It may not always feel that way. But we can aspire to practice as if it were true, this is taking the view of bodhicitta— the great compassion unfolding this life.Connecting to the Zen Ancestors can remind us that humans have been walking this path of awakening for a long time. They were shaped by the path and they also shaped or opened new dimensions of the path through their embodied walking. I find that hearing the ancestor's stories is a lot like pulling a tarot card, or reading a myth or fairytale. Their life stories usually contain dharma teachings, universal themes about the path, but also personal dimensions that may resonate with our own struggles, questions, doubts, curiosities or lived experience.Keizan's PathKeizan Zenji is a great example of this. Considered the “mother of Soto Zen”, he was born in the early years of Soto Zen in Japan, just eleven years after Dogen Zenji (the founder) died. His mother and his grandmother were both Zen practitioners, but also embodied and practiced a more ancient form of spirituality that was common amongst women at the time—a form of spirituality we might call “folk” or “shamanistic” or “animist”. (In her recent books, Bringing Zen Home and The Little Book of Zen Healing Paula Arai explores how the blend of Zen and shamanism is still alive in how many lay women engage in dharma practice).Below is an excerpt from Sallie Tisdale's book Women of the Way, here she shares the story of Keizan's birth. This short selection introduces us to some of the people and practices that influenced Keizan throughout his life.Many years later, when Ekan Daishi was thirty-seven years old, she had a dream. She swallowed the morning light, warm and as soft as silk, and it filled her entire body. A few days later she realized she was pregnant. Then she prayed, as she had often prayed, to the beloved statue of Kannon: “May this child be a spiritual leader, a benefit to all, and please, may the delivery be easy.” For the next seven months, she bowed 1,333 times each day and recited the Kannon Sutra. The baby was born on the property of the Kannon Temple in the province of Echizen, without pain. A short while later Daishi took vows as a nun, and the baby's grandmother, Myōchi, helped raise him.So Keizan was raised with a deep connection to both his mother and grandmother and to the Bodhisattva Kannon (who is the bodhisattva of compassion). He was brought up in an enchanted world, where kami (spirits) filled the natural world, where Buddha's and Bodhisattva's appeared in dreams, where even the mundane aspects of life were part of the art, the ritual of living in an interconnected world of mutual reciprocity. A world emerging from the great compassion of Kannon. Keizan also listened to the wisdom of his dreams, practiced Buddhist astrology and geomancy. He was instrumental in creating and recording the ceremonies we have throughout the Buddhist liturgical year. His love for the ancestors, led him to gather the stories of the Zen Buddhist lineage dating back to Shakyamuni Buddha. Creating a mythological retelling of their lives, and giving teachings inspired by their stories. This collection of his dharma talks on the ancestors, is called the Denkuroku, the Transmission of the Light.Here's another selection from Women of the Way revealing some of the ways he practiced and saw the world, and how he carried his mother's vow forward after she died.His dreams about Yōkōji were strong and good, filled with spirits and buddhas. Even the stars overhead, streaming slowly between the black branches of the pines, were correctly aligned. The hills were no more beautiful than other nearby hills, but he could see through these particular hills to the hidden hills beneath. He believed that he could see the true monastery already there, the one belonging to the other world—the world of protectors and guides. In this place, where the boundary between worlds was very thin, he would build the Monastery of the Eternal Light. A year later Daishi died. Almost at the moment of her death she reached for her son's hand. “I made a vow to Kannon,” she said. “You must continue it. You must help all beings come to the Dharma. Especially, most especially, because you can, you must help all women of the three worlds and the ten directions. “Take the little statue,” she added, nodding toward the Kannon she had found all those years ago in the mud. “Take care of it forever.” In her memory, Keizan ordered that a Sōtō women's temple, Hōō-ji, be built in the province of Kaga.Keizan and Sonin's Dharma FriendshipOne of the most remarkable aspects of Keizan, is that he really took this vow to heart. Sonin was a patron, she donated the mountain where Keizan built Yokoji, one of the many monasteries he helped found, and the one where he spent most of his time. After Sonin's husband died, she went to Keizan to ask for ordination. The night before Keizan had a dream that his beloved deceased grandmother came to him and asked for ordination. From this point on he regarded Sonin as a reincarnation of his grandmother, and the two were very close as teacher and student, and then as friends and collaborators. Keizan wrote that the two of them were like, “magnet and iron.”Keizan wrote that Sonin's aspiration for awakening “clarifies each day”, that “she radiates kindness” and that her “insight is ripening”, shortly before the dialogue above took place. He had asked her about, “temporal existence” and she was unable to answer. She let this question work on her. And sometime later asked Keizan to engage in dharma combat. That is when he asked her about the seasons changing from winter to spring. Sonin's understanding was clear, and she was able to meet Keizan in the place with neither light or shadow.Sonin is the first woman in the Soto Zen lineage of Japan to receive full dharma transmission. Keizan gave transmission to two other women, Konto Ekyu and Myosho Ekan, before he died. (Keizan's mother Ekan Daishi, Mokufu Sonin, Konto Ekyu and Myosho Ekan are all part of the Women's Lineage found in the ZCO chant book, at the monastery we would chant their names as part of morning service twice a week.)In closing, this short snapshot into the lives of Keizan and Sonin, I want to share another excerpt from the Women of the Way.In 1322 Keizan and the nuns founded Enzūin, the Temple of All Pervading Perfection, across the stream from the mountain gate, hidden in the trees. Enzūin was dedicated to the well-being of women forever, and it was most especially meant as an honor to his grandmother and in keeping the promise he made to his mother Ekan Daishi when she died.At the dedication, the statue of Kanzeon, with its eleven serene faces, was installed as the main image. It had come to seem like an animate thing, hearing and acting on the prayers of its bearers. In its base Keizan placed a lock of his own baby hair and his umbilical cord, which his mother had preserved. In this way, he gave his own life to this women's hermitage in the trees. Sonin was the first living abbot there, although Ekan Daishi was considered the first ancestoral abbot. There is still a portrait of Ekan Daishi, Keizan's mother and Sonin as the first abbots on the Yokoji temple property.So, here is a story of the legacy of two Zen Ancestors. If you want to learn more, listen to the podcast where I also explore this short koan exchange and how we too are shadeless trees, in the midst of the changing seasons of our lives. If you are curious to learn more about Keizan and Sonin, there is this great resource here.Is there are any aspects of Keizan and Sonin's story that piqued your interest or felt resonate with your own life and practice? Hope to see you for one of our live online gatherings or in person for a retreat this summer!Weekly Online Meditation EventMonday Night Dharma — 6P PT / 9P ET Join weekly for drop-in meditation and dharma talk. We are currently exploring the Hidden Lamp: Teaching from the Buddhist Women AncestorsFeel free to join anytime. Event lasts about 1.5 hours. ZOOM LINKIn-Person in OregonGrasses, Trees and the Great Earth Sesshin— August 10 - 16 at Great Vow Zen MonasteryIn-Person in Columbus, Ohio through Mud Lotus SanghaWeekly Meditations on Tuesday, Wednesday and ThursdayRetreats, Meditation instruction and other events can be found on our website.Upcoming Sesshins at Saranam Retreat Center in West VirginiaInterdependence Sesshin June 29 - July 5 (Registration is now open!)I'm Amy Kisei. I am a Zen Buddhist Teacher, Spiritual Counselor, Astrologer and Artist. I offer 1:1 Spiritual Counseling sessions using IFS and Hakomi (somatic mindfulness). I also offer astrology readings. Check out my website to learn more. I currently live in Columbus, OH and am a supporting teacher for the Mud Lotus Sangha. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amykisei.substack.com/subscribe

This week's show was recorded using an improvised audio recording setup while the podcast team was on pilgrimage through India. Thank you for your understanding.

We are resharing this episode in memory of Michael Harrison, who passed away on April 17, 2026. He was 67. In this episode, we discuss the life and work of musician and Sufi teacher Hazrat Inayat Khan with composer/pianist and Inayat Khan scholar Michael Harrison. Hazrat Inayat Khan ( July 1882 – 5 February 1927) was an Indian professor of musicology, singer, exponent of the saraswati vina, poet, philosopher, and pioneer of the transmission of Sufism to the West. At the urging of his students, and on the basis of his ancestral Sufi tradition and four-fold training and authorization at the hands of Sayyid Abu Hashim Madani (d. 1907) of Hyderabad, he established an order of Sufism (the Sufi Order) in London in 1914. By the time of his death in 1927, centers had been established throughout Europe and North America, and multiple volumes of his teachings had been published. Michael Harrison (October 24, 1958 - April 17, 2026) forged a new approach to composition through just intonation (the system of tuning based on pure harmonic proportions). His works blend classical music traditions of Europe and North India. He is a Guggenheim Fellowship and NYFA Artist Fellowship recipient. Michael created dedicated tuning systems for many of his works. He pioneered a structural approach to composition in which the proportions of harmonic relationships organically determine other musical elements such as pitch, duration, and dynamics. He also invented the “harmonic piano,” a grand piano that plays 24 notes per octave, documented in the Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. Harrison seeks expressions of universality via the physics of sound – music that brings one into a state of concentrated listening as a meditative and even mind-altering experience. At the time of his death he was working on “The Raga Cycle”, a series of albums charting the hours of the day through Hindustani raga. The first installment, Evening Light, was released in March 2026 on Cantaloupe Records. More albums in the series were recorded before he became too ill to continue. They will be released in the years ahead. Donations in his memory can be made to the Michael Harrison Foundation for Just Music at JustMusic.org. Topics 00:00 Podcast Welcome 00:22 Encore Tribute 02:28 Mysticism Book Intro 02:49 Spiritual Music Path 04:32 Conservatory And Tonality 06:37 Daily Raga Practice 12:55 Voice Breath And Wazifa 16:48 Creation As Vibration 20:14 Harmony East And West 24:07 Math Of Consonance 25:32 Temperament Versus Just 28:24 Tuning The Soul Quote 32:03 Piano Retuning Journey 35:54 432 Versus 440 39:56 Music As Universal Religion 46:02 Cage Oliveros Deep Listening 51:16 Commentary And Curriculum 53:08 Teaching Programs 55:26 Closing Thanks And Outro Links Michael Harrison — His Own Work Evening Light: Raga Cycle I — Cantaloupe Music (2026) Seven Sacred Names — Bandcamp (2021) Revelation: Music in Pure Intonation — Cantaloupe Music (2007) From Ancient Worlds — michaelharrison.com Time Loops with Maya Beiser — Cantaloupe Music (2012) Michael Harrison website Episode Music Michael Harrison — "Mureed" from Seven Sacred Names (2021, Cantaloupe Music) Michael Harrison — "Alim: Polyphonic Raga Malkauns" from Seven Sacred Names (2021, Cantaloupe Music) Michael Harrison — "Qadr: Etude in Raga Bhimpalasi" from Seven Sacred Names (2021, Cantaloupe Music) Hazrat Inayat Khan — "Purvi Khal: Kamli Wale Tope Sabkuchhvare" (2022, Primitiv) Michael Harrison – “Sami: The Acoustic Constellation” from Seven Sacred Names (2021, Cantaloupe Music) Hazrat Inayat Khan The Mysticism of Sound and Music — Goodreads Inayat Khan 1909 78rpm Recordings — YouTube Hazrat Inayat Khan — Wikipedia The Inayat Order — Pir Zia Inayat Khan Turning Toward the Heart — SAND Podcast with Pir Zia Inayat Khan Teachers & Lineage Pandit Pran Nath — Wikipedia La Monte Young — Wikipedia Terry Riley — Wikipedia Pir Vilayat Khan — Wikipedia Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan — Wikipedia Other Composers & Artists Referenced Pauline Oliveros — Center for Deep Listening® — Michael Reiley's teacher; creator of Deep Listening practice Pauline Oliveros — paulineoliveros.us John Cage — Wikipedia — composer, Zen Buddhist, creator of 4'33" Arvo Pärt — Wikipedia Hildegard of Bingen — Wikipedia Ravi Shankar — Wikipedia George Harrison Concert for Bangladesh — YouTube Roomful of Teeth — website John Eliot Gardiner — Wikipedia Josquin des Prez — Wikipedia Claudio Monteverdi — Wikipedia J.S. Bach — Wikipedia Programs & Institutions Arts, Letters and Numbers — Creative Music Intensive Michael Harrison Foundation for Just Music — donations in his memory Manhattan School of Music — where the harmonic piano is now archived Contact SAND podcast@scienceandnonduality.com Support the mission of SAND and the production of this podcast by becoming a SAND Member

If you wish to support our podcast, please visit this link. Thank you! Welcome to a new episode of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. The fifth in a series of six episodes recorded during the In the Footsteps of the Buddha pilgrimage, this instalment was made in Kushinagar, India, in February 2026. In it, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach Jo Confino are joined by Zen Buddhist nun Sister Tam Muoi and Dharma teacher Shantum Seth to reflect on the Buddha's final days and the legacy and continuation of his teachings. They also discuss Thich Nhat Hanh's passing and how Plum Village responded to his transition; the responsibility of current and future generations to continue his work and teachings; and the importance of the multi-fold community in preserving and spreading the Buddha’s teachings in a way that is relevant and accessible to the modern world. Furthermore, Shantum Seth provides historical context about the Buddha’s final journey and the events after his passing, including the first Buddhist council and the spread of Buddhism; Brother Phap Huu draws parallels between the Buddha’s and Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings and legacies; and Sister Tam Muoi discusses the importance of the monastic order in continuing the Buddha’s teachings – as well as Thich Nhat Hanh’s vision for the Plum Village tradition to evolve and adapt while staying true to its core principles. About the pilgrimage: In 1988, Shantum Seth was invited by Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) to organize a pilgrimage to the sacred sites associated with the Buddha's life across India. Subsequently, Thay encouraged Shantum to continue guiding such journeys each year, offering pilgrimage itself as a mindfulness practice – one that the Buddha had suggested. Shantum has been leading these transformative journeys ever since, offering people from around the world the opportunity to follow In the Footsteps of the Buddha with awareness and insight. After 15 years at the United Nations, Shantum left to volunteer with the Ahimsa Trust, which represents Thay's work in India and promotes the practice of “peace in oneself and peace in the world”. Through Buddhapath, his expression of Right Livelihood, Shantum continues to guide pilgrimages and share the wisdom and culture of the places he visits in India and across Buddhist Asia, cultivating community through these deeply meaningful journeys.To learn more about upcoming pilgrimages, visit www.buddhapath.com, or follow Shantum on Facebook and Instagram at @eleven_directions. Shantum Seth, an ordained Dharmacharya (Dharma teacher) in the Buddhist Mindfulness lineage of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, teaches in India and across the world. A co-founder of Ahimsa Trust, he has been a student of Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings for the past 35 years, and, since 1988, has led pilgrimages and other multi-faith, educational, cultural, spiritual, and transformative journeys across diverse regions of India and Asia. He is actively involved in educational, social, and ecological programmes, including work on cultivating mindfulness in society, including with educators, the Indian Central Reserve Police Force, and the corporate sector. Across various Indian sanghas, Dharmacharya Shantum is the primary teacher of different practices of mindfulness from Thich Nhat Hanh's tradition. Sister Tam Muoi (Sister Samadhi) is from the UK and was ordained in 2012, becoming a Dharma teacher in 2022. Having encountered the practice whilst living in France, she became engaged in the French lay sangha and was ordained into the Order of Interbeing in 2004. She is actively supporting the recently created Being Peace Practice Centre in the UK and is deeply committed to the work of healing ancestral harm, participating in trainings and retreats exploring White Awareness. Read more here. Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/ And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ Recordist: Ann Nguyenhttps://ann.earthSound editor: Joe Holtawayhttps://joeholtaway.comPublisher: Anca RusuProducer: Clay Carnillhttps://claycarnill.comExecutive Producer: Catalin Zorzini List of resources  The Way Out Is In: ‘In the Footsteps of the Buddha (3/6) | The Heart of the Buddha’s Teachings (Episode #104)’https://plumvillage.org/podcast/in-the-footsteps-of-the-buddha-3-6-the-heart-of-the-buddhas-teachings-episode-104 The Way Out Is In: ‘In the Footsteps of the Buddha (2/6) | Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree (Episode #103)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/in-the-footsteps-of-the-buddha-2-6-enlightenment-under-the-bodhi-tree-episode-103 The Way Out Is In: ‘In the Footsteps of the Buddha (1/6) | The Buddha: Down to Earth (Episode #102)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/in-the-footsteps-of-the-buddha-1-6-the-buddha-down-to-earth-episode-102Interbeinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing Plum Village Traditionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum_Village_Tradition Kushinagarhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kushinagar Blue Cliff Monasteryhttps://www.bluecliffmonastery.org/ No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Sufferinghttps://www.parallax.org/product/no-mud-no-lotus/ The Order of Interbeinghttps://plumvillage.org/community/order-of-interbeing The Way Out Is In: ‘The Three Jewels (Episode #89)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/the-three-jewels-episode-89 Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81y%C4%81na_Mah%C4%81parinirv%C4%81%E1%B9%87a_S%C5%ABtra Vinayahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinaya Ashokahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashoka Stephen Batchelorhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Batchelor_(author) Bodhicittahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhicitta Sister Dao Nghiemhttps://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-dao-nghiem Letters from Thich Nhat Hanhhttps://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/letters Dharma Talks: ‘Redefining the Four Noble Truths'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/redefining-the-four-noble-truths Dharma Talks: ‘The Noble Eightfold Path'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-noble-eightfold-path Vasubandhuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasubandhu Sunyatahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9A%C5%ABnyat%C4%81 King Prasenajithttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasenadi Kapilavastuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapilavastu_(ancient_city) Mahākāśyapahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah%C4%81k%C4%81%C5%9Byapa Quotes “Thay really practiced the present moment, because in the present you’re also practicing impermanence. There’s only one moment to live and to touch life, and that is the very here and now.”“All conditioned reality is subject to decay. Strive on diligently – essentially meaning, Everything is impermanent; keep up the practice.” “Dwelling happily in the present moment is the insight of meditation. But dwelling happily in the present moment doesn’t mean that suffering doesn’t exist; doesn’t mean that our anger and our frustration is not there. But, no matter what the situation is – whether it is loss, grief, frustration, chaos – as a practitioner, we have to have the ability to dwell in the very here and now, and allow ourselves to see that wonder, because that wonder is the light that shines through the darkness, the fog, the chaos.” “When we’re reaching the end of our lives, we want to declutter. We want to put our affairs in order. We want to make sure, to the best of our abilities, that we leave life clean, that we don’t leave arguments, resentments, and suffering behind for the next generation to have to deal with.” “I have never met an individual. I meet the entire lineage of that person stretching back to the beginning of time – because, if there’d been an interruption, then you wouldn’t exist.” “The Buddha said, ‘I’ve never taught with a clenched fist, I have offered all the teachings for you to be calm, peaceful, transform your emotions, and be liberated. And so keep the Dharma as your island and be a light unto yourself, and keep the Dharma as your island.' So he’s very clear that the Dharma is his continuation; the teachings and practice are his continuation.” “In a country like India, the Buddha exists at a very ambient level, in the way we live our lives and feel the interconnectedness of everything, with nature, with other people.” “If we know how to suffer, we’re going to suffer a whole lot less.” “Thay would always include our lay friends. Whenever he was teaching in any ceremony he would always add, ‘And our lay friends, our sisters and our brothers from the lay community, the multi-fold community.' He would always correct the language as he went along, even if it wasn’t written down, to include everybody. And this was such a teaching for us that we want to continue it. We do not want to be a monastic community where the monastics are the privileged ones. Instead, we are all practicing together and all have different capacities and different things that we can offer.” “Thay once shared that his vision is that, one day, we’re all walking in the marketplace and see a monk walking by with peace and grace. And that monk is a bell of mindfulness. You see that monk and you stop and just breathe, connecting back to your spiritual dimension. And then you go on.” “Thay empowered us, each of us, and now we can empower so many other people. And I think it’s a reminder that we don’t need to look for the teachers and what impact they had; instead, we can look at the impact we are having every day, in all the interactions we have, in all the people we meet, in all of the thoughts we have and all the words we speak, in all the actions. We, each of us, are a continuation. And we’re not a continuation to one other person; we’re a continuation to all of life. The way we are present in nature is the way that nature can be present for us. The way that we are available to other people then gives people the opportunity to be available to others.” “Everything Thay did, he always reflected back to the Buddha. The Buddha’s whole way of teaching was also to empower everyone he met, to water the seeds of mindfulness and awakening in every person.”

This week on Paranormal Activity: Monday Mailtime, Producer Dom opens two listener encounters that don't just unsettle, they fundamentally challenge what we think we understand about places, presence, and memory.Calum hiked alone to a hill on the Isle of Skye as the light began to fade. He didn't know the locals call it Hill of the Voice. He does now. What started as a faint, drawn-out note became layers of inhuman singing — overlapping, circling, tightening around him like something adjusting itself. And then he felt it beneath his feet. Not a sound. Not a shape. Something occupied. Something listening back. A local later told him the singing isn't meant for people. And if you hear it clearly… you've already been noticed.Then, Amara travelled alone to Kennin-ji Temple in Kyoto to observe a morning service. She sat quietly. The chanting began. And then without knowing the words, without understanding the language, her mouth started moving. Perfectly in time. In a voice that wasn't hers. Deeper. Older. Worn-in, like it had been used across lifetimes. When it ended, she asked a monk what had happened. His answer has never left her: "Not everyone who arrives here is arriving for the first time."What happens when a place doesn't just hold energy… but uses whoever walks into it? And what does it mean when something ancient recognises you before you recognise it?Producer Dom reacts, unpacks, and explores the folklore and deeper theory behind both: from the fairy mounds of Scottish Gaelic tradition to the Zen Buddhist belief that practice never truly ends… it just waits for the right vessel to return.A Create Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you want to support our podcast please visit this link. Thank you! Welcome to a new episode of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. The fourth in a series of six episodes recorded during the In the Footsteps of the Buddha pilgrimage, this instalment was made in Vaishali, India, in February 2026. In it, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach Jo Confino are joined by Zen Buddhist nun Sister Tam Muoi and Dharma teacher Shantum Seth to discuss new steps in the pilgrimage, like their visit to Nalanda University, an ancient seat of Buddhist learning, and Vulture Peak, where the Buddha gave some of his most important teachings. In Vaishali, the Buddha made the revolutionary decision to ordain the first nuns, which was a significant step towards gender equality in Buddhism.Shantum Seth discusses the historical context and significance of these events and places, the importance of adapting Buddhist teachings to the present day, and a vision for Plum Village India to be a multifold community that embraces diversity and continues the legacy of the Buddha and Thich Nhat Hanh in a way relevant to the current times. Sister Tam Muoi and Brother Phap Huu share their personal experiences and reflections on the role of nuns and the evolution of the Plum Village community, emphasizing the importance of embodying Buddhist teachings, skillfully navigating change, and continuing Thich Nhat Hanh's legacy of inclusivity and gender equality. About the pilgrimage: In 1988, Shantum Seth was invited by Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) to organize a pilgrimage to the sacred sites associated with the Buddha's life across India. Subsequently, Thay encouraged Shantum to continue guiding such journeys each year, offering pilgrimage itself as a mindfulness practice—one that the Buddha had suggested. Shantum has been leading these transformative journeys ever since, offering people from around the world the opportunity to follow In the Footsteps of the Buddha with awareness and insight. After 15 years at the United Nations, Shantum left to volunteer with the Ahimsa Trust, which represents Thay's work in India and promotes the practice of “peace in oneself and peace in the world”. Through Buddhapath, his expression of Right Livelihood, Shantum continues to guide pilgrimages and share the wisdom and culture of the places he visits in India and across Buddhist Asia, cultivating community through these deeply meaningful journeys.To learn more about upcoming pilgrimages, visit www.buddhapath.com, or follow Shantum on Facebook and Instagram at @eleven_directions. Shantum Seth, an ordained Dharmacharya (Dharma teacher) in the Buddhist Mindfulness lineage of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, teaches in India and across the world. A co-founder of Ahimsa Trust, he has been a student of Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings for the past 35 years, and, since 1988, has led pilgrimages and other multi-faith, educational, cultural, spiritual, and transformative journeys across diverse regions of India and Asia. He is actively involved in educational, social, and ecological programmes, including work on cultivating mindfulness in society, including with educators, the Indian Central Reserve Police Force, and the corporate sector. Across various Indian sanghas, Dharmacharya Shantum is the primary teacher of different practices of mindfulness from Thich Nhat Hanh's tradition. Sister Tam Muoi (Sister Samadhi) is from the UK and was ordained in 2012, becoming a Dharma teacher in 2022. Having encountered the practice whilst living in France, she became engaged in the French lay sangha and was ordained into the Order of Interbeing in 2004. She is actively supporting the recently created Being Peace Practice Centre in the UK and is deeply committed to the work of healing ancestral harm, participating in trainings and retreats exploring White Awareness. Read more here. Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/ And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ Recordist: Ann Nguyenhttps://ann.earthSound editor: Joe Holtawayhttps://joeholtaway.comPublisher: Anca RusuProducer: Clay Carnill:https://claycarnill.comExecutive Producer: Catalin Zorzini List of resources  The Way Out Is In: ‘In the Footsteps of the Buddha (3/6) | The Heart of the Buddha’s Teachings (Episode #104)’ https://plumvillage.org/podcast/in-the-footsteps-of-the-buddha-3-6-the-heart-of-the-buddhas-teachings-episode-104 The Way Out Is In: ‘In the Footsteps of the Buddha (2/6) | Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree (Episode #103)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/in-the-footsteps-of-the-buddha-2-6-enlightenment-under-the-bodhi-tree-episode-103 The Way Out Is In: ‘In the Footsteps of the Buddha (1/6) | The Buddha: Down to Earth (Episode #102)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/in-the-footsteps-of-the-buddha-1-6-the-buddha-down-to-earth-episode-102Interbeinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing   Plum Village Traditionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum_Village_Tradition Nalanda Universityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nalanda_University‘Female Buddhas: A Revolution for Nuns in the Plum Village Tradition'https://plumvillage.org/articles/female-buddhas-a-revolution-for-nuns-in-the-plum-village-tradition Mahayanahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayana Flower Sermonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_Sermon New Heart Sutra translation by Thich Nhat Hanhhttps://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/letters/thich-nhat-hanh-new-heart-sutra-translation Sister Chan Duchttps://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-chan-duc Sister Chan Khonghttps://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong The Way Out Is In: ‘The Three Jewels (Episode #89)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/the-three-jewels-episode-89 Pratimokṣahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratimok%E1%B9%A3a Joan Halifaxhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_HalifaxSutras: ‘The Ten Great Aspirations of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva'https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/the-ten-great-aspirations-of-samantabhadra-bodhisattva Vaishalihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaishali_(ancient_city)Notre Dame Academy, Patnahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre_Dame_Academy,_Patna Theravadahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TheravadaKapilavastuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapilavastu_(ancient_city) The Order of Interbeinghttps://plumvillage.org/community/order-of-interbeingSujatahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sujata_(milkmaid) Kisa Gotamihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kisa_Gotami Patacarahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PatacaraKhemahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khema King Prasenajithttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasenadi Bodhi treehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhi_tree Brahmajala Sutrahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmaj%C4%81la_S%C5%ABtra Sariputrahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9A%C4%81riputra Nagarjunahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NagarjunaVasubandhuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasubandhu Padmasambhavahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padmasambhava Xuanzanhhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xuanzang Visakhahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VisakhaTheragathahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theragatha Dharma Talks: ‘Redefining the Four Noble Truths'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/redefining-the-four-noble-truths Vinayahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinaya Dharma Talks: ‘The Noble Eightfold Path'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-noble-eightfold-path Quotes “Thay knew that the harmony of energies is so important to success, as well as to creation and to living organisms. You need all the elements. You can’t cut one off, because that’s discrimination. Thay continues to keep pushing boundaries in the context of Buddhism, of traditions. In very traditional monasteries and temples, the nuns can’t teach the monks. Even today, in 2026. In some of the institutes in Vietnam, in China, the nuns are still on one side, the monks on the other side. The nuns have to wear one color, the monks another. But Thay unifies all in brown.” “‘If, ten years after I’ve transitioned, Plum Village looks exactly the same, Thay will be very disappointed.' I really took that as his empowerment. We need to keep moving forward. We’re in a river. We cannot stop the river. The river needs to carry on flowing.” “The precepts are your teachers. And when the time comes, keep renewing the precepts to make them relevant.” “I can make change by embodying my practice.” “The full inclusion of everyone can bring balance to a community.” “Plum Village is not just monks and nuns; Plum Village is a multifold sangha.” “If we don’t adapt to the current generation, even if we have all the amazing teachings, if they’re not relevant to people then the tradition will die.” “Buddhism is very inclusive; there’s a lineage for everyone.” “A great reminder is to embody the change – and not just to have a sign or shout about it, because that doesn’t have the impact of harmony.”

Shaolin Martial Artist Paula Lazarz explores the alchemy of self-defense and Zen Buddhism to reach ultimate inner and outer balance in practice.Today's podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.In this episode, Paula Lazarz provides insights on:Developing a beginner's mind and a commitment to practiceIncluding the mystery of Zen for Kung Fu testingGuiding love in a martial arts environment How martial arts reflect the true nature within youInterweaving Zen practice with self-defenseFacing violence in the world and within ourselves Discovering more about our own anger and shadows Uniting our minds and bodies in a complete wayReleasing embedded cellular anger in order to practice more deeplyPracticing stillness just as much as we practice movementPaula's ‘homecoming' within monastic practice This conversation was originally recorded on the Paths of Practice Podcast. Listen to more episodes HERE.About Paula Lazarz:Paula Lazarz is a full-time Shaolin martial artist. She also served as an ordained priest in the Zen Buddhist lineage of Shunryu Suzuki for 10 years before giving up her robes in 2026. Her over two decades of study in the martial arts and Buddhist practice has been an exploration of the idea of the historical Shaolin Temple, culminating in Warrior's Path Buddhist Academy. Paula studies the connection, both practical and historical, between Shaolin Kung Fu and Zen Buddhism. Her teaching and business philosophy places an emphasis on helping individuals of all ages gain physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual balance using the multi-faceted disciplines of Shaolin Kung Fu. Paula is a co-owner of Energy Fitness, Inc., Head Instructor at HealthKick Kung Fu and a Practice Leader at Ancient Dragon Zen Gate.About Vincent Moore:Vincent Moore is a creative and creative consultant living in San Francisco, California, with over a decade of experience in the entertainment industry and holds a graduate degree in Buddhist Studies. For years, he performed regularly at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, an improv and sketch comedy theatre based in New York and Los Angeles. As an actor, Vincent performed on Comedy Central, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Seth Meyers, Above Average, and The UCB Show on Seeso. As a writer, he developed for television as well as stage, including work with the Blue Man Group, and his own written projects have been featured on websites such as Funny or Die. Additionally, he received a Masters of Buddhist Studies from the Institute of Buddhist Studies with a Certificate in Soto Zen Studies and engages in a personal Buddhist practice within the Soto Zen tradition. Vincent is also the creator and host of the podcast, Paths of Practice, which features interviews with Buddhists from all over the world. Learn more on Vincent's website HERE.“Martial art practice forces you to look at the dark side of humanity on a daily basis; you're learning how to defend yourself against violence so you're thinking about the reasons people get violent all the time. This is the Shaolin perspective: we know that if we only look at that all of the time that we might become an extremely aggressive person that doesn't understand how to use it properly, that's why there needs to be a balance in the training as well.” –Paula LazarzSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Every moment of movement is a chance to become more aware of yourself and the world around you, says Zen Buddhist nun Sister True Dedication. Guiding us through the art of "mindful walking," she shares three essential questions to ask yourself to awaken your strength, build resilience and discover your inner peace.This episode originally aired in 2023.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Priest Kritee Kanko helps people express their feelings rather than pushing them away. Learn more at https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/ 

If you want to support our podcast please visit this link. Thank you! Welcome to a new episode of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. The third in a series of six episodes recorded during the In the Footsteps of the Buddha pilgrimage, this instalment was made in Rajgir, India, in February 2026. In it, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach Jo Confino are again joined by Dharma teacher Shantum Seth to discuss the foundational initial teachings of the Buddha: the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, Non-Self, and the Fire Sermon. Together, they also share personal experiences of encountering the Buddha’s teachings, practicing Thich Nhat Hanh's wisdom in daily life, highlighting the transformative power of mindfulness, community, the realization of non-self, and more. About the pilgrimage: In 1988, Shantum Seth was invited by Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) to organize a pilgrimage to the sacred sites associated with the Buddha's life across India. Subsequently, Thay encouraged Shantum to continue guiding such journeys each year, offering pilgrimage itself as a mindfulness practice—one that the Buddha had suggested. Shantum has been leading these transformative journeys ever since, offering people from around the world the opportunity to follow In the Footsteps of the Buddha with awareness and insight. After 15 years at the United Nations, Shantum left to volunteer with the Ahimsa Trust, which represents Thay's work in India and promotes the practice of “peace in oneself and peace in the world”. Through Buddhapath, his expression of Right Livelihood, Shantum continues to guide pilgrimages and share the wisdom and culture of the places he visits in India and across Buddhist Asia, cultivating community through these deeply meaningful journeys.To learn more about upcoming pilgrimages, visit www.buddhapath.com, or follow Shantum on Facebook and Instagram at @eleven_directions. Shantum Seth, an ordained Dharmacharya (Dharma teacher) in the Buddhist Mindfulness lineage of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, teaches in India and across the world. A co-founder of Ahimsa Trust, he has been a student of Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings for the past 35 years, and, since 1988, has led pilgrimages and other multi-faith, educational, cultural, spiritual, and transformative journeys across diverse regions of India and Asia. He is actively involved in educational, social, and ecological programmes, including work on cultivating mindfulness in society, including with educators, the Indian Central Reserve Police Force, and the corporate sector. Across various Indian sanghas, Dharmacharya Shantum is the primary teacher of different practices of mindfulness from Thich Nhat Hanh's tradition. Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/ And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ Recordist: Ann Nguyenhttps://ann.earthSound editor: Joe Holtawayhttps://joeholtaway.comPublisher: Anca RusuProducer: Clay Carnillhttps://claycarnill.comExecutive Producer: Catalin Zorzini List of resources The Way Out Is In: ‘In the Footsteps of the Buddha (2/6) | Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree (Episode #103)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/in-the-footsteps-of-the-buddha-2-6-enlightenment-under-the-bodhi-tree-episode-103 The Way Out Is In: ‘In the Footsteps of the Buddha (1/6) | The Buddha: Down to Earth (Episode #102)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/in-the-footsteps-of-the-buddha-1-6-the-buddha-down-to-earth-episode-102Interbeinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing Plum Village Traditionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum_Village_Tradition Old Path White Cloudshttps://www.parallax.org/product/old-path-white-clouds Sister Chan Khonghttps://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong Rajgirhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajgir Bodhi treehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhi_tree Sujatahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sujata_(milkmaid) Magadhahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magadha Poem: ‘Please Call Me By My True Names'https://www.parallax.org/mindfulnessbell/article/poem-please-call-me-by-my-true-names Dharma Talks: ‘Redefining the Four Noble Truths'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/redefining-the-four-noble-truths Vinayahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinaya Dharma Talks: ‘The Noble Eightfold Path'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-noble-eightfold-path Duhkhahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Du%E1%B8%A5kha Dignagahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dign%C4%81ga The Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anattalakkha%E1%B9%87a_Sutta The Way Out Is In: ‘The Three Jewels (Episode #89)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/the-three-jewels-episode-89 Kosala Kingdomhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosala_kingdom Kashyapahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashyapa Kalachakrahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalachakra Joan Halifaxhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Halifax Quotes “Suffering is all around us. Hell is in the here and now. We have to collectively have the determination, as the Buddha did, not to deprive ourselves from food, from nutriment, but to understand the sources of our suffering – as well as the sources of the path of liberation.” “The teaching of the Four Noble Truths is the understanding of suffering. We all have suffering. This is the shared experience of us all. We are all equal because we all suffer. In spite of status, class – whatever labels humanity may have for one another – suffering is a truth that none of us can ignore or can escape.” “We only have so much time on this planet. But there’s so much we can direct our attention towards. What are the seeds we are watering every day? The diligence of watering our consciousness and the seeds that become the action.” “We have to see the Buddha a little bit like a doctor. We have to see suffering as a disease, a universal disease. You might think it’s very obvious that we all suffer, that we all get angry, that we are all separated from the ones we love, that we have sickness and old age. But it wasn’t a universal idea. Some people said, ‘This life is bliss.' So when we start with the primacy of suffering, that in itself is a revolutionary moment.” “As somebody who really is imbued with the Buddha’s teachings, I feel that all human beings experience suffering. And that in itself is revolutionary, saying, ‘This is where it starts.' Because a lot of it is about escaping from the present, escaping from this world. Most teachings are around something which will come hereafter – but the Buddha is saying, ‘Come back to now; feel, understand your mind, see that your mind is creating your reality.'” “Thich Nhat Hanh always emphasized that people talk about Buddhism being about suffering. But he said, ‘No, it’s the third noble truth. It is about the releasing of suffering and the transforming of suffering into joy and happiness. That’s very important; don’t get stuck in the suffering. That’s why the first noble truth is a noble truth, because you use the suffering as a compost for happiness.” “Siddhartha touched the reality that life and death are just a game of hide and seek. They are just labels.” “Acceptance, and being with all the conditions in the present moment, is a superpower. You cannot escape the present moments – except by being in your suffering and your wishful thinking. But once you arrive in the here and now, and you embrace these realities, you are free.” “This is because that is. This is not because that is not.” “‘Thay, what happens when I die?' Thay said, ‘I haven’t died yet, I don’t know. But what I can tell you is what happens when we are very much alive.' Let’s come back to that present moment, to that insight.” “Thay spoke so eloquently of the second teaching, the Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta; the sutra on non-self. Under the tree, the Buddha looked at the Bodhi leaf and said, ‘Ah, in that leaf is the sunshine, the earth, the rain, the seed, everything. And if you take one of those elements out of that leaf, the leaf won’t exist as we know it now.' And that was his deep realization.” “One Buddha is not enough.” “The Buddha is the sangha.” “I’d been a political activist looking for a way of being peace, not fighting for peace. I had a lot of anger in me and I really felt I touched peace for the first time in that walking meditation – as a visceral experience, not as an idea, not as the concept of wanting peace, but as something that I could embody.”

Dharma Talk by Wollyok David Kotin at the Toronto Zen Buddhist Temple, May 25 2025

I take refuge in Buddha. I take refuge in Dharma. I take refuge in Sangha. In this talk invite you all to contemplate what the three Buddhist refuges mean to you on a personal level. To do this, I present three different perspectives on how the refuges (and the other precepts) have been understood from the Zen Buddhist tradition I belong to: 1. The Literal Perspective. 2. The Relative or Relational Perspective; and 3. The Absolute or Nonseparation Perspective. Each different perspective is relevant to our practice and contributes to why we refer to the three refuges as the three treasures.

In this episode I am joined by Ken Wilber, contemporary philosopher, author, and founder of Integral Theory. Ken recounts his biography and intellectual development including prodigious early reading, major spiritual experiences, and his models of spiritual and psychological development. Ken reflects on his rise to fame, his deeper motivations for writing, and whether or not his Integral Institute made the impact he had hoped for. Ken also gives a detailed account of his association with controversial American spiritual teacher Adi Da, weighs the good and bad of Da Free John's career, considers the source of Adi Da's shaktipat power, and reveals why he almost joined the guru's inner circle. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep356-awakening-to-wholeness-ken-wilber Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast'. … Topics include: 00:00 - Intro 00:51 - Steve's favourite Ken Wilber book 02:01 - Difficulties writing “One Taste” 05:39 - Adolescent interest in developmental psychology 08:53 - Major spiritual experience at 13 years old 09:55 - Comparing stage models 12:24 - Zen Buddhist practice 13:47 - Ken's first theoretical discovery 15:57 - Different types of wholeness 17:19 - Waking up 17:55 - Growing up 19:00 - Opening up 21:15 - Cleaning up 23:47 - Showing up 24:43 - 4 perspectives of person 28:51 - Ken's fiction reading and the types of truth 31:11 - Marquis de Sade 32:45 - Why Ken wrote 39:39 - Why participate in the Great Conversation? 41:29 - Who you really are 43:32 - Universal mysticism 45:00 - Two types of religion 53:15 - Dealing with the audience response 56:22 - Being noticed in public 57:50 - Did Ken have collaborators? 01:00:05 - Integral group gatherings and conferences 01:04:22 - Ken's assessment of the overall impact of Integral theory and the Integral gatherings 01:07:58 - No regrets 01:09:39 - Ken's opinion of Steve's work 01:12:23 - Ken's history with Adi Da 01:17:10 - Invited to be part of Adi Da's inner circle 01:19:57 - Meeting Adi Da 01:20:59 - When Ken decided not to join Adidam 01:21:57 - Sadness at Adi Da's death 01:23:53 - William Tsiknas 01:25:22 - Falling in love with Adi Da 01:28:35 - Source of Adi Da's power 01:28:41 - Ken on Adi Da's relationship with his teachers 01:32:59 - Adi Da's pranic transmission 01:35:38 - Muktananda + why Adi Da was drawn to Rudi 01:40:16 - What is shaktipat? 01:43:15 - Post-death contact and ethical controversies 01:45:04 - Feeling the heart transmission of Adi Da 01:47:17 - Ken's disappointment in Adi Da's controversial conduct 01:50:54 - Good vs bad of Adi Da … To find our more about Ken Wilber, visit: - https://kenwilber.com/ For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - https://www.guruviking.com Music ‘Deva Dasi' by Steve James

Ryōkan Taigu (1758–1831) was a quiet and unconventional Sōtō Zen Buddhist monk who lived much of his life as a hermit. Ryōkan is remembered for his poetry and calligraphy, which present the essence of Zen life. He renounced the world at an early age to train at nearby Sōtō Zen temple Kōshō-ji, refusing to meet with or accept charity from his family.These selected excerpts and poems by Ryokan have been taken from the text "Great Fool" translated by Ryuichi Abé & Peter Haskel.

If you want to support our podcast please visit this link. Thank you! Welcome to a new episode of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. The second in a series of six episodes recorded during the In the Footsteps of the Buddha pilgrimage, this instalment was made in Bodh Gaya, India, in February 2026. In it, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach Jo Confino are joined again by Dharma teacher Shantum Seth to discuss the journey of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, before he reached enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya. It covers Siddhartha’s early life, the various ascetic practices he tried, his finding of the middle way between extreme asceticism and hedonism and going through various stages of meditation and insight, to becoming the awakened one, and his first teaching. Together, the three participants further reflect on the relevance of the Buddha’s journey to their own spiritual practices; the challenges of maintaining mindfulness and presence in the modern world; the importance of the sangha in the Buddhist tradition; and how the Buddha’s teachings emphasize the interconnectedness of all things. About the pilgrimage: In 1988, Shantum Seth was invited by Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) to organize a pilgrimage to the sacred sites associated with the Buddha's life across India. Subsequently, Thay encouraged Shantum to continue guiding such journeys each year, offering pilgrimage itself as a mindfulness practice—one that the Buddha had suggested. Shantum has been leading these transformative journeys ever since, offering people from around the world the opportunity to follow In the Footsteps of the Buddha with awareness and insight. After 15 years at the United Nations, Shantum left to volunteer with the Ahimsa Trust, which represents Thay's work in India and promotes the practice of “peace in oneself and peace in the world”. Through Buddhapath, his expression of Right Livelihood, Shantum continues to guide pilgrimages and share the wisdom and culture of the places he visits in India and across Buddhist Asia, cultivating community through these deeply meaningful journeys.To learn more about upcoming pilgrimages, visit www.buddhapath.com, or follow Shantum on Facebook and Instagram at @eleven_directions. Shantum Seth, an ordained Dharmacharya (Dharma teacher) in the Buddhist Mindfulness lineage of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, teaches in India and across the world. A co-founder of Ahimsa Trust, he has been a student of Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings for the past 35 years, and, since 1988, has led pilgrimages and other multi-faith, educational, cultural, spiritual, and transformative journeys across diverse regions of India and Asia. He is actively involved in educational, social, and ecological programmes, including work on cultivating mindfulness in society, including with educators, the Indian Central Reserve Police Force, and the corporate sector. Across various Indian sanghas, Dharmacharya Shantum is the primary teacher of different practices of mindfulness from Thich Nhat Hanh's tradition. Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/  And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ Recording by Ann Nguyenhttps://ann.earthSound editing by Joe Holtawayhttps://joeholtaway.comPublishing by Anca RusuProduced by Clay Carnillhttps://claycarnill.comExecutive Producer: Catalin Zorzini List of resources Interbeinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing Plum Village Traditionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum_Village_Tradition Old Path White Cloudshttps://www.parallax.org/product/old-path-white-clouds Kaundinyahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaundinya Sister Chan Khonghttps://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong Bodhi treehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhi_tree Bodh Gayahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodh_Gaya Sujatahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sujata_(milkmaid) Mahavirahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahavira Kumbh Melahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbh_Mela Maulana Azadhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maulana_Azad Dalithttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalit Dharma Talks: ‘Redefining the Four Noble Truths'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/redefining-the-four-noble-truths Dharma Talks: ‘The Noble Eightfold Path'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-noble-eightfold-path Quotes “We think we’re practicing for ourselves only, but there are invisible connections that we may not see. So your own practice, your own transformation, your decision-making can shift a whole lineage that precedes you. Without even doing much. It’s just some decisions; it’s almost like the turning of the dharma wheel, something in our whole lineage. And it’s true for a lot of my Western monastics; they might be the first in their whole ancestral lineage to be on the path of love and understanding. So you’re not doing this for yourself only, you’re doing this for your whole lineage.” “Everyone on this pilgrimage, in this room right now, sitting, I invite you to plant that seed to see that this journey is not yours alone. There’s a deep interbeing and it’s a weaving of past, present, and future.” “I got involved in activist politics, organizing big demonstrations, going to jail, organizing in a big way. But then I burnt out and found that I was very angry. And that anger was actually infusing my action, and I realized I was also part of the problem. So I had to find a way of being peace, not just fighting for peace.” “In the Indic civilizational system, at least in some traditions, and especially in the Brahmanical system – I don’t call it Hinduism – we have four stages of life. The first is what we call brahmacharya: the celibate life, when you’re a student. The second stage is the grahasthi, where you become a family person and have children and build up the family. And the third is vanaprastha: sort of a forest dwelling, but more like social work; your children are getting married and you get involved more in society, like a philanthropist. And the fourth stage is sannyas, where you actually leave the family, break your ties, and become, in effect, dead to the family and take the path of a monastic. So the Buddha is saying, ‘You don’t need to wait till you’re an older person. Start now. Don’t waste your life. The path of awakening can be walked when you’re young, too.'” “Having children is courageous; you’re taking on responsibility for future generations, and that's not easy. I feel that’s why we need a sangha of parents, friends. They say it takes a village, but it takes the global humanity, eight billion people, to create a civilizational shift. And that’s what we’re trying to do, to make the world a better place.” “Courage is a moment-to-moment act. It’s not just a moment; it’s each day we get up and say, ‘Okay, it’s a blessing we have this life for these 24 hours. Can I, in some way, make it better? Can I not make it worse? Can I enhance the life of people around me and keep being mindful?' The word ‘Buddha' just means to be awake. So how can we really be awake? We can be awake by being mindful: being attentive, breathing in, breathing out. That’s a moment of awakening, to be present. The Buddha became a full-time Buddha, but we can do it moment-to-moment, as little, part-time Buddhas. I think all of us can touch it – and that requires courage, too, to be diligent in our practice; it’s very easy to get distracted so we need to watch our mental state of irritation, anger, jealousy, whatever comes up. I have eyes to see – wow, that’s a miracle. That’s, again, a type of awakening. So I think this path is the path of courage.” “You can share the same bed with someone, but if you don’t share an aspiration, it can cause immense suffering.” “The problem with the middle path is that it’s not a single line. It is an appropriate response to a particular situation. The middle part requires attentiveness, mindfulness, moment-to-moment. You might think drinking water is an appropriate action, but if you’ve had a stomach operation, drinking water might kill you. So something simple like that has to be appropriately done; the middle way is appropriate to time and place.” “We can’t start off on the middle path. We have to understand our suffering deeply in order to know the middle path, to know the two extremes in order to find that path.” “That’s why retreats are so important: we step away from the world to realize what our deepest aspiration is. And then we can go back with a new set of eyes.”

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Welcome to a new episode of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. The first of a series of six episodes recorded during the pilgrimage ‘In the Footsteps of the Buddha’, this instalment was made in Varanasi, India, in February 2026. In this opening episode, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach Jo Confino are joined by Dharma teacher Shantum Seth to discuss the importance of understanding the Buddha as a fully human being; a boat journey on the sacred Ganges river at sunrise, from which it was possible to witness cremation and devotion; teachings on death and impermanence as daily practice; the importance of living in the present moment; and much more.The speakers also share personal experiences and reflections on their spiritual journeys, the role played by the community, and the continuation of the Buddha’s teachings through their own lives and practice.About the pilgrimage: In 1988, Shantum Seth was invited by Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) to organize a pilgrimage to the sacred sites associated with the Buddha's life across India. Subsequently, Thay encouraged Shantum to continue guiding such journeys each year, offering pilgrimage itself as a mindfulness practice—one that the Buddha had suggested. Shantum has been leading these transformative journeys ever since, offering people from around the world the opportunity to follow In the Footsteps of the Buddha with awareness and insight. After 15 years at the United Nations, Shantum left to volunteer with the Ahimsa Trust, which represents Thay's work in India and promotes the practice of “peace in oneself and peace in the world”. Through Buddhapath, his expression of Right Livelihood, Shantum continues to guide pilgrimages and share the wisdom and culture of the places he visits in India and across Buddhist Asia, cultivating community through these deeply meaningful journeys.To learn more about upcoming pilgrimages, visit www.buddhapath.com, or follow Shantum on Facebook and Instagram at @eleven_directions. Shantum Seth, an ordained Dharmacharya (Dharma teacher) in the Buddhist Mindfulness lineage of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, teaches in India and across the world. A co-founder of Ahimsa Trust, he has been a student of Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings for the past 35 years, and, since 1988, has led pilgrimages and other multi-faith, educational, cultural, spiritual, and transformative journeys across diverse regions of India and Asia. He is actively involved in educational, social, and ecological programmes, including work on cultivating mindfulness in society, including with educators, the Indian Central Reserve Police Force, and the corporate sector. Across various Indian sanghas, Dharmacharya Shantum is the primary teacher of different practices of mindfulness from Thich Nhat Hanh's tradition. List of resources The Way Out Is In: ‘Ancient Path for Modern Times: Active Nonviolence (Episode #70)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/ancient-path-for-modern-times-active-nonviolence-episode-70 Interbeinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing Plum Village Traditionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum_Village_Tradition ‘The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings'https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-14-mindfulness-trainings Sarnathhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarnath Dharadunhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dehradun_district Bodh Gayahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodh_Gaya Rajgirhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajgir Old Path White Cloudshttps://www.parallax.org/product/old-path-white-clouds Federico Fellinihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federico_Fellini Ghathttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghat Alara Kalama https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%80%E1%B8%B7%C4%81ra_K%C4%81l%C4%81ma Jack Kornfieldhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kornfield Upanishadshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upanishads Sister Chan Khonghttps://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong Bodhi treehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhi_tree Mokshahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moksha Rishi Joan Halifaxhttps://www.joanhalifax.org/ Daily Contemplations on Impermanence & Interbeinghttps://plumvillage.org/daily-contemplations-on-impermanence-interbeing#the-five-remembrances Sutras: ‘Discourse on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone'https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/discourse-on-knowing-the-better-way-to-live-alone Sutrashttps://plumvillage.org/genre/sutras Leila Sethhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leila_Seth On Balancehttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1754796.On_Balance_an_Autobiography Quotes “Every step is a miracle. Every breath is an offering.” “The transformation is both individual and collective – and not just right now; it is something which seeps into our understanding and informs our life. The real journey begins when you get home. When you see your familiar surroundings with these pilgrimage lenses, those are very, very important moments. When you see your familiar surroundings slightly differently, and you see what brings you suffering, what brings you joy, what brings a sense of ease, then you can tweak your life.” “Siddhartha always says, ‘I’m on this path not for power, not for leadership, but to find liberation within us.' And that means we have to be ready to let go of all of the ideology that we have received from our ancestors, not from just us, but from the lineage of our whole ancestors and society.” “We can be free amidst the suffering. We can still find our calm, our peace with every storm that arises, that manifests. We find a way to understand it, to embrace it even, because we see that that storm is a part of us.” “In the Mahaparinirvāṇa Sutta, the Buddha said, ‘Go to the places where I was born, died, where the first teachings were given, where I awakened.' But I think he’s saying, ‘Leave your familiar surroundings and explore, and you’ll find different seeds in your consciousness being touched, which are not touched when you go every day to work or in your familiar surroundings.' And that is the learning of yourself. It’s an interior journey on this exterior part.” “In India, your path to God is through your guru – but in the Buddha Dharma, the guru shows you the path, and you walk it. In the classic example of the Buddha pointing to the moon, he says, ‘Don’t get caught looking at my finger; look at the moon.'” “Somebody once asked Thay, ‘What happens when we die?' He said, ‘I don’t know, but I can tell you what happens when we’re alive.'” “The only ingredient that you have any control about for the future is the present. We can only act in the present. As you know, the past is gone, the future is an idea – but all these situations that arise in our lives, how do we respond appropriately? With ethics, with a sense of calm, with a sense of love, how can we respond appropriately to each situation? Because that is the ingredient for the future.” “The Buddha is saying, ‘Stay open, stay alive. This is the most precious moment. This is a gift. And when we die, we’ll have no control over it.'” “In Indian philosophy, we don't have only yes or no. We say, yes, no, neither yes or no, both yes and no. So it’s the idea that I am the same person, I’m a different person, I’m neither the same or a different person, and both the same person and the different person. That’s the Buddha Dharma’s understanding of continuity, birth and death, and in that we don’t get caught.” “Awakening is a collective awakening.” “The Buddha was teaching us how to be a human being, how to take both the joy and the happiness of being a human being, but also to understand the suffering of a human being, and then take suffering as a noble truth. But it’s a noble truth only because we can transform it – otherwise it’s just plain old suffering. Use suffering as the compost for liberation. Looking at the cause, knowing the path to overcome suffering. And that’s key in Buddha. Otherwise, death is suffering, loss is suffering. The Buddha is saying, ‘Take that and look at it deeply, transform it, and live your life today as if it’s your last moment, your first moment, your present moment, our present moment.'” “Secular in India means different from secular in the West. Secular in India means respecting all religions. It doesn’t mean non-religious. I was brought up in a household like that, where we had Hindu icons, Christian icons, Islamic icons, everything. And we would go to midnight mass or go to a mosque or go to a temple, but we were not religious. It was just respecting people like that. And we had friends from every religion.”

Welcome to a new episode of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. This special episode – the last of two question-and-response (Q&R) installments – marks the publication of the second book by Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach Jo Confino. Calm in the Storm: Zen Ways to Cultivate Stability in an Anxious World is intended to help readers meet the current polycrisis with love and stability, but also forcefulness and resilience. According to Plum Village tradition, Jo and Brother Phap Huu recorded two episodes responding to questions by listeners which connect to the book's themes. In this second part they answer questions on dealing with anxious thoughts, raising children in uncertain times, reacting to the anger of those around us, managing fears and hypochondria, and much more. List of resources Being with Busyness: Zen Ways to Transform Overwhelm and Burnouthttps://www.parallax.org/product/being-with-busyness/ Calm in the Storm: Zen Ways to Cultivate Stability in an Anxious Worldhttps://www.parallax.org/product/calm-in-the-storm/ The Way Out Is In: ‘Calm in the Storm Q&R, Part One (Episode #97)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/calm-in-the-storm-qr-part-one-episode-97 Interbeinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing Plum Village Traditionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum_Village_Tradition ‘The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings'https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-14-mindfulness-trainings Ursula K. Le Guinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_K._Le_Guin The Sun My Hearthttps://www.parallax.org/product/the-sun-my-heart/ Quotes “If Buddhism is not engaged, it’s not Buddhism.” “We have to study the meaning of calm, because when we say ‘calm' or ‘sitting meditation', that may look like non-action. But what we have seen in some of the most impactful work is that, when people take the time to be still, to listen, and to embrace and hold feelings and emotions and these projects in a calm manner, they are able to direct, lead, and not be carried away with the force field of anxiety, of fear, of restlessness.” “Mindfulness is only true mindfulness if it’s generating love and compassion.” “We can say so many things about Buddhist history and Buddhist philosophy, but what the Buddha transmitted to us and really wanted was for us to ask the question, ‘How can I put these practices into daily life?'” “When everything is changing, the most important thing is to also know what needs to remain the same.” “Our mindfulness should not be a blockage to other people’s engagement with us – but, at the same time, we do have to have boundaries. We do have to have clarity.” “Mindfulness is to lead an ethical life. If you’re practicing mindfulness and you’re continuing to cause harm to the earth, to living beings, to yourself and your loved ones, maybe that is wrong mindfulness. As Thay said, ‘Is the burglar mindful?'”

In today's podcast epsiode, I sat down with a yoga therapist, teacher, spiritual caregiver and a good friend of mine, Sarah Capua. We explored what it means to practice—and teach—yoga in a time of political upheaval, climate crisis, and cultural fragmentation. In this conversation, we reflect on power, misperception, collective responsibility, spiritual bypassing, and the role of yoga teachers in supporting students who feel overwhelmed or powerless. As she always does, my friend Sarah brings deep wisdom on the topics of agency, ethics, community, and the radical nourishment of staying awake. Sarah Capua (she/her) is a dedicated student, teacher, Yoga Therapist, and spiritual caregiver. Her work is rooted in the tradition of T.Krishnamacharya and TKV Desikachar, Zen Buddhist contemplative practice and caregiving, and her experience as a chaplain for people in trauma and end of life. Her hope is to be a compassionate and curious support for others on the path, to bear witness and make meaning, and to hold a mirror up to our embodied wisdom which can be a companion no matter where life takes us. In this episode, you'll hear: why studying the ethical foundations of yoga deeply is the most important thing you can do why you shouldn't assume your students want avoidance how to create space for conversation and integration why you should take care of your own energy and support system first how to practice expanding your heart rather than narrowing it Join Sarah for a workshop inside The Mentor Sessions Sangha! Friday, March 6th at 1pm Eastern Introduction to the Yoga Sūtra-s: What is Yoga? To understand yoga as more than just a set of tools, we must go to the heart of its teachings. The Yoga Sūtra-s of Patanjali, teachings compiled in Sanskrit nearly 1,700 years ago, is a manual for understanding the mind and its role in our lives, and is as relevant today as ever. In this workshop we will explore the first four sūtra-s, essential teachings for understanding what yoga is, what it involves, and why we practice. Join for the month right here! Learn More From Sarah Visit Sarah's online home Follow Sarah on Instagram This episode is brought to you by OfferingTree, an easy-to-use, all-in-one online platform for yoga teachers that provides a personal website, booking, payment, blogging, and many other great features. The best thing about OfferingTree is you can get up and running in 10 minutes with no tech skills needed. As an added bonus, If you sign up at www.offeringtree.com/mentor, you'll get 50% off your first three months (or 15% off any annual plan)!  OfferingTree supports me with each sign-up. I'm proud to be supported by a public benefit company whose mission is to further wellness access and education for everyone.  

Welcome to a new episode of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. In this installment, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino are joined by Zen Buddhist nun Sister True Dedication to celebrate the legacy of Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay)'s teachings, and how they have impacted both them and the broader community.  This milestone instalment of the podcast – the 100th episode! – coincides with the centenary of Thich Nhat Hanh's birth. As well as discussing the purpose of the podcast series, the contributors reflect upon Thay’s compassion, and commitment to relieving suffering – and the monastic tradition's importance to the preservation and transmission of these teachings. The discussion also takes in topics such as the evolution of Plum Village; the development of an online monastery, to make Plum Village’s teachings more accessible; and the need for ethical values and mindful living in the face of global crises, and Plum Village's aim to be a community of resistance, embodying a way of life that is in harmony with the Earth and with each other. All this and: how has the podcast transformed the lives of its hosts? Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/ And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resources Course: Zen and the Art of Saving the Planethttps://plumvillage.org/courses/zen-and-the-art-of-saving-the-planet Interbeinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing Plum Village Traditionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum_Village_Tradition Linjihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linji_school Sister True Dedicationhttps://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sister-hien-nghiem Bodhicittahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhicitta ‘The Five Mindfulness Trainings'https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-5-mindfulness-trainings‘The 14 Mindfulness Trainings'https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-14-mindfulness-trainingsDharma Talk: ‘Redefining the Four Noble Truths' https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/redefining-the-four-noble-truths Zen and the Art of Saving the Planethttps://www.parallax.org/product/zen-and-the-art-of-saving-the-planet/ How To: ‘Begin Anew'https://plumvillage.org/articles/begin-anew Living Gemshttps://plumvillage.org/gems/ Stephen Batchelorhttps://stephenbatchelor.org/ Being with Busyness: Zen Ways to Transform Overwhelm and Burnouthttps://www.parallax.org/product/being-with-busyness/ Calm in the Storm: Zen Ways to Cultivate Stability in an Anxious Worldhttps://www.parallax.org/product/calm-in-the-storm/ Quotes “What you [the hosts] give voice and humanity and friendship to is what a spiritual life being lived feels like, sounds like, looks like. You’re both wonderfully descriptive in how you talk about both your own spiritual lives, and seeking, and your own experiences – and those of the people around us, here, in the community.” “Thay’s bodhicitta really sets him apart from many other leading spiritual figures, perhaps in that he was relentless in his creativity and his determination to relieve suffering and to find universal paths out of it. And something else that set him apart was that he didn’t offer the Buddha Dharma for Buddha Dharma’s sake: he wasn’t interested in the success of Buddhism per se; he wanted humanity to be a better species and he wanted human actions to not bring so much suffering to humans and to the planet.” “Thay transcended even Zen and Buddhism. He was an extraordinary human who wanted to share and develop practices and ways of being in the world, through mindfulness, through the Five Mindfulness Trainings and the 14 Mindfulness Trainings: concrete ways that we can cultivate ourselves to be better humans – an unusual legacy for a Zen master.” “Thay wanted every moment of his presence to manifest right action in the world. He wasn’t interested in small talk.” “A monastic only retires when he transforms and lets go.” “This is it. Stop searching, stop running.” “A lotus will be a lotus. And a rose will be a rose. And a magnolia will be a magnolia. But if we try to be everything, then we’re going to be nothing. And then we don’t know how to nurture the lotus, because the lotus is very particular; it needs mud. A rose is very particular, too; it needs a different setting.” “This is not an era of change, it’s a change of era.” “The primary direction that Thay gave us was to be a community of simplicity, of peace, of awareness, and of embracing suffering. Be that community. Which, by the way, is a really tall order.” “One of our first missions as monastics is to embody a way of living that is happy, harmonious, and different. And then to hold that light for future generations, outside of the rat race. A lot of monastic communities throughout history have emerged from this kind of intention: to not follow the path of getting a job, getting a mortgage, becoming householders, getting a pension, and being part of the machine. We step outside of that in order to cultivate different qualities.” “The algorithms, the screens, the politics, the lobbies, the economics are all taking us towards the worst of human nature. So we have to be able to say, ‘Well, we’re going to stand for the better parts of human nature.' And that’s going to be important: for us to lift up in the world, and to know that we have had ancestors, over the millennia, who were interested in cultivating non-violence, compassion, tolerance, inclusiveness, generosity, well-being, health. And we have to take our society in that direction and not give up on it. Because otherwise it becomes a dog-eat-dog world where we’re all scrambling over each other in a race to the bottom of the brainstem. So, one of our roles in Plum Village is to help people not give up on the ethical values that are needed now more than ever.” “When people leave Plum Village, they don’t leave with nothing. They leave with the world. They leave for the path. And we’re there to support that through the sanghas, through all our online offerings. And here is a community that's navigating this, evolving this, updating it, exploring it. The world passes through Plum Village, and, from that, we grow so much.” “We’re a light in the world. So wherever there’s darkness, light is there. We just have to search for it, or stop, pause, and know that that light is there.”

#401 In this episode, Guy talked with Julian Polzin, a former psychotherapist turned spiritual teacher, and shared his profound awakening experience that began while grieving on a graveyard bench in Germany, leading to a complete dissolution of ego and entry into samadhi.  Through deep meditation practices, he began remembering hundreds of past lives as a Buddhist monk and yogi, receiving downloads of ancient yogic systems and experiencing visions of Atlantis and its fall due to spiritual corruption and transhumanist technology. He explained how dark entities on the astral plane compete for human souls by offering temptations that disconnect people from divine will, and how the Buddhist system was designed to counteract the Atlantean karma of the hyperactive intellect separated from God. Julian warned that humanity is repeating the Atlantean pattern with AI, transhumanism, and recent technological interventions that disconnect individuals from divine current, leading to a timeline split between those who surrender to God and those who fall into ego gratification. Now based in Peru's Sacred Valley, he works to build a monastery and teaches proper spiritual discernment, emphasizing that true liberation requires total surrender, renunciation of worldly attachments, and the guidance of a genuine teacher assigned by divine will. About Julian: Julian practices and teaches Zen-Buddhist methods in combination with the Yogic realization process and various other mystical practices. On his spiritual path he opened himself to mystical insight. He experienced realization beyond physical experience which changed his therapeutic approach.  In 2021 he traveled to Nepal to meditate in holy places to experience the land, ancient energies and intelligences of a non-material nature. He practiced psychotherapy in Germany for seven years, but moved on from the method after experiencing the limitations of the psychotherapeutic framework.  Now he focusses on sharing spiritual teachings of direct inquiry to assist his clients in realizing themselves through the mystical experience. Key Points Discussed:  (00:00) - Spiritual Odyssey: Awakening to Higher Realms! (00:42) - Welcome + What This Conversation Will Challenge (01:47) - Retreat Announcements & How to Connect (02:32) - Meet Julian: From Psychotherapist to Awakening (03:54) - Grief on the Graveyard Bench → Spontaneous Samadhi (06:32) - Two Weeks of Emptiness + Finding Words for It (07:35) - Channeling Zen, Kundalini & Past-Life Memories (12:28) - Integrating Trauma, Avoiding Ego Traps & Buddhist Prep (16:04) - Quitting the Day Job: Total Surrender vs "Spiritual Gold Rush" (20:27) - Atlantis Vision: Transhumanism, Tech Corruption & Timeline Split (27:17) - How Atlantis Fell: The 'Ascension Engine' and No Shortcuts (30:20) - Dark Entities Explained: Temptation, Energy Feeding & the Lower Astral (33:20) - Escaping the Astral Trap: Renunciation & Liberation (34:09) - Atlantis Repeat? Psychic Awakening Without Ego Death (34:40) - Buddha's Non-Reaction System & Starving the Ego (35:24) - Modern Overstimulation: Why Awakening Needs a Foundation (37:41) - Karmic Gravity & the Problem with the 'New Age' Gold Rush (39:21) - Civilizations Fall Through Spiritual Corruption (Inca, Tibet, Egypt) (41:48) - Visions of a Timeline Split: Transhumanism, Collapse & 'New Earth' (44:40) - Suffering vs Surrender: How Souls Learn by Law (46:39) - Karmic Repeats: The Same Choices Across Lifetimes (49:25) - A Tibetan Lama's Mistake: Spiritual Ego & the Teacher's Test (52:53) - True Lineage, Daily Tests & 'Selling the Soul' Explained (55:42) - Why Souls Reincarnate: God's Mirror, Surrender & Enlightenment (01:00:29) - Peru Monastery Vision, Money Discernment & Where to Find Him How to Contact Julian Polzin:thelighthouse.pe   About me:My Instagram: www.instagram.com/guyhlawrence/?hl=en Guy's websites:www.guylawrence.com.au www.liveinflow.co

Ronald A. Alexander, PhD, MFT, SEP (Somatic Experiencing Practitioner) is a Creativity and Communication Consultant, and an Executive and Leadership Coach, with a private psychotherapy practice working with individuals, couples, families, and groups in Santa Monica, California. He is the Executive Director of the OpenMind® Training Institute, a leading-edge organization that offers personal and professional training programs in core creativity, mind-body therapies, transformational leadership, and mindfulness meditation. For more than forty-four years, Alexander has been a trainer of healthcare professionals in North America, as well as in Europe, Russia, Japan, China, and Australia. As a Mindfulness and Zen Buddhist practitioner, he specializes in utilizing mindfulness meditation in his professional and corporate work to help people transform their lives by accessing the mind states that open the portal to their core creativity.Alexander is a leading pioneer in the fields of Mindfulness Based Mind-Body Therapies, Gestalt Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, Ericksonian Mind-Body Therapies, Holistic Psychology, and Integrative and Behavioral Medicine. He is a long-time extension faculty member of the UCLA Departments of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Entertainment, a lecturer in the David Geffen School of Medicine, and an adjunct faculty member at Pacifica Graduate Institute and Pepperdine Universities. Alexander received his SEP Certificate from the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute in Boulder Colorado. He consulted with and received treatment from Milton H Erickson MD. He personally trained with Ernest Rossi and Steven Gilligan in Ericksonian Hypnotherapy as well as with Daniel P. Brown of the Harvard Medical Cambridge Hospital professional training's seminars in hypnosis and hypno-analysis. He trained with and was certified by the Los Angeles Gestalt Therapy Institute and with Erving and Miriam Polster PhD of the Gestalt Training Center of La Jolla. He also received training and supervision in Contemporary Gestalt and Family Therapies, Psychoanalytic Self-Psychology, Relational and Object Relations Therapies.Dr. Ronald Alexander, PhD is a leading Creativity and Communication Coach, International Clinical Trainer, Executive and Leadership Coach, with a private practice in Santa Monica, California. He is the originator of the OpenMind Training® Institute, a leading edge organization that offers personal and professional training programs in mindfulness based mind-body therapies, transformational leadership, and meditation. His unique method combines ancient wisdom teachings with Leadership Coaching and Core Creativity into a comprehensive integrated, behaviorally effective mind-body program. This system combines techniques that support strategies of personal, clinical, and corporate excellence and growth.Alexander's extensive training includes core creativity, conflict management, Gestalt therapy, leadership and organizational development, and vision and strategic planning. He pioneered the early values and vision-based models for current day leadership and professional coaching. He specializes in Mind-Body therapies and has been studying and teaching Mindfulness Meditation, Creative Visualization and Transpersonal Psychology since 1970. Alexander studied with and was influenced by noted leaders in these fields such as Ken Blanchard, Werner Erhard, Warren Bennis, Umberto Materana and Francesco Variela, and was one of the grandfathers of coaching along with Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins and Jack Canfield.To learn more about Dr. Ron and his work, visithttps://ronaldalexander.com

Dr. Will Tuttle, PhD from UCB has written an international best-selling book, The World Peace Diet, translated into 19 languages and chronicles his life as a vegan leaving Massachusetts at 22 in 1975 headed for CA to embark upon a spiritual journey of wellness. He discusses his amazing love story to his wife, Madeleine and their over 30 year marriage sojourning life on the open road in a VW Bus, RV and Van. He shares that his chronological age is 72 but his biological age is about 22. Listen to this inspiring man and his life of faithful adventure as a Zen Buddhist, with Christ-like inspiration in venturing out as the early disciples did.

Welcome to a new episode of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. In this installment, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino discuss what it means to walk a spiritual path. The conversation provides a deep and personal insight into the life of a long-term Buddhist practitioner, as Brother Phap Huu reflects on his 25 years as a monk, including the joys and challenges of living in a spiritual community; the role of a teacher on the path; the importance of finding one’s own inner teacher; the practice of celibacy; the transformations that can happen through spiritual practice; the lessons learned from 17 years as Thich Nhat Hanh's attendant; and much more.  Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/   And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resources Course: Zen and the Art of Saving the Planethttps://plumvillage.org/courses/zen-and-the-art-of-saving-the-planet Interbeinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing Plum Village Traditionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum_Village_Tradition Fragrant Palm Leaves https://plumvillage.org/books/1998-neo-ve-cua-y-fragrant-palm-leaves  Dharma Talk: ‘Redefining the Four Noble Truths' https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/redefining-the-four-noble-truths Taming the Tiger Within https://www.parallax.org/product/taming-the-tiger-within/  Sister True Dedicationhttps://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sister-hien-nghiem Sister Chan Khonghttps://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong Brother Phap Unghttps://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/brother-chan-phap-ung Quotes “A good teacher is to show that each and every one of us has a teacher inside of us.” “It’s enough of a journey to transform ourselves before we choose to transform other people.” “You’re already the person you want to be.” “A lot of us are defined by our past, and we let that become our whole narrative. But I think that Thay stepped into transforming his past and seeing himself in the present moment and not being caught in a prison of ‘what was'.” “Thay was very optimistic – not an ignorant optimism, but optimistic with the insight that there is awakening everywhere. We just have to tap into the right conditions, into the right path, so that those seeds can blossom into trees and into a garden.” “Every human being that comes into the spiritual path is different. We all have different stories, experiences, histories, upbringing. So we can't bundle everyone into the same boat. But each and every one of us have to see and accept each other’s differences, suffering, and limits, and be patient with each other.” “When we talk about becoming a monk, we talk about stepping into freedom. And that freedom is the choice that we have made to not chase after, in our language, worldly successes. Those successes come with different layers of desires and hooks that would trap us. And the aspiration is ideal, but on the path itself, we all have to encounter our own demons within us.” “Be beautiful, be yourself.” “There’s a saying, particularly for monastics, that, when you wear the robe of a monk, your home is everywhere. Because our home is the present moment. The present moment is our daily destination, so that is where we will never feel lost. But that is insight and that is practice.” “If we are a teacher who thinks we have all the answers, I don’t think we will really connect with everyone. We won’t connect with the ever-changing present moment, the ever-changing generations.” “When we see that our whole career will become a spiritual career, the deepest aspiration is to be free from all desires. And sex is a desire. Physical contact is a desire. Emotional connections could become a deep attachment, which is a desire. And, in our practice, why do we want to be free from that? Because only when we are free from it can we be of service to the world. Our deepest aspiration is to be of service to the world, whatever world we encounter in our lifetime. But if I have a family, if I have a partner, that becomes my world and that becomes my holy life, my holy family, my community – and, of course, my son or my daughter or my children will become the focus of my devotion. But monastics want to meet the world, at any moment, without being tied down and bound to these relationships.” “Sometimes, the mind is not the answer, and the heart is stronger. And we have to lean into the heart and be stubborn with the mind.”

Brother Phap Luu is a Zen Buddhist monk at Deer Park Monastery in Southern California, founded by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. He co‑authored Hiking Zen, which explores walking and hiking as mindfulness practices that cultivate presence, awareness, and connection to nature. Drawing from monastic life and meditation traditions, Brother Phap Luu shares how slowing down outdoors can help us reconnect with ourselves and the natural world.Listen to: Finding MasteryThank you to our sponsor:Capital One and the REI Co-op® Mastercard® Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Host Michael Taft speaks with Stephen Snyder Sensei about the two “missing” brahmaviharas, Innate Goodness practice, heart wisdom vs. mind wisdom, the magic of the “group heart”, the paradox of the Heart Sutra, learning to become receptive, God and the nondual, entities, bodhisattvas, deities, the three types of forgiveness, and the “terrible importance” of heart-based practice.Stephen Mugen Snyder, Sensei began practicing daily meditation in 1976. Since then, he has studied Buddhism extensively—investigating and engaging in Zen, Tibetan, Theravada, and Western non-dual traditions. He was authorized to teach in the Theravada Buddhist tradition in 2007 and the Zen Buddhist schools of Soto and Rinzai in 2022. Stephen is a senior student of Roshi Mark Sando Mininberg and a transmitted teacher in the White Plum Asanga—the body of teachers in the Maezumi-roshi lineage. Stephen is the author of many books, including Trust in Awakening, Demystifying Awakening and Buddha's Heart. You can support the creation of future episodes of this podcast by contributing through Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to a new episode of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. In this installment, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino discuss the importance of creating inner space and stillness through meditation practices. But what does it actually mean to create more space in our lives? And why is this important, and how do we go about it? The conversation emphasises that the practice of meditation is not just about achieving enlightenment, but about becoming more present, compassionate, and engaged with the world. It touches upon the difficulties of finding space in modern life, the benefits of different meditation techniques, and misconceptions around enlightenment. The hosts also share personal experiences, including insights about how meditation has deepened their practice and allowed them to navigate challenges with greater flexibility and understanding. The episode ends with a meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu. Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/   And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resources Pilgrimage: In the Footsteps of the Buddhahttps://plumvillage.org/event/pilgrimage/in-the-footsteps-of-the-buddha-2 Being with Busyness: Zen Ways to Transform Overwhelm and Burnouthttps://www.parallax.org/product/being-with-busyness/ Calm in the Storm: Zen Ways to Cultivate Stability in an Anxious Worldhttps://www.parallax.org/product/calm-in-the-storm/ Course: Zen and The Art of Saving the Planethttps://plumvillage.org/courses/zen-and-the-art-of-saving-the-planet Interbeinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing Plum Village Traditionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum_Village_Tradition ‘Resources for Practicing the 16 Exercises of Mindful Breathing'https://plumvillage.app/resources-for-practicing-the-16-exercises-of-mindful-breathing/ ‘Making the App More Inclusive: Introducing the ‘Access to Practice' Folder'https://plumvillage.app/introducing-the-access-to-practice-folder/Robert Thurmanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Thurman Mahayanahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayana Bodhisattvashttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva The Way Out Is In: ‘The Three Doors of Liberation (Episode #18)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/the-three-doors-of-liberation-episode-18 Sister Chan Lang Nghiemhttps://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-lang-nghiem Quotes “Walking meditation was our teacher’s favorite practice and it was really a life-changing cultivation for him. Because, particularly when we are very emotional – whether that be grief, agony, pain, anger, frustration – it is probably better to be in a state of motion.” “The Buddha has said, What are we mindful of? We are mindful of our suffering. Why do we practice? To liberate ourselves and all beings from suffering. That is the greatest vow of a monk or a nun: to find liberation in oneself and liberation in all.” “There are so many creations of senses – what we see, what we hear, what we smell, what we taste – to help us cope with our suffering. And when we are suffering, whether that suffering is very petite, a daily concern, or is a generational trauma, we don’t have language for how to be with that suffering. Therefore, we look for a way out – and the world loves giving us a prescription of, ‘If you do this, you will feel that.'” “Sometimes silence is a chance for us to be in touch with deep suffering or deep experiences that our noise has covered up. As a meditator, space gives us the barrier and boundaries to listen and to hold. If we don’t create that space, we will be on autopilot for the rest of our life. Our mind is on autopilot; it has a way of thinking, a way of doing, a way of perceiving, of creating perceptions, creating judgment. So when we meditate and have the opportunity to listen to and then to guide the mind, it gives the mind a chance to not also be carried away by its own habits – which is thinking.” “Thinking is not a bad thing. Like our teacher has always transmitted to us, thinking is a part of creating a view in life, a project, a mission, an intention. But most of our thinking is not productive. It is actually more daydreaming, it is more procrastination. It is more like a zombie, in a way, or a sleepwalker. It has no destination; it’s just on autopilot.” “Many people feel they have to sit on a cushion, they have to have a shrine, they have to light incense, they have to light a candle – which of course can be very beautiful and give a good atmosphere for meditation. But you can also do it on a busy bus or train, or as you’re sitting on a park bench. It’s not about taking things out of your life; it’s about allowing life to be.” “Sometimes we sit just to enjoy sitting and doing nothing, because maybe that's the one gift that we want to give to ourselves – because we’re always doing, we’re always in fifth gear. Sometimes we need a radical act: to sit and do nothing, to give and create and redefine space for ourselves.” “How can we keep mindfulness alive if we are not cultivating it? Sitting meditation is one of the concrete cultivation practices.” “There is right mindfulness and wrong mindfulness. We could be a wonderful burglar with full concentration – but we would be creating suffering. So right mindfulness relieves suffering; it is about understanding suffering and heading towards the path of understanding and love.” “One time our teacher told us that sometimes insight doesn’t come during sitting meditation, but when it’s ripe. Maybe when we’re most relaxed: when we’re not thinking about it, but are living the moment very deeply. And Thay told us that, a lot of the time, it would come while he was gardening or doing walking meditation. But sitting meditation is the cultivation; it is like a gardener tending the seeds of insights to help us have a moment of, ‘Ah, I get it.'” “The practice is maybe just continuing to unlearn things, in order to learn again.” “There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.” “Sitting is already action. When we sit in this way and have new insight, that will become the thread of so many actions coming forward. So don’t underestimate the power of sitting still; yes, we have apps and guided meditations, but also build the capacity of generating your own guide. And that breath is there, that body is there. Then the community is there – and that’s the beauty of a tradition.” “Whenever we speak about enlightenment, enlightenment of what? What do we want to be enlightened from or towards? Then, later on – like in my own growth – I see that enlightenment is a verb; it is a continuous enlighten-ing. You cannot be enlightened today, December the 9th, and expect that enlightenment to stay the same in 2028. Because things are changing; we are changing. The world is changing.”

Dr. Riz Ahmad could have been diagnosed with social anxiety, autism spectrum, and depression as a teenager. Instead, he became one of the most talented psychologists I've ever worked with.In this episode, Riz shares his journey from fear-driven perfectionist—completely fused with his mind and disconnected from his body—to an eight-week stay at a Zen Buddhist monastery that changed everything. What happened when his mind finally went quiet? And what does his story reveal about the dangers of how we label and treat human suffering today?A radically genuine conversation about ego, consciousness, and what mainstream psychology is missing. Visit Center for Integrated Behavioral HealthDr. Roger McFillin / Radically Genuine WebsiteYouTube @RadicallyGenuineDr. Roger McFillin (@DrMcFillin) / XSubstack | Radically Genuine | Dr. Roger McFillinInstagram @radicallygenuineContact Radically GenuineConscious Clinician CollectivePLEASE SUPPORT OUR PARTNERS15% Off Pure Spectrum CBD (Code: RadicallyGenuine)10% off Lovetuner click here

01/10/2026, Mushim Patricia Ikeda, dharma talk at City Center. Mushim Patricia Ikeda asks how is our Zen Buddhist practice showing up within the "burning house" of global "forever wars," environmental crisis, and U.S. global and national actions in 2026? What might different forms and schools of Zen be able to learn from one another?

Truth, Love and Psychedelic Healing with Michael Ryoshin Sapiro Dr. Michael Ryoshin Sapiro, PsyD, is an ordained Zen Buddhist monk, clinical psychologist, psychedelic psychotherapist, and author of Truth Medicine: Healing and Living Authentically through Psychedelic Psychotherapy. A Fellow at the Institute of Noetic Sciences and longtime meditation teacher and researcher, he works extensively with special operations veterans, first responders, and others on the front lines of trauma and service. His work weaves Buddhism, depth psychology, and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy into a path of personal awakening for the sake of collective transformation. In this conversation, Mike explores truth as a form of medicine—touching on intergenerational trauma, shame and shadow, self-love, nondual awareness, and how psychedelics and meditation can help us live more coherently, compassionately, and wholeheartedly. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:06:15 Intergenerational trauma and ancestral wisdom 00:08:19 Truth as medicine 00:11:39 Psychedelics, information, and, integrating the message 00:16:15 Yoga, truth, and, nonviolence in the inner terrain 00:19:30 Family, culture, and, the deeper levels of truth 00:24:21 How we run from the truth, shadow work and Jung 00:36:07 Self-compassion before and beyond the medicine 00:39:09 Ego death, nondual states and spiritual emergency 00:46:25 Training mind, body, and, heart and building awareness 00:55:28 Hope, faith, and, showing up with kindness 00:59:53 Wholeness and the spectrum of balance 01:05:21 Final thoughts New Thinking Allowed Guest Host Leanne Whitney, PhD, is a depth psychologist and transformational coach based in Los Angeles, CA. She is the author of Consciousness in Jung and Patañjali and currently serves as Executive Director of Center for Transformation and Integration. Her website is https://leannewhitney.com/ To learn about Leanne Whitney's Transformational Coaching Certification Course with an emphasis in Somatic Integration Therapy, please visit: https://transformationandintegration.com/courses Producer: Elena McNally Editor: John Hartmann (Recorded on October 20, 2025) To order Consciousness in Jung and Patañjali by Leanne Whitney, go to: https://amzn.to/2QY3tS2 To order Michael Ryoshin Sapiro's Truth Medicine: Healing and Living Authentically Through Psychedelic Psychotherapy , go to: https://amzn.to/3K1D2Zv

Danica Shoan Ankele, Sensei - ZMM - 12/28/25 - During the year-end Rohatsu sesshin, Shoan Sensei offered this koan talk on the nature of mind as it's experienced and expressed in Zen Buddhist practice. The koan offered from the Gateless Gate points to "turning the light around", beholding the nature of what we call reality, and learning through experience how we can rely on this to navigate our lives. - From Master Wu-men's Gateless Gate, Case 29 - Hui-neng's "Not the Wind; Not the Flag"

Welcome to a new episode of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. This special episode – part one of two question-and-response (Q&R) installments – commemorates the publication of the second book by Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach Jo Confino, which was published earlier this year. Calm in the Storm: Zen Ways to Cultivate Stability in an Anxious World is intended to help readers meet the current polycrisis with stability and resilience, but also forcefulness and love. According to Plum Village tradition, Jo and Brother Phap Huu recorded two episodes that respond to listeners' questions which connect to the book's themes – from balancing kindness and anger in challenging times to staying compassionate with a world where there’s little deep listening; how to best support young people; caring for oneself while serving others; and much more. Enjoy! List of resources Pilgrimage: ‘In the Footsteps of the Buddha’https://plumvillage.org/event/pilgrimage/in-the-footsteps-of-the-buddha-2 Being with Busyness: Zen Ways to Transform Overwhelm and Burnouthttps://www.parallax.org/product/being-with-busyness/ Calm in the Storm: Zen Ways to Cultivate Stability in an Anxious Worldhttps://www.parallax.org/product/calm-in-the-storm/ Interbeinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing The Order of Interbeinghttps://plumvillage.org/community/order-of-interbeing Plum Village Traditionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum_Village_Tradition The Way Out Is In: ‘The Three Jewels (Episode #89)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/the-three-jewels-episode-89 Sister Chan Dieu Nghiem (Sister Jina) https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-dieu-nghiem Dharma Talks: ‘The Five Skandhas of Grasping and Non-Self​'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-five-skandhas-of-grasping-and-non-self%E2%80%8B-dharma-talk-by-br-phap-lai-2018-06-08 The Way Out Is In: ‘Joanna Macy's Message of Hope' https://plumvillage.org/podcast/joanna-macys-message-of-hope The Way Out Is In: ‘Active Hope: The Wisdom of Joanna Macy (Episode #25)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/active-hope-the-wisdom-of-joanna-macy-episode-25 The Way Out Is In: ‘Grief and Joy on a Planet in Crisis: Joanna Macy on the Best Time to Be Alive (Episode #12)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/grief-and-joy-on-a-planet-in-crisis-joanna-macy-on-the-best-time-to-be-alive-episode-12 ‘Three Resources Explaining the Plum Village Tradition of Lazy Days'https://plumvillage.app/three-resources-explaining-the-plum-village-tradition-of-lazy-days/ Śāriputra https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9A%C4%81riputra Rāhulahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C4%81hula How To: ‘Begin Anew'https://plumvillage.org/articles/begin-anew Quotes “Do we control the world? We’re controlling our actions, if we’re mindful. But most of us let our actions control us. We let worry control us; we let the news control us; we let fake news control us; we let stories control us. We let energies that may be untrue control us.” “We have to have the ability to generate joy and to be in touch with simple happiness and, even in moments of bitterness and difficulty, to come back to the present moment and ask the question, ‘What am I grateful for? What things surrounding me can I devote myself to, because I’m grateful for them?'” “Thay always reminded us to take joy and happiness seriously, and, in our modern times, people who come to Buddhism and spirituality, in particular, become allergic to the words ‘happiness' and ‘love' and ‘smiles' because they're not celebrated enough in the world. Because it looks too hippie-dippie. They seem too easy, in a way. But knowing that joy is always accessible is enlightenment, is healing, is love.” “Each and every one of us, when we start the journey of practice, really have to take seriously how to generate joy every day, with no exceptions. Don’t take it for granted.” “Compassion is the foundation for not burning out, for not becoming hateful, for not becoming toxic. It is the foundation of understanding and love.” “When you don’t have enough joy, lean into other people’s joy. You’re not alone.” “The whole purpose of mindfulness is to more deeply understand ourselves, and then to more deeply understand how we relate to the world.” “When you know how to listen, you’re already a teacher in the dharma – not through your spoken words, but through your way of just being. So don’t underestimate the practice of deep listening, because that can open the doors to people’s hearts as well as allowing them to touch healing. Because deep listening allows us to be vulnerable; it allows us to cry the tears that need to be shed to water our fields of pain and our seeds of love, understanding, and kindness. That is all deep listening; meditation is deep listening.” “Wherever there is darkness, light is already there, because the two coexists – and wherever there is light, there is darkness.” “Accept despair and let it deeply touch and tenderize your heart. Because that’s what despair can do. Rather than seeing it as “the end of a journey, see it as something we touch deeply and which can begin a new journey.” “There’s something about taking the longer view and recognizing the great arc of time and not becoming so caught up in this moment, as though it’s the only moment. Recognize that life will continue in many forms, and trust in that.” “We have to use both wings of meditation – stopping and looking deeply – in every crisis that we find ourselves in or find ourselves facing.”

Why do successful people feel the most overwhelmed during the holidays? You've built something impressive, you're capable of managing complex projects and leading teams, yet the moment the holidays arrive, you're barely hanging on. You're over-functioning for everyone else, saying yes when you mean no, and by the time you collapse into bed, your mind won't stop racing about everything you still need to do tomorrow. Who is Sara Intonato? Sara Intonato is the founder of Autism Changemakers, a parent coach, consultant, and bestselling author. She's also been a yoga teacher and nervous system practitioner for over 20 years. Her work is rooted in ancient, time-tested practices from her 11 trips to India to study Ashtanga yoga, supporting parents of nonspeaking autistic children to regulate their nervous systems in high-stakes moments where safety is a concern and regulation isn't optional. Sara's Story: Why Ancient Practices Matter in Our Instant Gratification World Sara took her first trip to India in her early 20s thinking she'd have a beautiful spiritual experience and get it out of her system. Instead, she discovered that to truly master something, there's no shortcut. You can't buy a certificate or complete a weekend training. You have to show up day after day, year after year, and let the practice change you. What makes Sara different from the trendy breathwork facilitators flooding the coaching space is her commitment to teaching these practices properly. In India, she learned that advanced breathwork practices were withheld from students until they had a strong foundation because introducing them too soon would be "crazy making." They would move energy around so profoundly that students wouldn't be able to manage it. This is exactly what Sara sees happening now in mainstream wellness culture. Coaches are throwing breathwork into their programs after minimal training, parents and professionals are trying to release trauma without knowing how to regulate what comes up, and people are more dysregulated than ever. Sara brings these ancient tools to her clients and students in bite-sized pieces that are safe and effective for all levels, because who needs more chaos in their life right now? What we talk about in this episode: Why the holidays trigger grief and overwhelm for high achievers. It's not just about being busy. The holidays stir up emotions that feel inconvenient, whether it's comparing your reality to what you thought life would look like, dealing with family dynamics that activate old wounds, or simply the pressure to make everything magical while you're running on fumes. This episode normalizes that you can feel successful and still struggle during this season. The one-minute breathing practice that will ground you anywhere, anytime. Equal breathing through the nose (four counts in, four counts out) for just one minute is enough to shift your nervous system from reactive to regulated. No special equipment, no mantras, no perfect conditions required. Sara explains exactly how to do this practice and why engaging your throat slightly (like you're gargling) activates your vagus nerve and creates deeper regulation. Why you can't help anyone when you're dysregulated. Sara works with parents managing aggressive behaviors and safety concerns with their children. The homework is always the same: regulate yourself first. When you're dysregulated, you escalate everyone around you. When you ground yourself, you create space for co-regulation. This applies whether you're parenting, leading a team, or trying to survive Christmas dinner with your in-laws. The ice cube trick that interrupts spiraling thoughts instantly. When you can't escape the room or take a minute to breathe, grab some ice cubes. Hold them for one minute. The intense sensation forces you into presence because you literally can't think about anything else. It's a pattern interrupt that brings you back to your body so you can respond instead of react. How to train your mind to concentrate using Zen Buddhist meditation. Set a timer for five minutes and count each breath (inhale one, exhale two, up to ten, then start over). Every time your mind wanders to Aunt Patty's comment or your to-do list, go back to one and start again. Don't be surprised if you don't get past two. This isn't about perfection, it's about observing where your mind goes without judgment and teaching it to concentrate on one thing: your breath. Why reactivity is destroying our ability to make good decisions. We live in an Amazon Prime culture where everything is instant. But this reactivity is getting in the way of our functioning. We think every thought and feeling requires immediate action. This practice teaches your nervous system that it's okay to sit with discomfort, to not scratch the itchy nose, to let your foot fall asleep during meditation. Everything will pass. You won't die from waiting. The real reason you can't feel holiday magic (and it's not the circumstances). Holiday magic is just presence. That's it. But how can you possibly enjoy being here now when your mind is in five different places? Sara shares how she creates magic by putting on Christmas music, baking, and allowing herself to just be in the moment because life will be plenty busy in January. The magic isn't external fairy dust, it's choosing to be present. What your kids will actually remember about this season. It's not how many vegetables they ate or how organized the gift wrapping was. They'll remember how you felt. Your energy is what people experience from you. If you're emanating stress and overwhelm, that's what everyone will carry from their interactions with you. The quality of your life, your relationships, your work changes drastically when you take the time to regulate yourself. This episode is for you if you've ever: Felt like you're barely hanging on through the holidays, one comment away from snapping Snapped at your kids or partner after a long day, then felt guilty for not being present Numbed with food, wine, or scrolling because slowing down feels uncomfortable Thought "I don't have time for mindfulness or nervous system practices" Believed meditation and breathwork are too complicated or not for people like you Been the strong one everyone leans on while you're quietly crumbling inside Said yes to holiday commitments when you meant no because it feels easier Collapsed into bed exhausted but your mind won't stop racing about tomorrow Wondered "how much longer can I keep this up?" Known you should take better care of yourself but always run out of time and energy Built a life people admire but feel like you're missing the magic everyone else seems to experience Felt reactive and stressed, robbing yourself and your family of presence and connection How to Stop Being Reactive and Start Being Present Here's what most people miss about nervous system regulation: they think it requires complicated practices, special training, or hours of time they don't have. So they do nothing. They stay in reactivity, they over-function for everyone else, and they wonder why the holidays feel so overwhelming instead of magical. But Sara's work proves that regulation doesn't require perfection or massive time investments. It requires one minute. Four counts in, four counts out. Ice cubes in your hands when you can't escape the room. Counting your breath when your mind is spinning. The cost of staying dysregulated isn't just that you feel stressed. It's that your children remember mom as a ball of stress. Your colleagues remember your overwhelm, not your competence. Your partner experiences your reactivity, not your love. You rob yourself of the presence and connection you're craving because you think you don't have time to regulate. Ready to stop feeling overwhelmed and start feeling present? If you're reading this and recognizing yourself, if you've been running on fumes for so long that you don't even remember what regulated feels like, it's time to stop. The Congruency Audit is where we look at the gap between the success you've built on the outside and what you're actually feeling on the inside. We'll identify the exact patterns keeping you stuck in over-functioning and reactivity, the wounds driving your need to be strong for everyone else, and what it's going to take for you to finally create success that feels as good on the inside as it looks on the outside. This isn't about adding more to your plate. It's about understanding why you keep saying yes when you mean no, why you can't give yourself permission to rest, and what needs to shift so you can finally stop running and start being present. How To Thrive Through The Silly Season Workbook: https://lisacarpenter.ca/holidays/ Book your free Congruency Audit: lisacarpenter.ca/audit And if you know you need more than a 15-minute call, if you're craving a complete reset where you can step away from the noise and actually remember who you are beneath all the doing, Sara and I are taking a small group on a walking pilgrimage along the Camino in Spain in September 2026.  Learn more HERE This isn't a vacation. It's a sacred reset. Six days walking more than 100 kilometers with daily coaching, integration circles, yoga, breathwork, and deep conversations that help you release what's been weighing you down. Spaces are intentionally limited to ensure intimacy and depth of support. When it fills, it closes. Learn more at lisacarpenter.ca. Connect with Sara Intonato: Website: https://www.saraintonato.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sara.intonato/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-intonato-23036b172   If you listen on Spotify:  Open the Spotify app on your phone. Search for Lisa Carpenter and open her podcast page. Tap the three dots under the podcast description. Choose Rate show from the menu. Select your star rating and tap Submit. This isn't about optimizing the version of yourself you built to survive. It's about creating congruence so the life you've built doesn't just look good, it finally feels right.

Jimmy shares an in-depth conversation with Dr. Michael Sapiro, whose unique approach to psychedelic psychotherapy emphasizes the courage needed to align with one's authentic self. His clinical work extends specialized support to veterans and first responders, healing those who run toward, rather than away from, trauma.Key TakeawaysTrauma and Truth: Dr. Sapiro's holistic approach to is founded on a convergence of generational trauma, early psychedelic experiences, and the structural discipline of Buddhism.Active vs. Passive Facilitation: He advocates for active psychotherapy during altered states, viewing it as "practice rounds" of positive change when the ego is subdued—but it must be done with extreme care.Healing the Caregivers: Veterans and first responders experience unique trauma exposure, and those who protect others also need to care for themselves.About Our GuestMichael Ryoshin Sapiro, PsyD, is an ordained Zen Buddhist monk, poet, clinical psychologist, psychedelic psychotherapist, researcher and meditation teacher, he's also the author of Truth Medicine: Healing and Living Authentically through Psychedelic Psychotherapy.Dr. Michael Sapiro's websiteHis book & audiobook: Truth Medicine: Healing and Living Authentically through Psychedelic PsychotherapyShift Network Course: A 7-week course on how to enact lasting change and live your truth“Malcom and the Monk” podcast coming out Jan 2026 by VETS-Today's episode is brought to you by North Spore, who makes mushroom cultivation approachable for curious beginners and experienced home growers. North Spore's grow kits, spawn, substrates, and lab supplies let you explore the  process of growing your own gourmet and medicinal mushrooms right at home.Start your next grow with North SporeUse code PSYCHEPASSAGE for 10% off - Psychedelic Passage is your partner in safe, supported, and effective psychedelic journeys. As the first concierge service in the U.S., we connect you with vetted facilitators who value integrity and expertise. We're glad you're here, and we look forward to supporting you on your journey. No mushroom source? No problem. Download our Free Psilocybin Sourcing Guide. Want guidance tailored to your need? Book a free Pathfinding Call for personal support. Curious or seeking connection? Join our online care community to learn, share, and grow with others. Join our next Q&A or Facilitator Chat for free.

Rev. Dana Takagi reflects on the significance of Abbot Yuko Yamada being the first woman teacher at the founding temple of Soto Zen, Eiheiji. Dana also highlights Yamada's teaching of the Denkōroku, a text written by the ancestor Keizan who emphasized making Buddhism accessible to the masses and not just monastic residential practitioners. Dana emphasizes Abbot Yamada's ongoing contributions to moving Buddhism forward into a more inclusive and accessible future, both in Japan and globally. This is a supplementary episode to the full interview with Abbot Yamada. Listen first if you haven't already!GUESTYUKO WAKAYAMA YAMADA is the abbot of Shogakuji in Tokyo. She currently teaches at the International department of Eiheiji. She is the first nun to teach at Eiheiji, the head monastery of Soto Zen founded by Dogen Zenji. She trained at Aichi Senmon Niso-do, a training temple for female Soto Zen priests, where she also currently teaches. She was ordained in 1999 by the highly respected Rev. Shundo Aoyama-roshi. She was sent to Mt. Equity Zendo in United States for 2.5 years and has also practiced in Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain and Italy. After returning from Europe and finishing 2 more years at the Niso-do she studied at the graduate school of Komazawa University specializing in Chinese Zen History. Prior to becoming a Zen Buddhist nun, Yuko Yamada was a catholic nun in a convent for 3 years.HOSTREVEREND DANA TAKAGI (she/her) is a retired professor of Sociology and zen priest, practicing zen since 1998. She spent 33 years teaching sociology and Asian American history at UC Santa Cruz, and she is a past president of the Association for Asian American Studies. 

What do you get when you cross two of the most popular concepts in modern-era: mindfulness and resistance? You guessed it: a teach-in by Hollywood film actor and  Zen Buddhist priest Peter Coyote. He'll be radicalizing us this week on the Heartland Labor Forum and telling us about the Theatre of Protest. Our feature is Know Your Rights with Michael Amash.

Welcome to a new episode of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. In this installment, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach Jo Confino explore the lifelong journey of self-forgiveness and how to forgive ourselves. How do we find the capacity to let go of past hurts and come into the fullness of our lives?  The conversation also touches upon themes like self-love, self-compassion, community, spiritual growth, impermanence, the coexistence of suffering and happiness, and the importance of ongoing practice. Brother Phap Huu discusses the Buddhist perspective of the Dharma threading through time, embracing past, present, and future; how loving oneself begins with recognizing and accepting one's stories and scars; the importance of treating oneself with kindness and compassion; acknowledging unskillful actions; practicing with the inner child; and much more. In addition, personal stories shared by the presenters illustrate how forgiveness and self-love evolve over time, and that forgiving oneself is vital for genuine compassion and service. The episode concludes with aspirations for the new year. Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/ And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resources Pilgrimage: ‘In the Footsteps of the Buddha’https://plumvillage.org/event/pilgrimage/in-the-footsteps-of-the-buddha-2 Being with Busyness: Zen Ways to Transform Overwhelm and Burnouthttps://www.parallax.org/product/being-with-busyness/ Calm in the Storm: Zen Ways to Cultivate Stability in an Anxious Worldhttps://www.parallax.org/product/calm-in-the-storm/ Interbeinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing The Way Out Is In: ‘Healing Our Inner Child: Pathways to Embrace Our Suffering (Episode #10)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/healing-our-inner-child-pathways-to-embrace-our-suffering The Way Out Is In: ‘The Three Jewels (Episode #89)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/the-three-jewels-episode-89 ‘Looking Deeply: Healing the Inner Child'https://plumvillage.org/articles/healing-the-inner-child The Inner Child (short guided meditation)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zauJYihF2fQ Dharma Talks: ‘Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/taking-refuge-in-the-three-jewels-sr-chan-duc-spring-retreat-2018-05-20 John Bradshawhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bradshaw_(author) Sutras: ‘Discourse on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone'https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/discourse-on-knowing-the-better-way-to-live-alone The Order of Interbeinghttps://plumvillage.org/community/order-of-interbeing Quotes “What we have learned in the art of mindful living and the art of love and understanding is that we are ever-changing. We’re constantly changing. The Buddha has said that we cannot bathe in the same river twice. When we bathe in that river, the river is not the same and we are not the same.” “The Buddha says that suffering is made of non-suffering elements – and that means you have happiness inside.” “What I’ve learned from my journey is that healing is always a verb.” “There is no way to healing; healing is the way.” “Our practice of listening is very important. When we say we have to learn to listen, listen not to respond, but just to listen. Listen to acknowledge, accept, and witness.” “It’s important to be in the present moment, but it's also important to have an aspiration to bring into the present moment – not to see in the future, but to see coming alive right now.”

Ryōkan Taigu (1758–1831) was a quiet and unconventional Sōtō Zen Buddhist monk who lived much of his life as a hermit. Ryōkan is remembered for his poetry and calligraphy, which present the essence of Zen life. He renounced the world at an early age to train at nearby Sōtō Zen temple Kōshō-ji, refusing to meet with or accept charity from his family.These selected excerpts and poems by Ryokan have been taken from the text "Great Fool" translated by Ryuichi Abé & Peter Haskel.

In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin welcomes Dr. Michael Ryoshin Sapiro, a Zen Buddhist monk, psychologist, and psychedelic psychotherapist whose new book Truth Medicine explores how awakening and clinical science meet through the heart. Find full show notes and links here: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-332/?ref=278  They discuss how Zen simplicity informs psychedelic work, the nuances between psychedelic-assisted and psychedelic psychotherapy, and how Dr. Sapiro tailors ketamine sessions for trauma recovery in first responders and veterans. Together they unpack the art of surrender, the role of spirituality in therapy, and why genuine healing begins with nervous-system regulation long before medicine is introduced. Dr. Sapiro is also offering a free live video event with The Shift Network, Find Your Truth Behind the Masks You Wear, where he'll guide experiential practices in futuremaking, compassion, and embodied awareness. During this session, he'll also introduce his new seven-week live course, a deeper journey into conscious living, authenticity, and the principles explored in Truth Medicine. Michael Ryoshin Sapiro, PsyD is an ordained Zen Buddhist monk, clinical and first-responder psychologist, psychedelic psychotherapist, author, and meditation teacher. He serves as integrative psychologist at Boise Ketamine Clinic, runs international transformational retreats, and appears in the documentary An Act of Service on ketamine treatment for first responders (featured by The New York Times). His work within the special-operations and first-responder communities centers on trauma recovery, ethical service, and awakened leadership. His book Truth Medicine: Healing and Living Authentically Through Psychedelic Psychotherapy is available now. Highlights: Zen Buddhist ordination and early training How Zen shapes psychedelic psychotherapy Assisted therapy vs. psychedelic psychotherapy Ketamine dosing nuance and "golden hour" Working with first responders and veterans Non-dual states and "I am love" experiences Spiritual ethics in psychedelic care Nervous-system preparation for medicine Community, retreats, and the sacred heart Episode Links: Dr. Sapiro's Website Dr. Sapiro's book, Truth Medicine Dr. Sapiro's free video event: Find Your Truth Behind the Mask You Wear Episode Sponsors: The Microdosing Practitioner Certification at Psychedelic Coaching Institute. The Practitioner Certification Program at Psychedelic Coaching Institute. Golden Rule Mushrooms - Get a lifetime discount of 10% with code THIRDWAVE at checkout These show links may contain affiliate links. Third Wave receives a small percentage of the product price if you purchase through the above affiliate links. Disclaimer: Third Wave occasionally partners with or shares information about other people, companies, and/or providers. While we work hard to only share information about ethical and responsible third parties, we can't and don't control the behavior of, products and services offered by, or the statements made by people, companies, or providers other than Third Wave. Accordingly, we encourage you to research for yourself, and consult a medical, legal, or financial professional before making decisions in those areas. Third Wave isn't responsible for the statements, conduct, services, or products of third parties. If we share a coupon code, we may receive a commission from sales arising from customers who use our coupon code. No one is required to use our coupon codes. This content is for educational, informational, and entertainment purposes only. We do not promote or encourage the illegal use of any controlled substances. Nothing said here is medical or legal advice. Always consult a qualified medical or mental health professional before making decisions related to your health. The views expressed herein belong to the speaker alone, and do not reflect the views of any other person, company, or organization.

In this episode, Michael Sapiro joins Kyle Buller to explore truth, healing, and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy through the lens of his new book, Truth Medicine. A clinical psychologist, ordained Zen Buddhist monk, retreat leader, and fellow at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, he blends Buddhist psychology, trauma work, and consciousness studies. The discussion focuses on how people discover and live their truth, and why that truth becomes the core medicine in healing. Early in the Podcast with Michael Sapiro Michael describes how years of clinical work and retreat facilitation shaped his understanding of healing. Real transformation happens when people speak truths they have never allowed themselves to say out loud. These truths often relate to childhood experiences, identity, and how people learned to stay safe. Key early themes include insight into: • Truth as a physical and emotional "ring" in the body • Personas formed in childhood to avoid rejection • Depression and anxiety caused by living from those personas The conversation explores how frightening it can be to challenge old roles and family narratives, yet how necessary it is for authentic healing. Core Insights from Michael Sapiro Michael outlines his model of preparation, psychedelic sessions, and integration, especially in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. Preparation often includes discovering what he calls the "heart of the hurt" and building trust for the internal process. Core insights include: • Tracing patterns back to their origins in early experience • Using guided imagery, breathwork, and somatic awareness to practice surrender • Understanding healing as applying love to wounded parts • Understanding growth as becoming who you would be without old limits Additional points: • Medicine sessions create real practice in letting go • Defenses should be engaged with, not fought • Sensations in the body offer essential guidance Later Discussion and Takeaways with Michael Sapiro Michael compares one-on-one psychotherapy with retreat work. In group settings he holds space and supports safety, while in individual sessions he uses a blend of silence and active therapeutic guidance. He also shares personal truth work, including embracing his own "bigness," understanding ethics as part of spirituality, and learning to endure anxiety without falling into shame. Listeners gain practical guidance for nurturing wounded parts, developing the ability to endure challenging states, and allowing their strengths to emerge. Frequently Asked Questions Who is Michael Sapiro? Michael Sapiro is a clinical psychologist, ordained Zen Buddhist monk, psychedelic psychotherapist, retreat leader, and research fellow at the Institute of Noetic Sciences. What is the main idea of Truth Medicine by Michael Sapiro? Truth Medicine teaches that discovering and living one's personal truth is the core of healing, with psychedelics serving as a tool that helps reveal and embody that truth. How does Michael Sapiro use ketamine in therapy? He uses ketamine within a structured model involving preparation, supportive dosing sessions, and integration focused on compassion, endurance, and meaningful change. Does he only work in group settings? No. He leads retreats, but much of his work is individual psychedelic psychotherapy focused on trauma, personal truth, and growth. What can clinicians learn from his approach? Clinicians can learn how to balance guided intervention with open space, work directly with defenses, and support healing as both love and action. Closing Thoughts This conversation with Michael Sapiro offers a grounded, practical view of how truth, compassion, and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy can support real change in the current psychedelic resurgence. By blending body awareness, ethical clarity, and personal growth, this episode provides useful guidance for therapists, guides, and seekers who want to bring more truth medicine into their lives and communities. https://www.michaelsapiro.com  

Dr. Michael Ryoshin Sapiro, an ordained Zen Buddhist monk and poet, clinical psychologist, psychedelic psychotherapist, author, meditation teacher, and musician, joins me on the latest Business Minds Coffee Chat. Michael integrates Buddhist and Nondual teachings and practices with psychology and science to help people unlearn programming, unlock potential, and awaken the heart where our deepest wisdom and creativity are kept. His latest book, Truth Medicine, is a comprehensive dive into psychedelic psychotherapy—what it is and how it can help heal and transform your physiological, psychological, social, and spiritual life.

What if the key to happiness and fulfilment was not changing our external circumstances but learning to appreciate and understand our inner world?  Feel Better Live More Bitesize is my weekly podcast for your mind, body, and heart. Each week I'll be featuring inspirational stories and practical tips from some of my former guests. Today's clip is from episode 476 of the podcast with Buddhist monk and author Haemin Sunim. Haemin is a Zen Buddhist teacher and the author of two Sunday Times bestselling books, including his very latest, the beautiful: ‘When Things Don't Go Your Way: Zen Wisdom for Difficult Times.' In this clip, he shares some of his tips and practical insights for a better life. This was a beautiful conversation, full of deep and practical insights that I'm sure will help you find greater peace, purpose and contentment. Thanks to our sponsor ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://drinkag1.com/livemore⁠ Show notes and the full podcast are available at drchatterjee.com/476 Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts ⁠⁠https://apple.co/feelbetterlivemore⁠⁠ For other podcast platforms go to ⁠⁠https://fblm.supercast.com. DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

Welcome to a new episode of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. This is the recording of our second live public event, which recently took place in London. Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino are joined on stage by special guest Ocean Vuong, Vietnamese American poet, essayist, and novelist. Their conversation explores the themes of joy, togetherness, and cultivating courage in the face of hardship and suffering; the role of language, narrative, and technology in shaping modern experiences of suffering and joy; intergenerational trauma; and more. All three share personal experiences and insights about finding meaning and community amidst individual and collective challenges. Ocean recollects the way that, growing up in a community impacted by the opioid crisis, Buddhism and the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh provided solace and a path to understanding suffering, while Brother Phap Huu reflects on his journey to become a Zen Buddhist monk, and the role of kindness, fearlessness, and vulnerability in his practice. The discussion culminates with a chant offered by Ocean as a message of hope and resilience in the face of adversity. Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/   And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resources Ocean Vuong https://www.oceanvuong.com Being with Busyness: Zen Ways to Transform Overwhelm and Burnouthttps://www.parallax.org/product/being-with-busyness/ Calm in the Storm: Zen Ways to Cultivate Stability in an Anxious Worldhttps://www.parallax.org/product/calm-in-the-storm/ Interbeinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing W. S. Merwinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._S._Merwin Harry Beecher Stowehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Beecher_Stowe  Tom Brokawhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Brokaw Duḥkhahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Du%E1%B8%A5kha Ford Model Thttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Model_T The Dhammapadahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhammapada Anaphorahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaphora_(rhetoric) Schadenfreudehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schadenfreude ‘Bright Morning Star'https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bright_Morning_Star ‘The Five Earth Touchings'https://plumvillage.org/key-practice-texts/the-five-earth-touchings Quotes “When drinking water, remember the source.” “On the last day of the world / I would want to plant a tree / what for / not for the fruit […] / I want the tree that stands / in the earth for the first time / with the sun already / going down” – from ‘Place' by W.S. Merwin. “Being a Vietnamese person in the diaspora, for many of us, the temple or the church or what have you is the place where we hear Vietnamese at the longest unbroken duration. Whereas someone native to Vietnam would hear it all the time. So, to this day, the Vietnamese language, to me, elicits this collective desire to heal and understand suffering. And it’s very specific to the immigrant. It’s what I call a third culture: there’s nothing like it in the homeland; there’s nothing like it in the assimilated American ethos. But there’s this special place that displacement and violence created.” “In Plum Village, when I first entered, I was 13 years old, and I touched a kind of kindness that I’d never touched before. And I asked myself whether I could be a kind person. I think I’m good; I think I’m going to have a career of offering smiles.” “I invite us, as a collective, to invoke this peace that we can bring in our hearts and into the world at this moment. Body, speech, and mind in perfect oneness. I send my heart along with the sound of this bell. May the hearers awaken from forgetfulness and transcend the path of anxiety and sorrow.” “Just a smile can save someone’s life.” “Technology was supposed to bring us together. This is the promise of the Enlightenment. But it’s interesting that all technological movements or renaissances are controlled by the wealthy and the elites. So what I’m interested in, as a writer, as a teacher, is that so much of our world is about material resources and narrative. And this is why I tell my students, ‘They shame you for being a poet, for being a writer: “Oh, you’re doing this liberal arts, naval-gazing, decadent thing, dreaming”' – but the politicians and the elites are poets too. The greatest political speech is the anaphora. Walt Whitman used it as a catalog, but you hear it: ‘We will heal the working class, we will heal the great divide, I will solve, we will heal this country’s heart, we will heal the middle class.' And that's why the anaphora is so useful: because it doesn’t have to explain itself.” “All those in power are also poets. They’re manipulating meaning, but for votes, for profit, for power, towards fascism. And no wonder the system is designed to make you ashamed to be an artist. It’s so interesting, isn’t it, that, in the art world, we’re often asked to be humble, to be grateful for a seat at the table; to perform humility. And I think humility is good; as a Buddhist, I believe in it, but there is a discrepancy here: we never tell people on Wall Street to be humble. You never hear someone say, ‘You know what, we killed it last quarter, so let’s tone it down and be grateful that we have a seat at the economic table.'” “Kindness is more difficult now than ever because I think kindness is something that is deeply dependent on our proximity to suffering. It’s harder for us to comprehend suffering, now. Schadenfreude is in our hands and it’s always easier to see. We’ve normalized suffering so much that we’ve been disassociated from it.” “We speak about inclusiveness and equanimity in Buddhism, but we’re not equal. Some of us are born in places where we have more privileges: in a particular race, in a particular situation, in a particular year. But what is equal is, as human beings, we’re all going to grow old, we’re all going to get sick, we’re all going to have to let go of what we think is permanent. And we’re going to learn to live deeply in the present moment.” “Sadness becomes not just a feeling, but knowledge. So think about sadness as knowledge, as potential, and that anger even has an aftermath. And you realize that the aftermath of anger is care.” “The big trouble with masculinity is that we are not given the ability or the permission to feel and be vulnerable – but we are encouraged to have absolute agency. It’s incredible. It’s a perfect storm of violence: ‘Don’t feel, don’t interrogate, and don’t be vulnerable. But, meanwhile, go get ‘em, buddy.'” “Under our greatest fear is our greatest strength.” “Camus says that writing itself is optimism, because it’s suffering shared. Even if you write about the darkest things, it is optimistic because someone else will recognize it. And recognition is a democratic ideal, because it means that one feeling could then be taken and collaborated with.” “It’s really hard to convince people to go to war, historically. You need a lot of text, you need a lot of airwaves, you need a lot of speeches to convince people to go to war – but it's very easy to convince people to stop war. Very easy for people to stop armament. Difficult for folks who are in control to keep it up, but if you ask the general population, ‘Do you want peace?', it’s quick. So that gives me a little hope.” “In fast food is a kind of sinister beauty, because it’s an industrialized promise of absolute replication of fulfillment – and yet it’s a kind of poison as well. It’s like the ultimate democratic ideal, sadly: we can’t have equality, income equality, or healthcare, but we can all eat McDonald’s French fries, and, whether you’re a billionaire or a houseless person, it will taste the same. Likewise with Coca-Cola, etc. In a way it’s the sinister capaciousness of the American dream: you can all feel the same thing while you’re all slowly dying.”

In tonight's sleep meditation with Karissa, let's find our peace, with a Zen Buddhist meditation practice that will relax your body and mind, and prepare you for a peaceful night's sleep.  Join Sleep Wave Premium ✨ in just two taps! Enjoy 2 bonus episodes a month plus all episodes ad-free and show your support to Karissa. Upgrade via our show page on Apple, or via this link for all other players ➡️ https://sleepwave.supercast.com/ Love the Sleep Wave Podcast? Please hit follow & leave a review ⭐️ How are we doing with Sleep Wave? Click here to let us know

In this episode, Todd Sattersten explores the art of awareness with lessons from his new book “The 100 Best Books for Work and Life. He delves into how we can reshape the way we live, work, and become who we're meant to be. Todd also discusses how mindfulness, Zen practice, and self-awareness can help manage emotions and navigate life's challenges. He shares insights from his book curation process, discusses the importance of balancing personal growth with acceptance, and highlights how influential books can guide us through change, purpose, and self-discovery.Feeling overwhelmed, even by the good things in your life? Check out Overwhelm is Optional — a 4-week email course that helps you feel calmer and more grounded without needing to do less. In under 10 minutes a day, you'll learn simple mindset shifts (called “Still Points”) you can use right inside the life you already have. Sign up here for only $29!Key Takeaways:Exploration of Todd's book, “The 100 Best Books for Work and Life”Importance of mindfulness and awareness in managing emotionsThe tension between striving for improvement and accepting life as it isInsights from Zen Buddhist practice and its application to personal developmentThe impact of a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset on personal growthThe interconnectedness of personal and professional developmentThe significance of self-awareness in aligning actions with valuesThe role of curiosity in adapting to change and personal evolutionRecommendations for influential books across various disciplines related to personal growth and life skillsIf you enjoyed this conversation with Todd Sattersten, check out these other episodes:How to Embrace Awareness and Let Go of Ego with Grace ShiresonHow to Create Change at Work Without Losing Yourself with Melody WildingFor full show notes, click here!Connect with the show:Follow us on YouTube: @TheOneYouFeedPodSubscribe on Apple Podcasts or SpotifyFollow us on InstagramThis episode is sponsored by:Smalls – Smalls cat food is protein-packed recipes made with preservative-free ingredients you'd find in your fridge… and it's delivered right to your door. For a limited time, get 60% off your first order, plus free shipping, when you head to Smalls.com/FEED! No more picking between random brands at the store. Smalls has the right food to satisfy any cat's cravings.NOCD If you're struggling with OCD or unrelenting intrusive thoughts, NOCD can help. Book a free 15 minute call to get started: https://learn.nocd.com/FEEDGrow Therapy - Whatever challenges you're facing, Grow Therapy is here to help. Sessions average about $21 with insurance, and some pay as little as $0, depending on their plan. (Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plans. Visit growtherapy.com/feed today!Persona Nutrition delivers science-backed, personalized vitamin packs that make daily wellness simple and convenient. In just minutes, you get a plan tailored to your health goals. No clutter, no guesswork. Just grab-and-go packs designed by experts. Go to PersonaNutrition.com/FEED today to take the free assessment and get your personalized daily vitamin packs for an exclusive offer — get 40% off your first order.LinkedIn: Post your job for free at linkedin.com/1youfeed. Terms and conditions apply.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to a new episode of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. In this installment, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino explore the importance of silence and its role in personal transformation and spiritual practice.  They further discuss noble silence in the Plum Village tradition – a fundamental practice that allows for deep reflection, self-awareness, and connection with the present moment; silence as a space that enables practitioners to listen deeply; the challenges of silence; the contrast between the mainstream emphasis on productivity, noise, and external validation, and the Buddhist approach of valuing stillness, presence, and inner listening as a path to true well-being and happiness; silence as a means to engage more deeply with life, rather than as an escape; embodied listening; and more. The episode concludes with an invitation to take time for silent reflection and to explore the transformative power of silence in our lives. Enjoy! Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/   And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resourcesInterbeinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing Being with Busyness: Zen Ways to Transform Overwhelm and Burnouthttps://www.parallax.org/product/being-with-busyness/ Calm in the Storm: Zen Ways to Cultivate Stability in an Anxious Worldhttps://www.parallax.org/product/calm-in-the-storm/ Buddha Path https://buddhapath.com ‘The Four Dharma Seals of Plum Village'https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-four-dharma-seals-of-plum-village Brother Spirithttps://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/brother-phap-linh Brother Phap Unghttps://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/brother-chan-phap-ung ‘Three Resources Explaining the Plum Village Tradition of Lazy Days'https://plumvillage.app/three-resources-explaining-the-plum-village-tradition-of-lazy-days/ Tao Te Ching https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Te_Ching Bimbisarahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bimbisara Devadattahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devadatta Quotes “When we learn to allow ourselves to be in silence, the silence becomes delicious because it gives us an immense feeling of spaciousness. But silence is also very scary if we are not trained in it – scary because we get to see our restlessness.” “The silence that we are learning to cultivate is the stillness that we all need.” “When we engage with the world, we don’t know how to be silent. That is not engaged Buddhism. That is not applied Buddhism. So the middle way is very important. Silence is not to suppress or to bypass what is going on; in our practice, there’s a space and time for everything.” “Silence allows us spaces of deep reflection. Silence is also to hear ourselves.” “Noble silence is the silence of being present.” “There’s a lot to learn in silence, and a lot to discover, as well as to celebrate.” “The silence of listening is an art form and a practice of embodied listening. And that means that we’re not just listening with our minds, but that we need to learn to listen with our whole body.” “We’re not here trying to gain more to enhance our ‘label'; actually, Zen is about seeing our label and letting it go, in order to see our wholeness. Because our wholeness is not limited to ‘I am a monk', ‘I am a journalist', ‘I am a coach', ‘I am a business leader', ‘I am my technician'. We’re so much more than this.” “Learn to let go. That’s the hardest practice.” “A lotus to you, a Buddha to be.” “Don’t just do something, sit there.” “There’s nothing to learn, but there is a lot to unlearn. Because, actually, when we strip away all the fears, judgments, and sufferings, home is already there. It’s already present, it’s never gone away; we just traveled a long way from it.” “So much of life is about feeling safe, and about knowing that we’re not on our own and that we are going to be supported.” “Colors blind the eye. Sounds deafen the ears. Flavors numb the taste. Thoughts weaken the mind. Desires wither the heart. The Master observes the world, but trusts his inner vision. He allows things to come and go. His heart is as open as the sky” – from the Tao Te Ching, credited to Lao Tzu. “There is no way to happiness; happiness is the way.”

This week, we are delighted to share an episode of the 10% Happier podcast, which is hosted by bestselling author Dan Harris and features world-class insights and practices from experts in modern science and ancient wisdom.  Dan's guest, for the second time, is Zen Buddhist monk and Way Out Is In co-host Brother Phap Huu, who discusses his burnout and how he recovered – and how you can, too.The episode was recorded during early summer 2025, and first released on July 2nd 2025. Together, Dan and Brother Phap Huu discuss: Why people are busier and more susceptible to overwhelm than ever before  Why monastics aren't immune to burnout The way that  busyness is thrust upon us by contemporary lifestyles, but is also a result of us running away from the things we don’t want to face Practical tools for addressing busyness and burnout  Why doing nothing is an art The importance of perspective – and how contemplating your mortality can provide this  The practice of total relaxation How to maintain healthy boundaries without adopting mental armor Ways to say no without annoying people  How to protect ourselves in toxic environments. And much more. Related Episodes:‘The Buddhist Case for Laziness (And How It Can Make You More Productive) | Brother Chân Pháp Hữu' ‘Your Negative, Ruminating Mind: Here’s Your Way Out | Sister Dang Nghiem‘ ‘The Antidote to Mindless Eating with Br. Chan Pháp Lưu’ ‘Six Buddhist Strategies for Getting Along Better with Everyone | Sister True Dedication’ ‘How to Suffer Well – So You Can Suffer Less | Brother Pháp Dung’ Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/   And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resources 10% Happier with Dan Harrishttps://www.danharris.com/s/10-happier Being with Busyness: Zen Ways to Transform Overwhelm and Burnouthttps://www.parallax.org/product/being-with-busyness/ Calm in the Storm: Zen Ways to Cultivate Stability in an Anxious Worldhttps://www.parallax.org/product/calm-in-the-storm/ Interbeinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing Brené Brownhttps://brenebrown.com/ ‘Daily Contemplations on Impermanence & Interbeing'https://plumvillage.org/daily-contemplations-on-impermanence-interbeing ‘Recommendation' (poem)https://plumvillage.org/articles/recommendationThay’s Poetry: ‘Please Call Me by My True Names' (song and poem)https://plumvillage.org/articles/please-call-me-by-my-true-names-song-poem Quotes “To cope with fears and insecurities, the premature hero has to stay busy all the time. The destructive capacity of nonstop busyness rivals nuclear weapons and is as addictive as opium. It empties the life of the spirit. False heroes find it easier to make war than deal with the emptiness in their souls.” “There is a lot of suffering right here, right now, but it is still our responsibility to be able to see the beauty in life, to see the joy and to cultivate happiness: the little things that can spark our creativity, our foundation of love. We are not limited by suffering. We contain the potential for so many offerings that we can give to ourselves and to the world.” “When in chaos, come back to the fundamentals of the things that gave you joy and that gave you life.” “The First Remembrance is that we are all of the nature to grow old; none of us can escape growing old. The Second Remembrance is we are all of the nature to get ill; none can escape that. The Third Remembrance is that all of us have to die; none of us can escape death. The Fourth Remembrance is that everything that we cherish today is of the nature of impermanence; we will have to learn to let go. And the Fifth Remembrance is the way forward; it gives us an insight into continuation. And that is our truest belonging: our legacies.” “Karma means action. And that action is the thought that we produce every day, the words that we speak every day, and how we behave in our way of being: the way we show up, the way we open a door, the way we tend to someone, the way we care for our loved ones or the environment. They are all our truest belongings that will be transmitted and will, in a way, be passed down from generation to generation.” “Everything that exists in this moment is of the nature of impermanence. Nothing can stay the same.” “No mud, no lotus.”