The Lion’s Roar Podcast

Dean of Students at the Institute of Buddhist Studies, Scott Mitchell, talks about his book, The Making of American Buddhism and how Western scholarship has largely ignored the role of Japanese immigrants and their American descendants in the development of Buddhism in America.

Internal medicine physician and founder of the End Well Project, Shoshana Ungerlieder talks about the taboo of death and dying among medical professionals and the importance of taking time to ask what really matters to you and your loved ones, while you still can.

For more Buddhist wisdom on death and dying join the free, 5 day online event, Death, Love and Wisdom from October 12-16th.

New York Times bestselling author and pop culture writer, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, talks about the film’s unexpected lessons in suffering impermanence, and awakening.

Buddhist teacher, author, and founder of Tara Mandala retreat center, Lama Tsultrim Allione, talks with Lion's Roar magazine's editor Andrea Miller about the meaning — and urgency — of embracing the sacred feminine as a way to resist the destructive aspects of patriarchal society.

Plus, a reading of "Green Tara: You Are the Divine Feminine" written by Lama Döndrup Drölma from the September 2023 "Women of Wisdom" issue of Lion's Roar magazine. Explore what's inside the issue on lionsroar.com

Award winning Sri-Lankan Canadian novelist and author of Funny Boy, talks about his latest historical fiction, Mansions of the Moon—the difficult and creative process of using fact and imagination to create an intimate tale of the Buddha’s wife, her relationship with him, their inevitable separation, and her own path to enlightenment.

Religious studies professor Brooke Schedneck is the author of Living Theravada: Demystifying the People, Places, and Practices of a Buddhist Tradition. She talks about Theravada Buddhism in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, from ordinary lay people to elite monks.

Psychologist and teacher Tim Burkett was ordained in 1978, but his path began in 1964, when he met Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, the famed author of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. He talks about learning the nature of enlightenment from Suzuki Roshi, and why the pursuit of enlightenment is futile.

Teacher and co-founder of the BIPOC Sangha at Common Ground Meditation Center, Stacy McClendon talks about how mindfulness can transform the way we think about how we work.

Visiting professor of Buddhism and Black Studies at Union Theological Seminary, and author of Black Buddhists and the Black Radical Tradition: The Practice of Stillness in the Movement for Liberation, Rima Vesely-Flad talks about her book on the connection between the practices of Buddhism, and the Black tradition of radical activism.

Writer, filmmaker, actor, singer, and meditation teacher, Kevin Townley talks about his latest book featuring women whose work exemplifies each of the five wisdom energies in Tibetan Buddhism, how the energies can show up in daily life, and how the spiritualist abstract artist Hilma af Klint embodied the wisdom energy of emptiness.

From her first encounter with Zen to her life as a poet, Black activist, and Zen teacher in Suzuki Roshi’s lineage, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel shares her journey and how it has been informed by the wisdom of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind.

Former physician, and internationally known mindfulness and Insight meditation teacher, Christiane Wolf is well versed in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, and classical Buddhist mindfulness. Wolf talks about the early days of the modern mindfulness movement, how Insight and mindfulness communities inform each other, and how mindfulness-based approaches can be used in cognitive therapy and pain management.

Pico Iyer, author of dozens of books including The Lady and the Monk and The Art of Stillness, talks to Lion’s Roar editor in chief Melvin McLeod about the profound wonder that travel invites, how he came to cherish the feeling of wandering in the unknown, and how he came to find a home within himself.

Karla Jackson-Brewer is a senior teacher with the Tara Mandala Buddhist Retreat Center, and longtime student of Lama Tsultrim Allione. In this conversation, Lion’s Roar’s Pamela Ayo Yetunde Talks to her about internalized racism and the medicine Buddhism can offer to heal it.

Psychiatrist and Zen teacher Robert Waldinger directs the Harvard Study of Adult Development—a 75 year-long study on happiness, spanning lifetimes. He speaks with Lion’s Roar’s Melvin McLeod about the nature of happiness as found in the study, and how it all connects with what Buddhism has to say about suffering.

Through the metaphor of Indra’s Net, Lion’s Roar’s associate editor Pamela Ayo Yetunde calls for a “compassion revolution” in her new book, Casting Indra's Net: Fostering Spiritual Kinship and Community. She talks with fellow LR editor Noel Alumit about the deep challenges that lead to violence, and how we can heal from them together.

Lion’s Roar’s Pamela Ayo Yetunde talks to Spring Washam, author of The Spirit of Harriet Tubman: Awakening from the Underground about the power of calling upon the spirit of this veritable bodhisattva to heal the particular wounds of American injustice and tragedy.

Zen practitioner, painter, and author of fifteen books, Natalie Goldberg talks to Lion’s Roar editor Andrea Miller about how writing can be a practice of studying your mind.

Author of The Little Book of Being: Practices and Guidance for Uncovering Your Natural Awareness, and co-author of Fully present: The Science, Art and Practice of Mindfulness, Diana Winston is one of the best-known teachers of mindfulness in the United States. Noami Matlow is a Mindfulness Studies Masters student, and former intern at Lion’s Roar. She asks Diana Winston about significant changes in the mindfulness movement, the relationship between the movement and Buddhism, and what might come next in the evolution of the movement.

Roshi Joan Halifax, Upaya Zen Center founder and head teacher, offers two prayers for the New Year–or any time of the year. Then, the editor of a posthumous release from the trailblazing modern Buddhist nun and teacher, Ayya Khema, talks about the “force of nature” that she was–her adventurous life, her teachings on metta (loving-kindness) and her practices. Editor Leigh Brasington, who practiced and trained with her, also leads a practice in the Ayya Khema style.

This Buddhist, Afrofuturist comic book co-authored by Steven Barnes and Charles Johnson and illustrated by Bryan Moss, is an anthology of interconnected parables inspired by the teachings of Buddha. Together with Lion’s Roar’s Pamela Ayo Yetunde, its creators discuss the power and process of storytelling through a Black lens and in a Buddhist context.

Exactly what is meditation good for? What does it do? Daniel Goleman and Tsokyni Rinpoche talk about their new book Why We Meditate: The Science and Practice of Clarity and Compassion.

Buddhist teacher Lama Tsomo talks about her new book, Deepening Wisdom, Deepening Connection, shamatha meditation, the four prized emotions referred to as the “Divine Abodes,” and how to find your own Buddhist teacher, including a “calm abiding” meditation.

Thenmozhi Soundararajan, Dalit civil rights organizer and author of the forthcoming book, The Trauma of Caste, speaks with Lion’s Roar associate editor Noel Alumit about being classified as “untouchable,” how caste oppression relates to civil rights in the Western world, and what Buddhists can do about it.

East Bay Meditation Center teacher Mushim Patricia Ikeda is thinking about death. Having practiced Korean and Japanese Zen, and Vipassana, she now finds new wisdom on the end of life via the Vajrayana tradition. This piqued the interest of Lion’s Roar’s Rod Meade Sperry, who reached out to hear more.

Founder of the Mindful of Race Institute, and author of Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out, Ruth King talks to Lion’s Roar Associate Editor Pamela Ayo Yetunde about the Brave Space program, how to approach talking about race, and how mindfulness can heal racial wounds.

Diego Perez is the name behind the New York Times bestselling book, Clarity and Connection, written under the pen name, Yung Pueblo. His upcoming book Lighter, promises a “radically compassionate plan for turning inward and lifting the heaviness that prevents us from healing ourselves and the world.” Lion’s Roar Associate Editor Mariana Restrepo asks about his story–his life and family, how he established a consistent practice of meditation, and recommendations for your own practice. First, a quick preview of the upcoming issue of Lion’s Roar magazine from Lion’s Roar’s Melvin McLeod and Andrea Miller.

New York Times bestselling author Susan Piver takes a well-known typology of personality types, and applies Buddhist principles to demonstrate how it can provide support on the path to deeper compassion for yourself and others. Then, Rod Meade Sperry reads a review of That Bird Has My Wings by imprisoned Buddhist author, Jarvis Jay Masters, which was recently selected for Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club.

Author of Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists, Chenxing Han reads her article examining the stereotypes that have marginalized Asian American Buddhists, and the rich diversity of a new generation of practitioners. 

Sad music, rainy days–there’s beauty in the bittersweet state of mind. It can also teach us about creativity, compassion, leadership, spirituality, mortality and love. Lion’s Roar associate editor Chris Pacheco talks with Susan Cain about the surprising lessons we can learn from sorrow and longing. Also, director of the Dallas Meditation Center, Miguel Chen, reads his article on how to keep up your spiritual practice when enlightenment and wisdom seem unattainable. 

Mindfulness is effective when used properly, but the deep techniques of the Buddhist form of meditation known as Insight (or Vipassana) are truly the heart of mindfulness practice, and often go unaddressed. Trudy Goodman, Founder of InsightLA, talks about breath awareness, why it’s so important, and how to experience the true grounding power of mindfulness meditation.

Dr. Kamilah Majied is an expert on building inclusivity and equity using meditative practices. She talks to Lion’s Roar’s Pamela Ayo Yetunde about internalized racism in America, the nature of suffering, how to triumph over that suffering as a racialized person, and how we can all find a more freeing, joyous way to live.

Larry Ward, student of Thich Nhat Hanh, shares four everyday practices to better connect with the natural world. Then, Roshi Joan Halifax offers some words of encouragement for all those reeling after the reversal of Roe v. Wade.

Senior student of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh and author of Nothing to It: Ten Ways to Be at Home with Yourself, Brother Phap Hai talks about the connection between suffering and wisdom.

Insight Meditation teacher Phoenix Soleil talks to Pamela Ayo Yetunde about dealing with racism, and how metta practice can help get you through.

Fear can lead us to do regretful, hateful, and even violent things. Lion’s Roar’s new online course Medicine for Fear, inspired by Zen teacher Eihei Dogen’s essential instructions for awakening, offers a way to minimize fear’s impact on us—featuring Koshin Paley Ellison and Chodo Robert Campbell of New York Zen Center, as well as Mushim Ikeda, Pamela Ayo Yetunde, Kodo Nishimura, and Mirabai Bush. In this clip from Medicine for Fear, Koshin talks about the problem of never feeling like you have enough.

Internal medicine physician and founder of the End Well Project, Shoshana Ungerlieder talks about the taboo of death and dying among medical professionals and the importance of taking time to ask what really matters to you and your loved ones, while you still can.

Black, male-identified people have experiences in Buddhist communities that are markedly different than that of the majority–not only physically standing out in the group but facing unique internal questions and struggles. Willie Mukei Shoman Smith, SoOn Eli Brown-Stevenson, and Malik (MaLLy) Watkins talk to Lion’s Roar’s Pamela Ayo Yetunde about how they deal with inhabiting white spaces in the Buddhist context, and also what white sanghas can do to be helpful.

Author of The Cure for Money Madness, Spencer Sherman talks about how one can grow spiritually while still engaging with money. Then Lion’s Roar editor-in-chief Melvin McLeod and deputy editor Andrea Miller discuss the latest issue of Lions Roar magazine, honoring both the late Thich Nhat Hanh and the late bell hooks, as well as a special look at Pure Land Buddhism.

With Lion’s Roar’s free “Wisdom of Pema Chodron” Summit about to launch, we’re sharing Andrea Miller’s story abouts Pema Chodron and her advice on how to “walk the walk” of a spiritual person, and what being a “fake” spiritual person really means. Visit lionsroar.com to register.

Sister Clear Grace is a black, non-binary monastic traveling across the country to lean in to the collective experience of the United States. The traveling nunk speaks with Lion’s Roar’s associate editor Pamela Ayo Yetunde about letting go of privilege, answering the call to become a monastic, and encounters on the road to liberation.

Seth Godin is an expert on failure. While he’s founded several hugely successful ventures and written 20 bestselling books around the world including his newest book, The Practice, he has also learned from failing over and over. Today he explains what helps creative thought, and what so often gets in the way of true success.

While the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh may seem simple, they are profound. Anh-Huong Nguyen, one of the first students to be ordained as a meditation teacher in the Plum Village tradition, demonstrates how mindfulness has helped her and the fearful inner child within, through the worst of times.

We reflect on the death of one of the greatest Buddhist teachers of our time, and preview the new issue of Lion’s Roar magazine. Then makeup artist, monk, and author of This Monk Wears Heels, Kodo Nishimura tells Pamela Ayo Yetunde how even makeup and drag can be an expression of the dharma.

Anxiety can be a pretty reasonable response to times of wide spread disease, environmental disaster, social unrest and polarization. Associate editor Chris Pacheco talks to Bruce Tift, psychotherapist and author of Already Free: Buddhism Meets Psychotherapy on the Path of Liberation, about attempting to control feelings of anxiety, why that only makes it worse, and what to do instead.

Wellbeing and social justice are one and the same, according to neuroscientist Dr. Sará King. Pamela Ayo Yetunde asks about The Science of Social Justice, her illustrative Systems-Based Awareness Map, and the implications of the framework that has the power to change how you understand yourself, your community, and even political events such as the January 6 insurrection.

A guided body scan meditation from Insight LA founder Trudy Goodman, plus  an audio clip from her presentation for the new Insight and Mindfulness online learning series, available now at learn.lionsorar.com.

How can Buddhist practice help you find refuge from racism? Especially from the internalized sense of inferiority that lives within the minds and bodies of racialized people? Teacher Sensei Alex Kakuyo and Lion’s Roar Associate Editor Pamela Ayo Yetunde discuss.

Centered on a friendship between the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the documentary Mission: Joy was produced and co-directed by Peggy Callahan while its real life complement, The Big Joy Project, is an experiment in “citizen science.” She and Dr. Elissa Epel, vice chair of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, talk about how both point the way to more joy in our everyday lives.

As everyday normalities change, or even vanish, what used to make sense is out the door, and a new vision of our lives and our world is needed. Kaira Jewel Lingo, former nun in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village tradition, offers a path forward as Associate editor Pamela Ayo Yetunde asks about her latest book, We Were Made for These Times.

The facts of aging, illness, death, separation, and loss can actually be encouraging, Buddhadharma’s Koun Franz explains. Then, a guided meditation and quick check-in on your meditation posture.

Author of Peak Mind Dr. Amishi Jha talks about the book, the natural capacity we have to cultivate our attention, and how you can function at your peak for the things that really matter in life.

Editor-in-chief Melvin McLeod, deputy editor Andrea Miller, and associate editor Ross Nervig talk about the latest issue of Lion’s Roar magazine and some of the highlights therein, from Ted Lasso to Dogen.

Buddhist meditation teacher Kate Johnson leads a session of Tonglen meditation informed by current events, and talks about her new book, Radical Friendship: 7 Ways to Love Yourself and Find Your People in an Unjust World.

Pema Khandro Rinpoche shares the life of the Tibetan yogi Shabkar, whose practice and teachings were inseparable from loss and grief. 

Mushim Patricia Ikeda examines how spiritual work can help us generate wholeness, joy, ease, and even ancestral healing. Then, Rick Hanson guides a short meditation to rewire your brain for the better.

AI scientist and Buddhist teacher Nikki Mirghafori talks about how to live and love more fully by facing our mortality, including a guided meditation. 

On a pilgrimage to India Lion’s Roar’s Andrea Miller explores the life and teachings of the historical Buddha and the new insights she gained by being there. Then, Zen teacher Enkyo O’Hara shares a quick tip about the subtle joy of Shikantaza, also known as Silent Illumination or “just sitting.”

Psychologist and author of Neurodharma: New Science, Ancient Wisdom, and Seven Practices of the Highest Happiness, Rick Hansen shows Lion’s Roar’s Chris Pacheco how to use your mind to change your brain for the better, including a short practice.

Dream yoga specialist Andrew Holecek and one of the first American women to be ordained in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Lama Tsultrim Allione, share their expertise on powerful practices and contemplations from the profound teachings of Tibetan traditions as featured in Lion’s Roar’s online learning series, Open Heart, Vajra Mind.

Secular Dharma Foundation founder Dave Smith is teaching an online, teacher-directed, community-based buddhist addiction recovery course. Buddhadharma’s Koun Franz asked him about the Four Noble Tasks of recovery and how they inform his new program.

Sumi Loundon Kim, Buddhist chaplain at Yale University, talks with Buddhadharma’s Koun Franz about what she’s learned from teaching mindfulness to kids and their parents. Then, the Buddha is believed to have said the true nature of reality is beyond human comprehension, so journalist Judith Hertog asks former monk Georges Dreyfus can we know the truth if even reality isn’t real?

Vanessa Sasson is a religious studies professor and author of Yasodhara: A Novel about the Buddha’s Wife, a fiction based on close study of historical Buddhist texts on the Buddha’s path to, and of, enlightenment. She talks with Lion’s Roar magazine’s Andrea Miller about the forgotten story of Siddhartha’s wife, shares an excerpt from the book, and describes some of the hidden lessons in Yasodhara’s story.

American Tibetan Buddhist nun, Thubten Chodron, gives a humorous depiction of the consequences of believing in a solid self and an objective reality. Then, Chan teacher Guo Gu talks about founding Dharma Relief, a pan-Buddhist Covid relief program to distribute masks in the early months of the pandemic, and what’s next for the growing organization.

Beth Wallace is Lion’s Roar’s Associate Publisher, Finance & Operations, but she’s also big on dharma and mindfulness, and helps people understand and experience these for themselves. She sat down with Lion’s Roar’s Rod Meade Sperry to delve into the benefits of mindfulness at work, how work has changed since mindfulness entered the mainstream, and how to avoid some pitfalls in developing a deeper practice that works for you and your health, whether you identify as Buddhist or not. 

Buddhadharma’s Koun Franz interviews Chan teacher and scholar Guo Gu about the essence of his latest book, Silent Illumination: A Chan Buddhist Path to Natural Awakening, in which he explains embodied practice and Chan methods of realizing your Buddha nature. 

Korean American Zen priest Cristina Moon responds to the recent rise in anti-Asian violence in her article, “Anti-Asian Violence Is an Attack On Us All.” Then a quick conversation with Zen teacher Sensei Dorothy Dai En Friedman, recorded in preparation for Love & Resilience: The Contemplative Care Summit -- register at lionsroar.com/care.

In this special episode featuring music from Buddhist artists, Jessica Pimentel from Orange is the New Black talks to Lion’s Roar’s Ross Nervig about the intersection between her practice of Buddhism and her role as the frontwoman for the indie death metal group, Alekhine’s Gun. Then, rapper and meditation teacher Born I Music talks about the inspiration behind his latest single, In This Moment. 

Teacher, author, and radical black activist Lama Rod Owens explores what it means to let go of the person you think you are, and how to face the inevitable discomfort and brokenheartedness that comes with working to liberate yourself and others.

Chenxing Han challenges mainstream assumptions about American Buddhism with Be the Refuge: Raising The Voices Of Asian American Buddhists – a book that calls out the whitewashing and erasure of diverse communities and centers on the voices of young Asian Americans. Buddhadharma’s Koun Franz asks how the book was inspired, and Han dispels some of the myths associated with Asian American Buddhists.

Zen teacher and author Josh Bartok talks to Andrea Miller about the process of writing Buddhist children's literature, the concept of loving-receiving, and his latest children's book, I See You, Buddha.

In honour of the life of Sojun Mel Weitsman we’re sharing a selection of clips in which you’ll hear him speak personally about his early days with Suzuki Roshi, the founding of the San Francisco Zen Center, and the founding the Berkeley Zen Center. Then, Buddhadharma’s Koun Franz is joined by Rory Lindsay, a Harvard University doctorate in South Asian Studies, to tackle some of the most common questions we get from readers about reincarnation.

The prisoner subscription program is just one of the positive things we’re able to do because of the generosity of readers and listeners. So Lion's Roar's Rebecca Pearson, Bakes Mitchell, and Ross Nervig got together to tell the story of how the program was inspired, and how listeners can help make the dharma more accessible to prisoners in need. Plus, a big huge thanks from Lion's Roar for your feedback on the podcast, and some special episode recommendations to revisit until we return from holiday in the new year.

Lama Tsomo shares a guided tonglen meditation to apply your personal practice to widening social circles, and to move from fear into love.

Lion's Roar's Andrea Miller shares Pema Chodron's advice on how to really “walk the walk” of a spiritual person, and what being a “fake” spiritual person really means. Also, Editor in Chief Melvin McLeod reflects on how we can lead with love and wisdom after the historic 2020 U.S. election. 

Author, teacher, and founder of the Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery, Tenzin Palmo has a frank discussion with fellow teacher and scholar, Pema Khandro Rinpoche about what advice Buddhism has to offer about health and illness during a time of pandemic. Tenzin Palmo also shares what she’s learned about suffering and gratitude while on solitary retreat in a Himalayan cave for 12 years, and what she did after.

Professional poker player Maria Konnikova says mindfulness not only helps ground her in life, but in her gameplay. She tells Lion's Roar's Andrea Miller how, in an interview for the article, “Life Lessons from the Poker Table.”

Dr. Larry Ward, ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh as a dharma teacher in the Plum Village tradition, and the author of America's Racial Karma: An Invitation to Heal, says much of the global turmoil we face today is the result of a history of thought and practice that has likewise justified slavery, environmental degradation, and other atrocities. The revolutionary act therefore is slowing down, practicing kindness, and cultivating joy. These are radical social acts. In this dharma talk about America’s racial karma Ward describes how we can start to heal the trauma in ourselves and in the world.

Editor-in-chief Melvin McLeod and deputy editor Andrea Miller talk about what's in the next issue of Lion's Roar magazine, from the cover story on teachings from the Buddha to the Kung Fu Nuns of Nepal, the power of mindfulness in poker, and tasting food from one of the best restaurants in the world. They also talk about  America's Racial Karma, a new book by Dr. Larry Ward, and an excerpt from Sharon Salzberg’s new book, Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World.

Lions Roar’s Andrea Miller describes a six day retreat with the Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh – one that promised total relaxation and ended up being a healing experience she didn’t know she needed.

In another helpful conversation about Buddhism, illness, and health—especially relevant in the coronavirus era—Buddhist teacher Karma Lekshe Tsomo gets personal with her colleague Pema Khandro Rinpoche, talking about what she learned from her own very scary brush with illness after being bitten by a poisonous viper. They also discuss using pain as a tool, managing uncertainty, why Buddhist practice “is more important than ever in a circumstance of illness,” and more. 

Stephen Batchelor is a teacher and author of the national bestselling title Buddhism Without Beliefs. Buddhadharma deputy editor Koun Franz asks him about the role of study in Buddhist practice – what divides the scholars from the practitioners – and how Batchelor bridges that gap, showing how practice opens up questions we can pursue with an attitude of curiosity that inspires us to investigate its foundations.

Anne Lamott grew up in a family with atheist parents and a great disdain for spirituality. Neal Allen was raised in a Protestant Christian family but until he was 52 years old believed he had no use for god. They were married by an episcopal minister, a Jesuit priest, and the Buddhist author and teacher, Jack Kornfield. In an interview for Lion’s Roar magazine, the joyous interfaith couple describe how they found the sweet spot where seemingly opposite beliefs meet. 

Sharing your most personal stories can seem impossible. But in her book The Apology, Eve Ensler goes one impossible step further. She tells the story of her abusive father from his perspective. Ensler is known for her famous episodic play, The Vagina Monologues – a testament to the healing power of sharing the traumatic, scary experiences that we think we can’t tell anyone. In her interview with Lion's Roar's Andrea Miller, she explains how she found the courage to tell the story of her abuse, what it means to tell the true story of your trauma, how to respond when someone tells you their traumatic story, and how to create a culture around apology that allows for true healing in the aftermath of abuse.

Life as we know it has changed, including work life. Technology tends to fill in the gaps left open by the need to distance ourselves from one another, but can work and technology actually help our spiritual well-being? In his book, Buddha's Office: The Ancient Art of Waking Up While Working Well, Dan Zigmond gives a lot of thought to bringing technology and spiritual life together in healthful, wise ways. Melvin McLeod talked to him about how we can find a balance between the two, and how to incorporate our work lives into our spiritual lives in a way that can help us achieve right livelihood.

Julio Rivera is the founder and CEO of Liberate, a meditation app and community for black indigenous and people of colour. We spoke in March, at the height of coronavirus related deaths in New York City, where he lives and works. We talked about what makes a sangha of non-white practitioners different, and why Liberate has shifted to focusing on black and indigenous healing foremost – a message that’s only amplified by the recent news, and demonstrations in response to, police violence against George Floyd and too many others. After the interview you’ll hear “Compassion,” the first song released from the Dalai Lama’s first album of music, Inner World.

The podcast is shifting to bi-weekly starting with this episode, allowing us to prepare a slew of new projects coming your way. Today, Lion’s Roar publisher Ben Moore speaks with Canadian meditation teacher and co-author of Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics, Jeff Warren about founding the Consciousness Explorers Club and engaging mental health through the lens of spiritual practice. But first, our editor-in-chief Melvin McLeod shares why Buddhism — famous for its doctrine of non-self— is the ultimate form of self-help.

Author and activist bell hooks shares a simple formula for healthy romantic relationships, starting with the myth that love is a feeling – a noun. In fact, as Jungian psychoanalyst and Zen Buddhist Dr. Polly Young-Eisendrath puts it, “love is what to do.”

She lays out the pitfalls of romantic love that lead us to idealization, delusion, disappointment and depression, and how to avoid them.

Then an introductory tonglen meditation to refresh and expand your heart, from the online course Flight of the Swans: Dharma Comes West, by Lion's Roar and Naropa University. 

Buddhist teachers Toni Bernhard and Pema Khandro Rinpoche have both known chronic illness first hand. In this conversation—especially relevant in the coronavirus era—they talk personally about relating to health and sickness through the Buddhist lens, and Bernhard describes the teachings that continue to help her find peace even 20 years after being diagnosed with a life-changing illness.

Big-league baseball is on hold thanks to the coronavirus but a new book by Dr. Don Lopez captures the feel of the game in Buddha Takes the Mound: Enlightenment in 9 Innings. Rod Meade Sperry talks to him about the book, which combines Lopez's love of both baseball and Buddhism. Then, a chance for fresh air: Oren Sofer shares a 10 minute guided walking meditation. Find more meditations from his website at OrenJaySofer.com.

Longtime Buddhist practitioner, mindfulness teacher, and hip hop artist Born I Music talks to Rod Meade Sperry about how he and his family are using mindfulness to cope with the shutdown due to coronavirus, how he came to learn and teach meditation, and how that practice has informed his newest album, 11:11. Includes a track from the forthcoming album.

Arthur Russell was a genius musician, known for experimenting with genres from Indian classical to disco. He passed away at just 40 years old, leaving behind more than 1,000 tapes of unreleased music. Rod Meade Sperry asks Russell archivist Steve Knutson how these tapes fell into his possession, eventually becoming several posthumous albums, and about Russell's life as a Buddhist. Includes clips and a full track of Russell music.

Koshin Paley Ellison and Robert Chodo Campbell are Zen monks who live in New York city where the death toll is reported to have risen to more than 10,000. They're the founders of the New York Zen Centre for Contemplative Care which helps caregivers, family, patients and clinicians cope with illness and death by using meditation and mindfulness as a foundation. Editorial assistant and podcast host Sandra Hannebohm asked how they've adapted to the new reality of coronavirus and quarantine, and what they’ve learned about grief and gratitude in the process. We start with a grounding meditation to open the interview, and end with a healing “pat of butter” meditation. 

Roshi Joan Halifax is the founder, head teacher and abbot of Upaya Institute and Zen Center. In an interview with LionsRoar.com editor Rod Meade Sperry, she talks about how the center adapted to the threat of coronavirus by switching in-person programs and events to online platforms. Then, a quick practice to navigate the illness and fear brought on by the coronavirus crisis, and any time we confront illness.

Also, details on the Spring Practice Period: Honoring Women of the Way, and the upcoming Varela International Symposium on the nature of awareness in May. 

Social distancing has become the new buzzword but it doesn’t mean you need to stop caring and communicating in a social way. Buddhadharma editor Tynette Deveaux talks to mindfulness teacher Oren Jay Sofer about how and why we can deepen our understanding of our relationship to ourselves, one another, and the world – an approach that the COVID-19 pandemic seems to urge us to take.  

Then, from Roshi Josh Bartok of the Greater Boston Zen Centre, a dedication to sentient beings (and even non-sentient beings) we depend on to help stop the spread of coronavirus. 

Food writer and practicing Buddhist Elissa Altman lays out five ways to appreciate more of your meal, even if it means making peace with not having your favourite ingredients. But first, Bonnie Myotai Treace shares three powerful reflections and practices to help us stay open-hearted and connected as we cope with widespread fear and uncertainty.

The Buddhist community is reckoning with coronavirus as many brick and mortar centres temporarily shut down. Rod Meade Sperry of Lion's Roar shares a piece on what we can do to help. But first, a basic meditation to align the body and mind from Vipassana teacher Oren Jay Sofer.

Dr. Larry Ward, ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh as a dharma teacher in the Plum Village tradition, says much of the turmoil we face is the result of a history of thought and practice that has justified slavery, environmental degradation, and other atrocities. The revolutionary act therefore is slowing down, practicing kindness, and cultivating joy. These are radical social acts. In this dharma talk Ward describes how we can start to heal the trauma in ourselves and in the world.

In a world full of reasons to be scared, Vipassana meditation teacher JoAnna Hardy says loving-kindness is the antidote to fear. Hardy approaches meditation with an emphasis on compassion, and she says this opening of the heart is one of the most radical endeavours a person can take on. 

Life has a way of throwing us a curveball when we least expect it, and when we think we can’t withstand any more, something else happens. Author and mindfulness teacher Dr. Valerie (Vimalasara) Mason-John shares the parable of the "second arrow" – a metaphor for the extra suffering we cause ourselves – and five ways to work with habitual thoughts so we can start rolling with the punches, and stop kicking ourselves.

Author and activist bell hooks shares a simple formula for a healthy romantic relationships, starting with the myth that love is a feeling – a noun. In fact she says, “love is what to do.”

Jungian psychoanalyst and Zen Buddhist Dr. Polly Young-Eisendrath lays out the pitfalls of romantic love that lead us to idealization, delusion, disappointment and depression, and how to avoid them.

Then an introductory tonglen meditation to refresh and expand your heart, from the online course Flight of the Swans: Dharma Comes West, by Lion's Roar and Naropa University. 

How does personal experience shape how we understand the dharma? How does that understanding shape how we take social action? Buddhist leaders Kamilah Majied, Willie Mukei Smith, and DaRa Williams explore how their experiences as black Americans shaped their understanding of the dharma, interacting with other faith traditions to inform how they understand Buddhist teachings like collective karma, liberation, and the Bodhisattva vow to alleviate suffering. 

The simplest practice of all is the ability to "just stop," says Chief Editor Melvin McLeod, but it's not easy. In this brief editorial he sheds light on why we struggle to slow down, and why we should do so anyway.

Then, a guided meditation to help you embody your best qualities even when you’re deep in "the heart of your darkness,” with Zen teacher Koshin Paley Ellison.

Claire Gesshin Greenwood discovered Oryoki in the monasteries of Japan, where monks in training practice a ritualized eating ceremony with bells and chanting. There’s a right way to use the bowls, a right way to clean them, a right way to hold them, and a right way to eat what’s in them – all to help them experience greater clarity and gratitude for their lives. Greenwood says we can experience this same stillness and sense of interconnectedness in our homes. She explains why, even after she left the cloistered monastic life, she was inspired to bring this practice back to her San Francisco home. 

One of the core teachings of Ram Dass is on conscious aging and dying, so even after he passed away, followers of his work turned to him to make sense of their grief. On the internet they would find a vast archive of recorded talks from the past - sometimes clear and sometimes not - as well as a new album of the most recent, and most vivid audio recording of Ram Dass talking about death shortly before his own death. Musician East Forest talks about meeting Ram Dass, recording with him, and making sense of his passing.

Two senior dharma teachers ordained by peace activist and Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh share a poetic dharma talk and guided meditation to reconnect with yourself, with nature, and with each other. 

Buddhist teacher and author Sylvia Boorstein finds herself asking a prominent teacher, Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, for advice she hoped would open the way to profound enlightenment. What she discovered instead was one of the simplest and most understated practices in Buddhism, yet one of the most difficult disciplines to master. In this talk and practice Boorstein guides us in the discipline of goodwill. 

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood deeply affected children growing up from 1968 to 2001 and long after. He stood up for public television that helped kids deal with real life emotions, every day sending a message that they were loved, and today the feature film about Fred Rogers reminds us how relevant his message continues to be. The kids are all grown up now but author, psychotherapist and Buddhist teacher Sylvia Boorstein talks about how we can all practice more compassion and equanimity to cultivate a mind like Mr. Rogers.

Compassionate action goes hand-in-hand with social and racial justice, but it also has a lot to do with how we show up in the world as neighbours, loved ones, or even as fellow strangers. JoAnna Hardy talks about how metta helps us know ourselves, what holds us back, and how loving-kindness can manifest itself in us. Then, a meditation for your practice.

Two Zen monks ask how do we dance, sing, and enjoy life even as we experience unavoidable pain? Married couple and founders of the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, Senseis Koshin and Chodo, work every day with the dying, and caregivers of the dying. Rather than try to ignore or pass over intense emotions and pain, the couple share a dharma talk on how to really sit with sorrow and then, how to absorb joy.

There are Buddhists who don’t believe in God (or gods) and there are Buddhists who do. In this reading by editor in chief Melvin McLeod from an article he wrote called, “Are You Spiritual but Not Religious? Ten Reasons Why Buddhism Will Enrich Your Path,” we find out why Buddhism is well-suited to people who don’t necessarily like religion.

Robert Thurman, Buddhist author and scholar, tells an old folk tale of the time that Brahma (the Hindu god) and Buddha, actually met.

Ray Buckner is a transgender activist, academic and contributing author at Lion’s Roar magazine and Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly, where they write about Buddhism, queer and trans embodiment, and social injustice. Buckner talks to Koun Franz about what it’s like to be different in a Buddhist sangha or community, and how we can get better at creating space for people who live in historically marginalized bodies. 

Lama Justin Von Bujdoss, the first-ever Buddhist chaplain at Rikers Island Prison, shares a visualization practice inspired by the traditional practice in Vajrayana Buddhism called chöd, where you find strength by opening your heart to the demons and ghosts that haunt you, and defeat them through compassion. 

The Buddhist teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center talks about what came out of The Gathering II, five days of dharma talks, meditation, workshops, and panel discussions by and for Black Americans on the Buddhist path, held at Spirit Rock in October.

"Bad Buddhist" Phil Rind is a singer in a metal band who's newest album Awakening is riddled with references to the eightfold path and the Buddha's teachings. Lion’s Roar Editor Rod Meade Sperry asked him about the unapologetically positive metal album.

With music from her debut album, composer and multi-instrumentalist Nina Keith shares her process of producing experimental classical music with found sounds and rented instruments from her bedroom in Philadelphia. An album that depicts her journey through the past to uncover childhood memories, and what she's learned from death meditation.

Cyndi Lee, Buddhist and teacher of movement and self-care, shares a brief practice to help you get grounded when life is overwhelming.

Lion’s Roar Editor Rod Meade Sperry shares a quick guide to meditation for beginners.

Environmental activist, author and Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy talks about “The Work that Reconnects” and how it encourages activism that doesn’t alienate or blame, but brings people together.

The Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi gives a United Nations address about our need to confront climate change.

Mark Ovland, longtime practicing Buddhist and activist with Extinction Rebellion, gave up training as a Buddhist teacher to join the environmental movement full time, at risk of assault and arrest. 

Zen priest and black queer feminist Rev. angel Kyodo williams on compassion, liberation and Radical Dharma. 

Congressman and presidential candidate Tim Ryan on his platform, which strongly encourages the adoption of mindfulness as national policy.

Koun Franz, Zen priest and deputy editor of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly, talks about what Zen is—and isn’t.

Buddhist teacher and author Sylvia Boorstein tells a folk tale about a terrifying samurai, and the abbot who would not flee.