Tricycle Talks
Tricycle Talks is a podcast that features conversations with Buddhist teachers, writers, and thinkers about life's big questions. Hosted by James Shaheen, editor in chief of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, the leading Buddhist magazine in the West. The podcast also includes a series called Life As It Is, co-hosted with Sharon Salzberg, focusing on bringing Buddhist practice into everyday life.
Episodes
Embodying the Dharma Through Ethical Living with Marisela B. Gomez
Marisela B. Gomez is a dharma teacher, physician-scientist, and public health scholar. She recently cowrote a book with Valerie Brown called Love Is Liberation: Five Contemplations for Daily Ethical Living. Drawing from Thich Nhat Hanh’s five mindfulness trainings, the book presents ethical guidelines aimed to help us transform suffering in ourselves, our communities, and our world, particularly i
A Vision of Buddhist Democracy with William Edelglass
On October 14, 1956, B. R. Ambedkar, the Dalit activist and chief architect of the Indian constitution, led nearly half a million followers in a mass conversion to Buddhism. The conversion set in motion the development of a religious movement known as Navayana, or New Buddhism, which positioned Buddhism as a fierce rejection of Hindu nationalism and caste politics. In Ambedkar’s reading, Buddhism
Nirosta Steel on Buddhist Pop and the Making of ‘MY SKYSCRAPER’
Steven Hall, aka Nirosta Steel, has been making ambitious experimental music for more than forty years, though most of it has gone unreleased. This summer, the Indiana label ULYSSA dug through decades of Hall’s archives to put together his first album in years, MY SKYSCRAPER, which quickly rose to critical acclaim. Drawing from his longtime collaboration with Arthur Russell and building on their n
A Buddhist Guide to How to Truly Love with Maria Heim
Maria Heim is a professor of religion at Amherst College. Her new book, How to Truly Love: An Ancient Guide to a Life of Kindness, presents a fresh and accessible translation of a chapter from the Path of Purification, a meditation manual by the great 5th-century sage Buddhaghosa. Through a careful exploration of the brahmaviharas, or sublime attitudes, Buddhaghosa offers practical strategies for
Bridging Contemplation and Action with Jonathan F. P. Rose
Jonathan F. P. Rose is an urban planner and philanthropist whose work focuses on creating more environmentally, socially, and economically resilient cities. In 2003, he and his wife, Diana Rose, cofounded the Garrison Institute, a retreat center in the Hudson Valley dedicated to the intersection of contemplation and engaged action.
In this episode of Life As It Is, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, Jam
Illustrating Impermanence with Miya Ando
A sixteenth-generation descendant of Bizen swordsmiths, Miya Ando is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores the ephemerality of natural phenomena. Her new book, Water of the Sky: A Dictionary of 2,000 Japanese Rain Words, presents a visual compendium of terms for rain, featuring expressions from Buddhist rain sutras, Heian-era poetic anthologies, and regionally specific terms from througho
The Practice of Freedom with Oneika Mays
Oneika Mays is a yoga and meditation teacher and former mindfulness coach at Rikers Island Correctional Facility, where she taught for more than a decade. In her new book, Sit with Me: A No-BS Journey to Mindfulness and Meditation, she draws from her experience at Rikers to lay out a clear and accessible guide to metta, or loving-kindness practice.
In this episode of Life As It Is, Tricycle’s edi
Writing as Radical Refusal with Viet Thanh Nguyen
When Viet Thanh Nguyen was growing up as a refugee in the United States, it was hard for him to find stories that represented his experience. Now, as a Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist, he is determined to center the narratives of Vietnamese writers and artists in the diaspora. His most recent book, The Cleaving: Vietnamese Writers in the Diaspora, which he coedited with Isabelle Thuy Pelaud and La
A Practitioner’s Guide to the Diamond Sutra with Ken McLeod
For the past forty years, Ken McLeod has worked as a teacher and translator of Tibetan texts, practices, and rituals. With his new book, This Unexpected Jewel: Reading the Diamond Sutra, he presents a fresh and accessible translation of the Diamond Sutra, one of the most revered texts in the Buddhist tradition.
In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits dow
The Zen Art of Caregiving with Sister Tue Nghiem
Sister Tue Nghiem is a dharma teacher in the Plum Village tradition. She is currently based in Australia. In her new book, Caregiving and the Art of Presence: A Zen Nun's Journey of Love and Letting Go, she reflects on the challenges and unexpected gifts of caring for her mother in the final seven years of her life.
In this episode of Life As It Is, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen
The Shamanic Voice of Kim Hyesoon with Jack Saebyok Jung
In March 2014, the legendary avant-garde poet Kim Hyesoon embarked on her first foray into digital performance art. For a duration of eight months, she posted anonymously on the online blog of a major South Korean publisher under the moniker “Lady No.” Set in a fictional land called Aerok, or Korea spelled backward, the posts explore the anxieties and obsessions of modern Korean society, often usi
The Courage to Choose Love with Tara Brach
Tara Brach is the founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, and she has been practicing and teaching meditation since 1975. She recently released a new book, The Courageous Heart Workbook: Choosing to Love in Perilous Times, which is a practical guide for awakening courage and cultivating compassion for ourselves and our world.
In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor
Engaged Compassion with Lobsang Tenzin Negi
Lobsang Tenzin Negi is the cofounder and executive director of the Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics at Emory University. He is also a professor in Emory’s Department of Religion. In his new book, Engaged Compassion: Seven Practices to Cultivate Resilience, Connection, and a Joyous Life, he builds on more than twenty years of research in laying out concrete practices for
Reincarnating the Buddhas of Bamiyan with Tuan Andrew Nguyen
Tuan Andrew Nguyen is a multidisciplinary artist whose work focuses on history, memory, and the ongoing impact of violence and war, particularly in his native Vietnam. He recently unveiled a new project on New York City’s High Line, which is a twenty-seven-foot-tall Buddha sculpture inspired by the Buddhas of Bamiyan titled The Light That Shines Through the Universe.
In this episode of Tricycle T
Writing into the Void with Ruth Ozeki
Ruth Ozeki is a novelist, filmmaker, and Zen priest. She recently published her first short story collection, The Typing Lady and Other Fictions. With characteristic wit and grace, Ozeki astutely explores themes of identity, longing, loss, and the clarity that comes with old age. In one story, a couple watches their ambitions roam the woods as ghosts; in another, an aging writer enlists her grandd
Finding Balance to Engage More Fully with Margaret Cullen
Equanimity can often be mistaken for passivity or indifference. But meditation teacher Margaret Cullen insists that it is actually about feeling the entire range of human experience—and, in the process, responding from a place of love and discernment.
Cullen is a licensed psychotherapist and mindfulness-based stress reduction instructor, and she has taught mindfulness and contemplative practices
A Beginner’s Guide to Dark Retreat with Andrew Holecek
Andrew Holecek is an author and spiritual teacher in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and he leads seminars and retreats on meditation, dream yoga, and death and dying. For the past thirty years, he has been engaging in a form of esoteric practice known as dark retreat. In his new book, Total Eclipse of the Mind: Unleashing the Power of Darkness for Creativity, Healing, and Transformation, he lays
Did the Buddha Really Teach That There Is No Self?
Thanissaro Bhikkhu is an American Theravada Buddhist monk trained in the Thai forest tradition. He currently serves as abbot of the Metta Forest Monastery in San Diego County and is a frequent contributor to Tricycle. Over the years, he has written extensively on the Buddhist concept of not-self, including the many misperceptions that have arisen about this teaching over the centuries.
In this e
Opening to Wonder with Ada Limón
Ada Limón is the author of seven books of poetry, and she recently completed her term as the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States. During her tenure as Poet Laureate, Limón undertook a series of projects harnessing poetry to transform our relationship to the natural world, from installing poems on picnic benches in national parks across the country to engraving a poem on a spacecraft that is on
Bridging Worlds with US Poet Laureate Arthur Sze
Arthur Sze is a poet and translator based in Sante Fe, New Mexico, and he is currently serving as the 25th Poet Laureate of the United States. His new book, Transient Worlds: On Translating Poetry, takes readers through nearly two millennia of poetry from across the world and explores how translation can deepen our understanding and appreciation of poetry.
In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricy
A Buddhist Guide to Understanding Emotion with Maria Heim
Buddhism can often be mischaracterized as encouraging the elimination of emotion. Yet, as scholar Maria Heim points out, feeling is central to Buddhist teachings and practices—in fact, the Buddha presented the four noble truths as being “for one who feels.”
Heim is the George Lyman Crosby 1896 & Stanley Warfield Crosby Professor in Religion at Amherst College, and her new book, How to Feel: An An
Reimagining the Story of Citizenship with Daisy Hernández
Daisy Hernández is an associate professor at Northwestern University and a Tricycle contributing editor. Her new book, Citizenship: Notes on an American Myth, blends memoir and political analysis to examine the shifting narratives around citizenship and what it means to be an American. This episode is a little different from our usual focus, but we wanted to talk with Hernández about how she bring
Dementia and the Sense of Self with Philip Ryan
Philip Ryan is Tricycle’s executive editor, and he has worked at Tricycle on and off for the past thirty years. In the Spring issue of Tricycle, he wrote an article, "Old Friend," about his father’s dementia diagnosis and the questions it has raised about memory, impermanence, and identity.
In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Ryan to discus
Demystifying Tantra with Richard Payne
Tantric Buddhism is often mischaracterized or misunderstood, both in the academy and in the popular imagination. Scholar Richard Payne has dedicated much of the past twenty years to studying tantric teachings and practices—and to dispelling some of the common misconceptions associated with the tradition.
Payne is the Yehan Numata Professor of Japanese Buddhist Studies at the Institute of Buddhist
The Practice of Refuge with Sunita Puri
Sunita Puri is a writer, a palliative medicine physician, and an associate professor of medicine at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. She is the author of That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour. She recently wrote an article for the Spring issue of Tricycle called “Seeking Refuge,” where she discusses how she has found refuge in nature in the face of burnout
Poet Li-Young Lee on Awe, Adoration, and Turning Toward the Unknown
For poet Li-Young Lee, writing is a deeply spiritual practice. Taking inspiration from Daoist and Christian texts, his poems investigate the paradoxical relationships between silence and sound, stillness and motion, and form and formlessness. He recently published his sixth collection of poetry, The Invention of the Darling, as well as a translation of the Dao De Jing, which he completed with the
‘To Live the Right Way’ with David Guterson
David Guterson is a writer based in Washington State. His new novel, Evelyn in Transit, follows the interlocking stories of Evelyn and Tsering, a young woman from Indiana and a Buddhist monk from the mountains of Tibet. Their lives come together when Evelyn’s son is revealed to be the seventh reincarnation of a high lama, and Evelyn must decide whether to send her young child to Nepal.
In this ep
Into the Long Dark with Francis Weller
Francis Weller is a writer and soul activist who has worked as a psychotherapist for forty years, and he is currently on staff at Commonweal Cancer Help Program. In his most recent book, In the Absence of the Ordinary: Soul Work for Times of Uncertainty, he lays out practices for embodying new ways of being so that we can meet the anxieties and unknowns of our time with presence and faith. Weller
The Afterlife of Japanese American Wartime Incarceration
Brandon Shimoda is a poet and a professor at Colorado College. His new book, The Afterlife Is Letting Go, examines the ongoing legacies of the US government’s mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Drawing from years of archival research, visits to the ruins of incarceration sites, interviews with survivors and their descendants, and his own family history, the book explores
Choosing Kindness with Sarah Ruhl and Sharon Salzberg
Sarah Ruhl is a playwright, poet, and professor based in New York. She recently published her first children’s book, as did meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg. Sarah’s book, The Dreams I’ll Dream Tonight, is a whimsical bedtime story that illustrates the power of choosing where we place our attention, while Sharon’s book, Kind Karl: A Little Crocodile with Big Feelings, follows a young crocodile a
Being a 'Bad' Buddhist with Sharon A. Suh
Sharon A. Suh is a professor of theology and religious studies at Seattle University, and she is currently the president of Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women. Her new book, Emergent Dharma, brings together the voices of eleven Asian American feminist Buddhists to present a dynamic vision of Buddhist practice and identity.
In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-i
Sitting in the Fire with Ralph Steele
Ralph Steele is the founder and guiding teacher of Life Transition Meditation Center in Santa Fe, where he teaches somatic meditation and other practices geared toward supporting people through major life changes. Steele grew up on Pawleys Island, where he was raised by his grandparents after his father was killed by the Ku Klux Klan. As a teenager he moved with his mother to Japan, where his expo
Coming Home to Ourselves with Brother Pháp Hữu
Brother Pháp Hữu is a senior teacher in Thich Nhat Hanh’s international community and the abbot of Plum Village in southwest France. In his new book, Calm in the Storm: Zen Ways to Cultivate Stability in an Anxious World, which he co-wrote with Jo Confino, he lays out a compassionate guide for coming home to ourselves and meeting the challenges of our time with greater presence and resilience.
Naturalistic Buddhism with Gil Fronsdal
Gil Fronsdal is a dharma teacher at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California, and at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre. He has practiced extensively in the Soto Zen and Theravada Buddhist traditions, and he draws from both traditions in his framing of what he calls naturalistic Buddhism.
In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits d
Liberation Through Non-Clinging Across Buddhist Traditions with Joseph Goldstein
Joseph Goldstein is a cofounder and guiding teacher of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. He recently wrote an article called “Liberation Through Non-Clinging Across Buddhist Traditions” that will be published on Tricycle’s website later this month.
In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Goldstein to discuss why he sees no
Remembering Joanna Macy with Jess Serrante
Jess Serrante is a climate activist, organizer, and longtime facilitator of the Work That Reconnects, a global movement and community created by the late environmental activist Joanna Macy, who passed away in July. Last year, Jess and Joanna produced a podcast together called We Are the Great Turning that explored Joanna’s teachings on cultivating courage and connection as we face the many crises
US Poet Laureate Arthur Sze on Translating Loss and Renewal
Arthur Sze is a poet and translator based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and he was recently named the 25th Poet Laureate of the United States. To celebrate his appointment, we’re visiting a 2024 Tricycle Talks episode with Sze.
Unlike many contemporary American poets, Sze did not attend a traditional MFA program to learn to write poetry. Instead, the National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize final
US Poet Laureate Ada Limón on the Practice of Startlement
Ada Limón is the twenty-fourth Poet Laureate of the United States and the author of seven books of poetry. Her latest book, Startlement: New and Selected Poems, brings together two decades of her work.
In this episode of Life As It Is, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, and meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg sit down with Limón to talk about how poetry can help us decenter ourselves, her
Revisiting the Story of the Buddha’s Life with Donald S. Lopez Jr.
Donald S. Lopez Jr. is the Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan and a longtime Tricycle contributing editor. In his new book, The Buddha: Biography of a Myth, he draws from a variety of sources to trace a single narrative of the Buddha’s life, from his birth through his enlightenment to his passage into nirvana. While a num
Traveling in Bardo with Ann Tashi Slater
In Tibetan Buddhism, the bardo is a between-state. While the term is usually associated with the passage from death to rebirth, it can also refer to the journey from birth to death—as well as the various transitional states we encounter along the way. According to writer and Tricycle contributing editor Ann Tashi Slater, Tibetan bardo teachings can transform the way we live—and help us find lastin
Ethical Living in Uncertain Times with Stephen Batchelor
Stephen Batchelor is a writer and longtime Tricycle contributing editor based in southwest France. In his new book, Buddha, Socrates, and Us: Ethical Living in Uncertain Times, he explores how the Buddha and Socrates can teach us to live a just and dignified life in an unstable, contingent world.
In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Batchelo
Learning to Live Fully with Serious Illness with Susan Bauer-Wu
Living with a serious illness can be an isolating experience, and it can often provoke feelings of anger, anxiety, and fear. As a former oncology nurse, a mindfulness teacher, a clinical researcher, and a retreat facilitator for people living with serious illness, Susan Bauer-Wu has dedicated much of her life to developing practices to help people with serious illness live fully in the face of the
Writing in Exile with Bhuchung D. Sonam
Bhuchung D. Sonam is an exiled Tibetan writer, poet, translator, and publisher currently based in Dharamshala. His press, TibetWrites, has published more than fifty books by contemporary Tibetan writers.
In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Sonam to discuss how writing has helped him navigate life in exile, the importance of centering the
The Work of Not Knowing with Marie Howe
For Marie Howe, poetry is a form of prayer. “It is a way of quieting down to listen to that still, small voice,” she told Tricycle. “It’s about something ineffable that’s trying to find its way through the poem.”
Howe is currently the poet in residence at The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine and a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. Her latest collection, New and Selected Poems, w
A Fearless Heart with Thupten Jinpa
Thupten Jinpa is a Tibetan Buddhist scholar and former monk based in Montreal. Since 1985, he has served as the principal English translator for the Dalai Lama. In his 2015 book, A Fearless Heart: How the Courage to Be Compassionate Can Transform Our Lives, he draws from his experience translating for and traveling with the Dalai Lama to lay out simple daily practices to help us cultivate compassi
Forever a Student with Sarah Ruhl
Sarah Ruhl is a playwright, poet, and professor based in New York. Her new essay collection, Lessons from My Teachers: From Preschool to the Present, is an ode to the teachers she has had over the course of her life, both inside and outside the classroom.
In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Ruhl to discuss the teachers and tasks that have
Personal Liturgy with Jefre Cantu-Ledesma
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma is a multi-instrumentalist and composer, Zen priest, and hospice chaplain based in the Hudson Valley. Since his first foray into experimental music in the 1990s, he has been a pillar of the American music underground, collaborating with a variety of artists including Liz Harris, Félicia Atkinson, and Ilyas Ahmed. Although his music has often been labeled experimental or ambient
How Compassion Works with John Makransky
According to Lama John Makransky, everything we care about—including our mental and physical well-being, our relationships, our spiritual life, and our ability to act justly in the world—depends on our ability to access our innate capacities for love and compassion. In his new book, How Compassion Works: A Step-by-Step Guide to Cultivating Well-Being, Love, and Wisdom, which he co-wrote with Paul
Buddhist Masters of Modern China with Benjamin Brose
Benjamin Brose is Professor of Buddhist and Chinese Studies and chair of the department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan. His new book, Buddhist Masters of Modern China: The Lives and Legacies of Eight Eminent Teachers, explores the histories and teachings of eight masters who brought about a Buddhist revival during the political turmoil of the 20th century.
In this
The Greek King and the Buddhist Monk with Maria Heim
The Questions of Milinda is one of the most renowned texts within Theravada Buddhism—and one of the most translated Buddhist texts around the world. The text follows a transformational philosophical dialogue between the Indo-Greek king Milinda and a Buddhist monk named Nagasena as they discuss the nature of the self, the meaning of renunciation, and the sources of knowledge. In her new translation
Remembering Our Belonging with Sebene Selassie
As someone who has been living with cancer for nearly two decades, Sebene Selassie is no stranger to being with suffering. In her work as a writer and dharma teacher, Selassie focuses on how we can tap into a deeper sense of love and belonging in the face of pain, violence, and division. Her most recent book, You Belong: A Call for Connection, draws from Buddhist philosophy, multidisciplinary rese
Buddhist Poet Ocean Vuong on Failure, Redemption, and Second Chances
For poet Ocean Vuong, the act of writing is inextricably linked to his Zen Buddhist practice. In a previous episode of Life As It Is, he told Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, and meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg that he believes the task of the writer is “to look long and hard at the most difficult part of the human condition—of samsara—and to make something out of it so that it can be
Breathing Mindfulness with Sarah Shaw
Over the course of the last hundred years, breathing mindfulness has become the most popular method of meditation around the world. Yet its history remains largely unrecorded. In her new book, Breathing Mindfulness: Discovering the Riches at the Heart of the Buddhist Path, scholar Sarah Shaw provides a historical survey of some of the methods of breathing mindfulness and how they developed.
In thi
How to Stay Engaged without Burning Out with Daisy Hernández
For the next few episodes of Life As It Is, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, and meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg will be talking about specific themes that have been coming up in their practice, with a particular focus on navigating our current social and political climate. In this episode, they discuss how to stay engaged without burning out—and how cultivating equanimity can provide
The Edge of Language with Arthur Sze
For poet and translator Arthur Sze, poetry offers a way to ask difficult questions without any expectation of an answer. “It helps us slow down, hear clearly, see deeply, and envision what matters most in our lives,” he told Tricycle in a 2020 interview. “When one reads a poem, one has to pay attention to the sounds of words, to the rhythm of language, [and] experience the dance and tension betwee
Classroom Mindfulness Put to the Test with Emma Varvaloucas
Emma Varvaloucas is the executive director of the Progress Network, a nonprofit media organization that aims to take a constructive approach to solving some of our most intractable problems. In her article in the February issue of Tricycle called “Classroom Mindfulness Put to the Test,” she explores the surprising results of recent research on mindfulness programs for adolescents.
In this episode
The Grieving Body with Mary-Frances O'Connor
Grief is often thought of as a psychological phenomenon. Yet loss also has a profound impact on our bodies, often affecting our cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune systems. As a Professor of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Arizona, Mary-Frances O’Connor specializes in studying the physiology of grief. In her new book, The Grieving Body: How the Stress of Loss Can Be an Op
A Journey through Buddhist History with Donald S. Lopez Jr.
Donald S. Lopez Jr. is the Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan and a longtime Tricycle contributing editor. In his new book, Buddhism: A Journey through History, he lays out a comprehensive introduction to the history of Buddhism, tracing its development across continents a
Uprooting Harmful Habits with Valerie (Vimalasara) Mason-John
Valerie (Vimalasara) Mason-John is a senior teacher in the Triratna Buddhist Community, and their work focuses on how Buddhist teachings can support a sustainable path to recovery. In their new book, First Aid Kit for the Mind: Breaking the Cycle of Habitual Behaviors, they lay out practical tools for uprooting harmful habits, building emotional resilience, and reconnecting with our bodies.
In thi
Planting the Seeds of Happy Relationships with Kimberly Brown
Kimberly Brown is a meditation teacher and author based in New York City. In her new book, Happy Relationships: 25 Buddhist Practices to Transform Your Connections with Your Partner, Family, and Friends, she lays out a practical guide to help us cultivate and maintain healthy relationships with the people who matter most to us.
In this episode of Life As It Is, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James S
How to Lose Yourself with Jay Garfield
No-self is a core teaching across Buddhist traditions. Yet what does it look like to actually live without a self? In How to Lose Yourself: An Ancient Guide to Letting Go, scholars Jay L. Garfield, Maria Heim, and Robert H. Sharf present a series of accessible and engaging translations of key Buddhist texts on why we are selfless persons—and why this insight leads to greater freedom and compassion
Learning from Silence with Pico Iyer
After his family home burned down in a California wildfire in the 1990s, journalist Pico Iyer found refuge in an unlikely location: a small Benedictine hermitage outside of Big Sur. Though Iyer initially arrived looking for a bed to sleep in, he soon found the silence of monastic life transformative, and over the course of the past thirty-three years, he has returned to the hermitage more than one
Embracing Our Limitations and Making Time for What Counts
Oliver Burkeman is an author and journalist based in northern England. In his new book, Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts, he lays out a practical guide for living meaningful and fulfilling lives as finite, imperfect humans.
In this episode of Life As It Is, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, and meditation teacher Sharon Salzber
Everything Is Buddha with Noelle Oxenhandler
Noelle Oxenhandler is a writer and longtime Tricycle contributing editor based in northern California. Recently, she has been thinking a lot about what it means to be ready to die—and what will happen to all her belongings when she does. In her article in the November issue of Tricycle called “Everything Is Buddha,” she explores the sense of obligation she has toward the objects she has accumulate
Finding Joy in Everything We Do with Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche
Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche is a Tibetan Buddhist teacher and author based in southern Colorado. In his new book, Diligence: The Joyful Endeavor of the Buddhist Path, he draws from the teachings of the 8th-century Buddhist philosopher Shantideva to explore how we can meet the world with joy and openheartedness.
In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down w
Saraha, Poet of Blissful Awareness with Roger R. Jackson
When Roger R. Jackson was an undergraduate at Wesleyan, he came across the verses of Saraha, a 10th-century mystic known for his fierce exhortations to cut through the layers of delusion in order to experience the true nature of mind directly.
While Saraha is considered one of the founders of the Vajrayana tradition and has been incorporated into a number of Tibetan Buddhist lineages, there have
How to Grieve What We've Lost with Sameet Kumar
Sameet Kumar is a clinical psychologist at the Memorial Cancer Institute and Moffitt Hematology and Cellular Therapy program. His work focuses on mindfulness-based approaches to grief and loss. In his new book, How to Grieve What We’ve Lost: Evidence-Based Skills to Process Grief and Reconnect with What Matters, which he co-wrote with four other therapists, he lays out concrete strategies for find
Abortion and Buddhist Ethics with Katy Butler
When journalist Katy Butler first committed to the Buddhist precepts, it didn’t occur to her to consider her two abortions in their light. Now, fifty years later, she has come to understand abortion in the context of harm reduction and the alleviation of suffering. In her article in the November issue of Tricycle called “Abortion and the First Precept,” she discusses the Buddhist ethics of abortio
Picking Up the Pieces in a Postapocalyptic World with Vajra Chandrasekera
Vajra Chandrasekera is a novelist based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. His new novel, Rakesfall, follows two characters as they're reincarnated across histories and worlds from the mythic past to modern Sri Lanka to the far future Earth through endless epicycles of love, violence, and betrayal.
In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Chandrasekera to d
A Safe Place to Fall Apart with BJ Miller
When BJ Miller was a sophomore in college, he climbed atop a commuter train and was immediately electrocuted, causing him to lose both legs and half an arm. In the aftermath of his own near-death experience, he turned to the arts to make sense of his injuries and to grapple with questions of disability and what it means to live a good life.
Miller is now a palliative care physician and the cofoun
Becoming Thay with Adrienne Minh-Châu Lê
Thich Nhat Hanh was one of the most influential figures in contemporary Buddhism, from his founding of the Order of Interbeing and the Plum Village Tradition to his popularization of Engaged Buddhism. Yet his background is often overlooked.
Adrienne Minh-Châu Lê, a Columbia University PhD candidate in international history, is one of the first scholars to examine Thich Nhat Hanh in the context of
A Meditator's Guide to Buddhism with Cortland Dahl
Cortland Dahl is a Buddhist scholar, translator, meditation teacher, and contemplative scientist based in Madison, Wisconsin. In his new book, A Meditator's Guide to Buddhism: The Path of Awareness, Compassion, and Wisdom, he offers an accessible introduction to Buddhist principles and practices through the lens of the three yanas, or vehicles.
In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s edito
Breaking Bias with Anu Gupta
Anu Gupta is an educator, lawyer, research scientist, and meditation teacher, and his work focuses on harnessing mindfulness and compassion practices for social change. In his new book, Breaking Bias: Where Stereotypes and Prejudices Come From—and the Science-Backed Method to Unravel Them, he weaves together Buddhist teachings and insights from modern neuroscience to lay out practical tools for di
I'm Mindful, Now What? with Andrew Holecek
Mindfulness has become ubiquitous as a practice. Yet according to meditation teacher Andrew Holecek, mindfulness is not enough to meet the challenges of the modern world.
Holecek is a teacher in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition who leads workshops on meditation, dream yoga, and preparing for death. In his new book, I'm Mindful, Now What?: Moving Beyond Mindfulness to Meet the Modern World, he lays
US Poet Laureate Ada Limón on Returning to Wonder
Ada Limón is the 24th Poet Laureate of The United States and the author of six books of poetry. Her most recent project, You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World, is a collection of poetry that she edited in collaboration with the Library of Congress focused on how poetry can help us reconnect to the world around us.
In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, s
'There Is No Enemy' with George Mumford
It can be so easy to get trapped in feelings of jealousy and envy, particularly in the context of competitive environments. According to meditation teacher George Mumford, one of the best practices for working with envy is cultivating mudita, or sympathetic joy.
Mumford has worked as a mindfulness coach and sports psychologist for three decades, and he has taught meditation in a wide variety of s
Transforming Grief into Wisdom with Sister Dang Nghiem
Born in Central Vietnam at the height of the Vietnam War, Sister Dang Nghiem grew up singing made-up songs to comfort herself and express her suffering. After moving to the US, she began writing poetry at the encouragement of an English teacher, and eventually, she ordained as a nun in the Plum Village tradition following the sudden death of her partner. Her latest book, The River in Me: Verses of
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In tumultuous times, it can be easy to turn to anger. But according to Venerable Thubten Chodron, from a Buddhist perspective, anger is never useful. Venerable Chodron has been a nun in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition since 1977, and she is the founder and abbess of Sravasti Abbey in Washington State. In her book, Working with Anger: Buddhist Teachings on Patience, Acceptance, and Transforming Nega
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Enlightenment can often sound like an unattainable goal. But mindfulness teacher and author Susan Kaiser Greenland believes that we can find enlightenment in every moment. In her new book, Real-World Enlightenment: Discovering Ordinary Magic in Everyday Life, she draws from various wisdom traditions to lay out practical tools for easing anxiety and tapping into our innate goodness.
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Bruce Tift is a psychotherapist and longtime practitioner of Vajrayana Buddhism. In his book, Already Free: Buddhism Meets Psychotherapy on the Path to Liberation, he lays out why he believes that the approaches of Buddhism and Western psychotherapy are fundamentally irreconcilable—and what we can learn from holding these contradictory energies simultaneously.
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