Experiencing Pain and Enjoying Life with Sensei Koshin and Sensei Chodo
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.
When Buddha Met God / Is Buddhism even a religion?
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.
Transgender Buddhist Ray Buckner on Creating Space for Difference in Sanghas
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.
Demons and Ghosts Visualization with Lama Justin Von Bujdoss
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.
Black Buddhist Konda Mason and The Gathering II
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.
