In March 2012, Lion's Roar published "The Wanderer," about the Tibetan Buddhist teacher Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche's secret plans to disappear and go on what would be a four-year-long wandering retreat. In early November came the news that he'd returned. Now we bring you an exclusive interview, conducted by senior students of Mingyur Rinpoche immediately after he resurfaced. (The [...]
Neurotribes: The New Diversity
Steve Silberman’s groundbreaking book, Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity, is changing the way we think about cognitive differences. If there’s one message you’d like people to take away from your book, what would it be? That autism is not a historical aberration. It is not a product of vaccines, pesticides, Wi-Fi, antidepressants in [...]
Buddha’s Daughters: An Interview with Insight Teacher Gina Sharpe
At one time, Gina Sharpe was a corporate lawyer, a model, and an assistant to the producer working on such films as Little Big Man. Today she’s the guiding teacher and a co-founder of New York Insight Meditation Center, where she’s helping to pave the way to more inclusive, diverse sanghas. This interview with Gina Sharpe is part of series to mark the publication of Buddha’s [...]
Watch: Rapper Prince Ea and Glenn Beck talk Buddhism and hip-hop
And now for something completely different, via BlazeTV.com: Here's a video (dated October 31, 2014) of St. Louis-based rapper Prince Ea in gentle conversation with none other than Glenn Beck -- who you might remember as a bit of a fire-and-brimstone type from his times as a prominent US conservative commentator on FOX. (Beck has also authored several books and now hosts [...]
Buddha’s Daughters: An interview with dharma teacher and author Judy Lief
When I was putting together the anthology Buddha’s Daughters: Teachings from Women Who Are Shaping Buddhism in the West, Judy Lief was one of the first teachers I thought to include, as her teachings are some of today’s most remarkably insightful, relatable, and also just plain enjoyable. A frequent contributor to the Shambhala Sun, Lief is the author of Making Friends with [...]
Buddha’s Daughters: An interview with dharma teacher, writer, and editor Carolyn Gimian
Carolyn Rose Gimian has edited many of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s books, including his Collected Works. She's also a senior teacher in Shambhala International whose teachings are characterized by her down-to-earth wisdom braided with her playful sense of humor. One of Carolyn’s teachings is in my anthology Buddha’s Daughters: Teachings from Women Who Are Shaping Buddhism in the [...]
Buddha’s Daughters: An interview with Karen Maezen Miller
The author of Paradise in Plain Sight: Lessons from a Zen Garden, Karen Maezen Miller describes herself as an errant wife, delinquent mother, reluctant dog walker, and expert laundress. She's also a Zen Buddhist priest and meditation teacher at the Hazy Moon Zen Center in Los Angeles. Two of Karen's teachings are found in my anthology Buddha's Daughters: Teachings from Women [...]
Is This the World’s Worst Buddhist? A Q&A with Mary Pipher
“Many people,” says psychologist Mary Pipher, “wish they could be as unlucky as I was.” Andrea Miller interviews this bestselling author. Mary Pipher is the author of eight books, including the New York Times bestseller Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls, and she has lectured at conferences across the globe. But as a homebody from a sleepy town in the [...]
On the Buddhism Beat: “Know Your Tendai” — A Q&A with Dr. Stephen G. Covell
Danny Fisher interviews Dr. Stephen G. Covell on the different traditions of Buddhism found in Japanese culture. Earlier this summer, National Public Radio did a story about Enryaku-ji temple’s Endo Mitsunaga, the “thirteenth monk since World War II to complete the Sennichi Kaihogyo, 1,000 days of walking meditation and prayer over a seven-year period around [Japan’s] Mount [...]
The yin and the yang: Thanissara and Kittisaro on balancing spiritual work and social activism
In a new interview exclusive to SunSpace, former Buddhist monastics Thanissara – who contributed to The Time Has Come, Buddhadharma magazine's current discussion of the second-class status of Buddhist nuns – and Kittisaro talk about the marriage of Buddhist practice and social activism. Former Buddhist monk Kittisaro was born Harry Randolph Weinberg in Chattanooga, Tennessee, [...]