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Jeffrey Hopkins: The Life of a Buddhist Scholar Dec 11, 2015

Show notes

Jeffrey Hopkins was translator for His Holiness the Dalai Lama from 1979 to 1989 and Professor of Tibetan Studies at University of Virginia, and has published more than forty books.

Jeffrey started meditating while at Harvard and then, inspired by Thoreau and W. Somerset Maugham, spent time in a cabin in the woods in Vermont. He describes this and other adventures as a young man where he discovered the power of the meditative experience, including a wild ocean voyage through the South Pacific. We hear how he developed various meditative practices without any formal knowledge of Buddhism and how he first encountered Buddhism directly when he met Geshe Wangyal. Jeffrey shares amusing and heartening stories about life with Geshe Wangyal and Geshe Sopa in Madison, Wisconsin, and how these two great teachers inspired him to begin delving into the intellectual exercise of Buddhist philosophy and guided him in his study and practice. He then tells of his many private conversations with the Dalai Lama about the books they created together, and how he was one of the first westerners to receive initiation from the Dalai Lama. We also hear about how Jeffrey began translating for the Dalai Lama, and how working with the Dalai Lama has influenced Jeffrey’s thinking and translation. Additionally, our host Daniel Aitken asks Jeffrey to share his thoughts on the definition of emptiness, and the challenging experience and practice of having Lyme Disease.

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Ven. Thubten Chodron: An American Buddhist Abbess Nov 30, 2015

Show notes

On this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, hear host Daniel Aitken’s conversation with Venerable Thubten Chodron, the abbess of Sravasti Abbey in Newport, Washington. Venerable Chodron recounts her first exposure to Buddhism back in the 1970s on a trip to Nepal and India in her twenties. After returning to the United States and showing up to a meditation class, she describes becoming rapidly certain that she had found a tradition which offered thought-provoking, meaningful answers in response to the many existential questions of her life.

Many of Venerable Chodron’s earliest experiences as a nun were influenced by a series of encounters with masters for which she has felt deeply grateful throughout subsequent decades of practice. She outlines how one, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, demarcated dharma and non-dharma actions according to one’s entanglements with the eight worldly concerns and expounds upon how this line of teaching transformed her motivations and practice. After years of living and training as a novice, Venerable Chodron describes the beautiful moment when she became a fully ordained Bhikshuni in 1986, and her expanded journey as a Buddhist monastic following that point.

Daniel and Venerable Chodron then transition to a discussion of the state of affairs for Western Buddhist monastics today, the challenges and rewards of monastic life, and her reasons for starting Sravasti Abbey. While they agree that the widespread uptake of meditation and mindfulness techniques across America has certainly benefited many, they lament that the larger Buddhist worldview is often lost in translation. Venerable Chodron shares her hopes that growing monastic communities in the West, such as her own at Sravasti Abbey, are able to offer the support that is so crucial to sustaining a monastic life, both spiritually and materially.

Finally, Venerable Chodron speaks about her recent book, Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions, how it came to be, and what she learned throughout the long process of writing it.

For further thoughts and teachings from Venerable Chodron, be sure to check out the books she has compiled and co-authored with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, including The Foundation of Buddhist Practice, Approaching the Buddhist Path, Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature, Following in the Buddha’s Footsteps, In Praise of Great Compassion and of course, Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions. Venerable Chodron’s Wisdom Dharma Chat with Daniel and her Wisdom Academy online course are also available through Wisdom.

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Jamyang Rinchen 2: My Guru, the Dalai Lama Nov 13, 2015

Show notes

Jamyang Rinchen (蔣揚仁欽) travels in the Dalai Lama’s entourage as his principle Chinese translator. In this episode he tells us what His Holiness is like when out of the public eye and shares some special stories of occasions he has witnessed with the Dalai Lama that especially enriched Jamyang’s own faith in His Holiness—stories of genuine compassion, consideration, humility, and non-attachment.

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Jamyang Rinchen 1: Translating for the Dalai Lama Oct 30, 2015

Show notes

Jamyang Rinchen (蔣揚仁欽) moved away from his family in Taiwan at a very young age to become a monk and study at the Dalai Lama’s Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Dharamsala. In this first episode of two, Jamyang talks about his early life and education at a monastic institution, and how he later went on to become the Dalai Lama’s principle Chinese translator.

Jamyang also tells the story of his journey to Boston to complete his doctoral degree at Harvard and shares some of the key points from his dissertation.

Jamyang now lives in Dharamsala, India, which is where this interview took place in Jamyang’s home.

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David Loy: Modern Buddhism Oct 16, 2015

Show notes

Join us for an intimate and wide-ranging discussion with David Loy, Zen teacher and Wisdom author. David tells us how he was introduced to Buddhism, sharing stories from key points in his life and his experiences as a student of Yamada Koun and Robert Aitken. He then discusses how modern spiritual people tend to distort spiritual ideas to their own ends through a process known as spiritual bypassing, and how Buddhists today might engage with issues like the institutionalization of ignorance and suffering.

This is a rare opportunity to hear a leading Buddhist thinker discuss his personal story and the ideas he’s renowned for, including the most pressing issues of Buddhist philosophy in our time.

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Bhikkhu Bodhi: Translating the Buddha Oct 05, 2015

Show notes

In this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, of Wisdom’s most renowned authors, translator Bhikkhu Bodhi, visits the Wisdom office. He tells his own story, painting a picture of what it was like in the days of Buddhism first coming to the West, how he encountered Buddhism, and what living in Sri Lanka in the 70s was like. He also gives some translation advice to aspiring translators and discusses his forthcoming translation of the Buddha’s teaching in the Sutta Nipata. Finally he tells us about his recent humanitarian efforts in Asia.

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Elijah Ary: The First Western Geluk Tulku Sep 16, 2015

Show notes

Elijah Ary was the first Westerner to be recognized as the tulku (reincarnation) of a Tibetan lama in the Geluk tradition. In this episode, Elijah discusses the process of his being recognized as a tulku, the impact this has had on his life, and what he imagines his role to be in the dialogue between East and West.

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H. H. the Karmapa: Vegetarianism, Online Education, and Nuns’ Ordination Sep 03, 2015

Show notes

For our debut episode, Daniel travels to Dharamsala, India, to interview His Holiness the Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje.

His Holiness talks about the efficacy of listening to Dharma classes, receiving empowerments, and taking ordination vows online, touching on the differences between Tibetan and traditional Western education and how each benefits from dialogue with the other.

He further shares some thoughts on how Western Dharma centers could be improved; he talks about vegetarianism, including anecdotes from his own and his previous emanations’ experiences with vegetarianism; and he discusses his recent involvement planning to re-establish the tradition of full ordination for Tibetan Buddhist nuns.

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