How we work with our minds in the spaces between collapse and rebirth (those uncomfortable gaps in life as well as the huge “gap” after death) hold the key to creating futures that do not replicate the stuckness and suffering of our past. This is true both personally and collectively. As always, with recent world events in mind, we discuss the six bardos of classic Tibetan Buddhism, as well as the three qualities we need to effectively navigate the space between the death of what was and the bir...
Jun 26, 2025•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 147
Ethan visits a recurrent conversation he’s been having with his students, his friends, and within his own mind: the dissonance between feeling like your personal life and close community are in basically good places, while simultaneously raising your gaze to see the immense suffering and chaos of the world. How can we hold those two and find our compassion and skillful means? Framing thoughts around the massive ICE raids that are tearing families apart, followed by the subsequent mass protests i...
Jun 11, 2025•47 min•Season 1Ep. 146
What is resentment? Why is it so corrosive? How can we work with our resentments? How can we overcome a victim mentality while still protecting ourselves, protecting others, and protecting truth? In this solo episode, Ethan uses a classic Tantric Buddhist contemplative slogan from the Lojong mind training tradition that translates as either “Always meditate on whatever provokes resentment” or “stay close to your resentment.” Enjoy the listen! Ethan’s most recent book, Confidence: Holding Your Se...
May 23, 2025•43 min•Season 1Ep. 145
In a spontaneous episode, Ethan discusses grief and loss while processing multiple events. At a recent compassion meditation retreat, colleague and friend René Fay gave a presentation where she discussed the need to “Microdose Grief,” to take it in little by little so that we can honor the small moments of loss to develop familiarity with the experience when the big waves come. Through remembering the life and the recent death of a dharma friend, Ethan explores a famous buddhist quote about impe...
May 15, 2025•38 min•Season 1Ep. 144
How can we embrace the limitations of time and the certainty of death and create real fulfillment that thrives on an honest assessment of our human predicament? These are the questions at the heart of this episode. Ethan welcomes back bestselling author and journalist Oliver Burkeman for a discussion of finitude, death, limitations, productivity, and dueling concepts of the meaning of meditation. Oliver Burkeman is the author of Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and...
May 09, 2025•56 min•Season 1Ep. 143
In this episode, Ethan does what at least 40 people have asked him to do (special shout-out to Michele S. in Iowa who convinced him to devote a whole podcast episode to it!) - share his thoughts, as a Buddhist, on Season 3 of the Max streaming series The White Lotus. To do so, he explains three different ways to look at the concept of “Dharma Art,” along with a discussion of the three realms. He also ponders why pop culture seems to so rarely depict the act of meditation itself with any experien...
Apr 30, 2025•39 min•Ep. 142
In this episode, Ethan links a crucial set of instructions from mindfulness meditation teachers of the past regarding how we carry our posture to what it means to show up in this world at a time of chaos. He discusses the instructions on mindfulness meditation from the “warrior” tradition of enlightened society, as well as decoding the qualities of the instruction to maintain a “strong back, and a soft front.” Please support the podcast via Substack and subscribe for free or with small monthly c...
Apr 21, 2025•43 min•Season 1Ep. 141
After tariffs were broadly imposed by the current American regime (including, apparently on uninhabited islands populated mostly by penguins) causing a nearly unprecedented crash of the stock market, and after attending the lovely and unexpectedly massive protest marches that took place on April 5, Ethan ponders how to deal with extreme states of mind with a world on a roller coaster marked by fear and greed. The key, he says, is to be able to differentiate between arising mental emotions and th...
Apr 07, 2025•39 min•Season 1Ep. 140
In light of revelations about the theft of countless authors' work by one A.I. company (guess which one ), Ethan finally talks about a topic he's been requested to cover for a while: Buddhist views on artificial intelligence. He begins by positioning the conversation within the frame of View and Intention, asking the question of what "technology" is and why and how we even want it to progress, along with proposing the sacredness of human labor, wisdom and creativity as a basic Buddhist principle...
Mar 28, 2025•52 min•Season 1Ep. 139
Ethan delves further into right action during a time of protest and chaos, using the recent examples of Tesla cars and cybertrucks being set on fire as a launching point. In The Power of Choice episode, he looked into the five precepts as guidelines for empowered and skillful action. In this episode, he looks into actions of mind as our guide: whether our actions are furthering our fixation on the three poisons of greed, hatred and delusion, or whether they are helping us liberate from those con...
Mar 21, 2025•50 min•Season 1Ep. 138
Ethan delves into the Bodhisattva teachings on happiness, benefitting beings, and “ idiot compassion ,” or what happens when compassion becomes an ego construction. How do we tell the difference between helping others in a nourishing way, on the one hand, and doing things for others that we really don’t want to do that leave us burnt out and resentful? And what do you do if no one thanks you for the amazing charcuterie plate you made for them? Please support the podcast via Substack and subscrib...
Mar 13, 2025•41 min•Season 1Ep. 137
Ethan welcomes bestselling author and Dharma teacher Susan Piver for a discussion of the groundlessness of our current world framed through her new book Inexplicable Joy: On The Heart Sutra . If you'd like to read a translation of this classic Buddhist text, you can find that on Ethan's Substack . Susan Piver is the New York Times bestselling author of many books, including The Four Noble Truths of Love: Buddhist Wisdom for Modern Relationships and The Buddhist Enneagram: Nine Paths to Warriorsh...
Mar 07, 2025•53 min•Season 1Ep. 136
Ethan discusses the classic origins of the worldview of "Materialism," as well a framework developed by the Tibetan teacher Chogyam Trungpa called "The Three Lords of Materialism" for looking at how we can notice our tendency to chase peak experiences in the arenas of the physical world, intellectual experience, and of course, our spiritual paths. Please support the podcast via Substack and subscribe for free or with small monthly contributions. Paid subscribers will receive occasional extras li...
Feb 26, 2025•53 min•Season 1Ep. 135
Ethan discusses a classic Buddhist concept, sīla (or shila), through the lens of knowing where to place our attention and action, knowing "what to cultivate and what to reject." Choices shift energy and energy can build power, and that power can be the difference between awakening and confusion. Ethan also argues, using the five precepts (or five mindfulness trainings) as a guide, that this might be the key to building new powerful systems in the world. He also examines a rule for social change ...
Jan 31, 2025•53 min•Season 1Ep. 134
Ethan is joined for an insightful discussion about Dharma Art with Academy Award-winning film editor and Buddhist meditator Andrew Buckland. They discuss the practice of filmmaking and creativity more generally, as well as Andrew's path, the film A Complete Unknown , the Bob Dylan biopic which was Andrew's latest editing project. Finally, they discuss why working in the film profession sometimes feels like "A Cesspool of Ego." Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, includin...
Jan 24, 2025•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 133
Ethan is joined for an insightful discussion about Entering the Study of Buddhism with the faculty of Dharma Moon's Yearlong Buddhist Studies program. Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program (The first 6-Week module, Entering The Path , is open to all and starts January 28, 2025) and Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training . About the Faculty: Lou Sharma has been part of the Buddhist Studies faculty for four years. She is inter...
Jan 15, 2025•56 min•Season 1Ep. 132
Ethan offers a lovingkindness (metta/maitri) meditation for all who are effected by the climate crisis, and discusses why when global crises require our action, our practice might be a privilege, but it's also a necessity. The climate crisis recognizes no borders, and we are truly all in this together. Just a few links to help and get involved with the Los Angeles wildfires are: Global Empowerment Mission , Mutual Aid LA , and our friends at Pandemic of Love' Volunteer Sign Up form . Check out a...
Jan 13, 2025•19 min•Ep. 131
Ethan discusses the difficulty with keeping a meditation practice going that is relevant for those who are new to practice as well as those who have been finding their seat for many years. He offers five keys to making your practice more sustainable this year. Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program (starts January 28, 2025) and Mindful Meditation Teacher Training. Check out the free talk on Engaged Buddhism with Ethan Nichtern...
Jan 03, 2025•43 min•Season 1Ep. 130
Ethan is joined again by friend, bestselling author , dharma practitioner and astrologer Juliana McCarthy . They discuss the various movements in astrology in 2024 and 2025 from a mindful perspective. Juliana gives her optimistic take on what is to come, calling Mid 2025 onward "Not A New Chapter, But A Whole New Book," why Ethan is praying for Star Trek aliens,and they discuss world events and how the US might avoid what appears to be an astrological repeat of The French Revolution. Juliana run...
Dec 26, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 129
Ethan is joined by Dharma Moon founder and award winning musician/composer David Nichtern for a true moment of Nichternity. They engage in a wide-ranging discussion (the only kind they know how to have) about Wicked, Ariana Grande, Ethan's issue with musicals, the death of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, the Kaliyuga or "dark ages," fear of impermanence, building an awakened environment of art and culture, and, finally, the elusive concept called "Enlightened Society." David Nichtern is a senior Buddh...
Dec 17, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 128
Ethan is joined by health journalist and podcaster Derek Beres to discuss the dominance of misinformation in the health, wellness and spiritual spaces, and how we might be able to understand and converse with the people—and the parts of ourselves—that have gone "down the rabbithole." Derek Beres is a multi-faceted author, speaker, and podcaster based in Portland, Oregon. He has served in senior editorial positions at a number of tech companies and has years of experience in health, science, and ...
Dec 02, 2024•56 min•Season 1Ep. 127
Ethan discusses the addiction concept of "rock-bottom" and how that concept can be transposed onto the worldview of individualism and individual power. In what ways, from a Buddhist standpoint, is individualism healthy and necessary? In what ways is it confused? Can we transition to a more collective or community-oriented worldview, and what is the role of the sangha in all this? Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and Mind...
Nov 25, 2024•42 min•Ep. 126
Ethan shares thoughts in the aftermath of the shocking (to him, at least) results of the US presidential election. Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and Mindful Meditation Teacher Training. Check out the free talk on Grief and Heartbreak, "The Gift of a Broken Heart" with Brian Welch on November 14th and the free talk on What is Karma? with Ethan and Sah D'Simone on December 11th. Get on Ethan's monthly email list here . ...
Nov 11, 2024•33 min•Ep. 125
Ethan talks to author, Dharma teacher, and scientist Cortland Dahl about his new book A Meditator's Guide To Buddhism . They discuss research on short meditation sessions, mindful living, and touch on the meaning of "guru" in the modern world. Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and Mindful Meditation Teacher Training. Check out the free Talk on Karma with Ethan and Sah D'Simone on December 11th . Get on Ethan's monthly ema...
Oct 15, 2024•51 min•Ep. 124
Reeling from the events of the last 10 days in Western North Carolina (which directly and tragically affected two friends who have been on The Road Home podcast), as well as close friends directly affected by the bombing and aggression in the Middle East, Ethan returns to some basic thoughts on the truth of our interdependence, and the limits of looking at our path from an individual perspective. If you'd like to make a donation to Pandemic of Love to directly help their mutual aid work in Weste...
Oct 07, 2024•34 min•Ep. 123
Ethan looks at the nature of anxiety as a special-case emotion and offers a short dharma talk on working with anxiety, then guides a 15-minute lovingkindness with supportive visualization practice for working with any anxiety we might be feeling during election season or beyond. Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training , starting October 11. Buy Confidence: Holding Your Seat Through Li...
Sep 23, 2024•38 min•Ep. 122
Ethan talks to author, meditation teacher, scientist and lawyer Anu Gupta about his new book Breaking Bias: Where Stereotypes and Prejudices Come From-- and the Science-Backed Method to Unravel Them . They discuss Anu's life, how bias brought him to the brink of taking his own life, and his extensive work with organizations getting to the roots of internalized biases. They get into bias from both a Buddhist philosophical and scientific perspective. Finally, discuss the current state of America i...
Sep 17, 2024•53 min•Ep. 121
Ethan provides a dharma talk on the (originally Jungian) idea of The Shadow and the current popularization of "Shadow Work." He explores the ways that Tantric Buddhism offers to work with our more difficult and suppressed experiences, as well as the concept of treating our most difficult experience as "beautiful monsters." Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and Mindful Meditation Teacher Training. Check out the free The Jo...
Sep 10, 2024•36 min•Ep. 120
Ethan provides a dharma talk on why practicing self-compassion can be so tricky and so "blocked." He offers some helpful tips you might not have considered (or maybe you have!) for practicing lovingkindness and compassion, both on the meditation seat and in life in general. Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and Mindful Meditation Teacher Training. Check out the free Imposter Syndrome event on September 3 with Duncan Truss...
Aug 28, 2024•43 min•Ep. 119
Ethan talks to teacher Shawn J. Moore , aka The Mindful Rebel, aka "Part Buddha, Part Biggie" about his somewhat unique path to mindfulness and dharma, and about the meaning of holding space, allowing yourself to just be, and transformational leadership. Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and Mindful Meditation Teacher Training. Check out the free Imposter Syndrome event on September 3 with Duncan Trussell and David Nichte...
Aug 23, 2024•50 min•Ep. 118
