In this second episode of our celebratory Blazing Splendor Wisdom Podcast Series host Daniel Aitken is joined by Erik Pema Kunsang . Enjoy hearing Erik share profound experiences with Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche in “ Timeless Teachings with Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche ,” including a story he’s never shared before. During this episode, Daniel and Erik discuss: how Rinpoche led him to the realization of the mind’s true nature; Rinpoche’s unique teaching methods; his diverse skills and humility; the enduring i...
Oct 11, 2024•52 min•Ep. 195
In the first episode of this celebratory series of episodes, Wisdom Podcast host Daniel Aitken is joined by Marcia Binder Schmidt , one of the editors of Blazing Splendor and a student of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. During this episode, she and Daniel discuss how she began to practice Tibetan Buddhism; her impactful first meeting with Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche; how the book Blazing Splendor came to be; her involvement in preserving Rinpoche’s teachings through books; and so much more. Remember to subscri...
Oct 04, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 194
In this insightful episode of the Wisdom Podcast , recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat , special guest, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, joins host Daniel Aitken. As a distinguished teacher and meditation master in the Bön tradition of Tibet, Rinpoche offers profound insight into the application and practice of dream yoga. During this conversation, Rinpoche and Daniel explore: Rinpoche’s teachers, and how he began to practice dream yoga; how this practice can bring greater clarity to your waking life ...
Sep 06, 2024•49 min•Ep. 193
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast , recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat features special guest, H. E. Khangser Rinpoche . At the age of five, H.E. Khangser Rinpoche was recognized as the eighth reincarnation of Khangser Rinpoche. By 2005, he had earned both the Geshe Lharampa degree and a doctorate in tantra, both with the highest honors in the top division. In 2023, Rinpoche came in line to one day become the Gaden Tripa, the supreme head of the Gelug lineage, which is considered the largest...
Aug 16, 2024•53 min•Ep. 192
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast , recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat features special guest, Thupten Jinpa . Since 1985, Jinpa has been the principal translator to the Dalai Lama, accompanying him to the United States, Canada, and Europe. He is an accomplished author and translator. His Wisdom Publications credits include the Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics series, multiple titles in The Library of Tibetan Classics series, the Wisdom Academy courses Tsongkhapa’s Madh...
Jul 26, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 191
This special rerelease episode of the Wisdom Podcast features Jeffrey Hopkins . 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 was Professor Emeritus of Tibetan Buddhist Studies at the University of Virginia, where he taught Tibetan Studies and Tibetan language for more than thirty years. He received a BA magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1963, trained for five years at the Lamaist Budd...
Jul 12, 2024•1 hr 31 min
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast features Dr. Joanne Cacciatore . Dr. Jo has a deep relationship with grief and bereavement. She is herself a bereaved mother: her newborn daughter died on July 27, 1994, and that single tragic moment catapulted her unwillingly onto the reluctant path of traumatic grief. For more than two decades, she’s devoted herself to direct practice with grief, helping traumatically bereaved people on six continents. She’s also been researching and writing about grief as a ...
Jul 01, 2024•57 min•Ep. 189
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast features H. E. Khangser Rinpoche . At the age of five, H. E. Khangser Rinpoche was recognized as the eighth reincarnation of Khangser Rinpoche. By 2005, he had earned both the Geshe Lharampa degree and a doctorate in tantra, both with the highest honors in the top division. Rinpoche is a great scholar who has achieved mastery in both the Gelug and Nyingma Buddhist traditions. In 2023, Rinpoche came in line to one day become the Gaden Tripa, the supreme head of ...
Jun 14, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 188
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast , recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat features special guest, Klaus-Dieter Mathes and Péter-Dániel Szántó. Klaus-Dieter Mathes earned his doctorate at Marburg University, and is a Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Hong Kong. He previously worked as a research fellow and lecturer at the Asia Africa Institute at the University of Hamburg, Germany, and as a Professor of Tibetology and Buddhist Studies at the University of Vienna, Austria. His re...
May 31, 2024•58 min•Ep. 187
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast , recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat features special guest, H. E. Kalu Rinpoche. Rinpoche is the Lineage Holder of Shangpa Kagyu. He was born in 1990 and recognized by H. H. the Dalai Lama and H. H. the 12th Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa . Kalu Rinpoche completed the traditional three-year retreat between January 2004 and September 2008. After graduating he traveled, gaining experience in the modern world, before returning to Sonada to give the full Shangpa tr...
May 18, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 186
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast features Tim Olmsted . Tim is the founder and president of the Pema Chödrön Foundation and former director of Gampo Abbey. He began his Buddhist studies in 1977 under the late Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in Boulder, Colorado. In 1981, after being moved by a visit from Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Tim and his family moved to Kathmandu to study with Tulku Urgyen and his sons. For 12 years, Tim lived in Nepal, working as a psychotherapist serving the international communit...
May 03, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 185
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast features Cortland Dahl . Cortland is a scientist, translator, and meditation teacher who offers workshops and leads retreats around the world. He has practiced meditation for nearly three decades, spent time on retreat in monasteries and at retreat centers throughout Japan, Burma, and India, and spent eight years living in Tibetan refugee settlements in Kathmandu, Nepal. He works as an Instructor for the Tergar community and is the Executive Director of Tergar ...
Apr 19, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 184
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast , recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat features special guest, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche . Born in the Himalayan border regions between Tibet and Nepal, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche is a rising star among the new generation of Tibetan Buddhist teachers. His candid, often humorous accounts of his personal difficulties have endeared him to audiences around the world. During this Wisdom Dharma Chat host, Daniel Aitken, and Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche discuss: Dorje Drolö, a...
Apr 06, 2024•48 min•Ep. 183
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast , recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat features special guest, Peter Skilling . Peter is a special lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, and an honorary associate, Department of Indian Sub-Continental Studies, University of Sydney, Australia. Until his retirement in 2017, he was a professor of the French School of Asian Studies (EFEO) based in Bangkok. He is an honorary member of the Siam Society, Bangkok, and in 2017 he was elected an honorary fellow...
Mar 18, 2024•59 min•Ep. 182
To our valued listeners, an unfortunate outcome of live events is that you only get one take to get things right, technical difficulties can and do happen and as a result, the audio recording in this podcast fails to meet the Wisdom standard. However, we wish for all of our supporters to be able to enjoy the wonderful content included in this conversation. Please be advised some poems have been replaced with an updated recording, to enhance the listening experience. This episode of the Wisdom Po...
Feb 23, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 181
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast , recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat features special guest, Thupten Jinpa . Jinpa-la was educated in the classical Tibetan monastic academia and received the highest academic degree of Geshe Lharam (equivalent to a doctorate in divinity). He also holds a BA in philosophy and a PhD in religious studies, both from the University of Cambridge, England. Since 1985, he has been the principal translator to the Dalai Lama, accompanying him to the United States, Ca...
Jan 27, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 180
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast , recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat , features special guest, Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi. Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi is an American Buddhist monk from New York City. After completing his university studies he traveled to Sri Lanka, where he received novice ordination in 1972 and full ordination in 1973, both under the leading Sri Lankan scholar-monk, Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maitreya. Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi has many important publications to his credit, either as an author, ...
Jan 13, 2024•54 min•Ep. 179
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast features Dr. Richard J. Davidson . Richard is the William James and Vilas Research Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, founder of the Center for Healthy Minds, and director of the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is best known for his groundbreaking work studying emotion and the brain. In 2006 Time Magazine named Davidson one of “The 100 Most Influential People in the World.” He is also co-author w...
Dec 22, 2023•46 min•Ep. 178
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast features Geoffrey Barstow . Geoff is an assistant professor of Philosophy and Religion at Oregon State University. He has been a student of Choky Nyima Rinpoche for more than 20 years and he spent over six years conducting research in Nepal, China, and Tibet. His studies focused on animal ethics, the relationship between humans and animals, and what that can teach us about Tibetan Buddhism. In this episode, Daniel and Geoff discuss vegetarianism in Tibetan Budd...
Dec 18, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 177
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast , recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat features special guest, Alejandro Chaoul . During this episode, host Daniel Aitken and Alejandro discuss the practice of Tibetan yoga, ( trul khor , “magical movement”). Alejandro provides demonstrations of some of the movements and guides the listener through how to practice them as well. Alejandro and Daniel also discuss: pervasive breath ( khyab lung ) and movements that work with it; the five winds; Alejandro’s upcomi...
Dec 09, 2023•54 min•Ep. 176
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast features an interview with Charles Manson. Charles is a master woodcarver and author who spent several years as a Buddhist monk and in meditation retreats. He holds a master’s in theological studies from Harvard University and works as a librarian for the Tibetan Collections at the Bodleian Library at Oxford University and at the British Library in London. In this episode, Charles and host Daniel Aitken discuss: his book The Second Karmapa Karma Pakshi ; his ei...
Nov 17, 2023•59 min•Ep. 175
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast was recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat with special guest, Anne C. Klein. Anne is a professor and former chair of the religion department at Rice University. She is also a lama in the Nyingma tradition and a founding director and resident teacher of Dawn Mountain, a center for contemplative study and practice in Houston. Her publications include Path to the Middle , Unbounded Wholeness (coauthored with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche), Knowledge and Liberation...
Nov 10, 2023•1 hr
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast , recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat , features special guest, Sangye Khandro . During this episode host Daniel Aitken and Sangye discuss Venerable Dhomang Gyatrul Rinpoche’s passing into parinirvana earlier this year, her root teacher, Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche, with whom she studied and practiced for many years, and her work as a translator. Sangye and Daniel also discuss: how Sangye met Venerable Dhomang Gyatrul Rinpoche; Rinpoche’s visions of the Karmapa wh...
Nov 04, 2023•57 min•Ep. 173
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast , recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat features special guest Jay Garfield . Jay Garfield is Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities, Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Logic Program and of the Five College Tibetan Studies in India Program at Smith College, Professor in the graduate faculty of Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts, Professor of Philosophy at Melbourne University and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at the Central Institute of...
Oct 31, 2023•56 min•Ep. 172
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast , recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat features Geshe Tenzin Namdak . Geshe Namdak first worked as an environmental researcher, having graduated with a bachelor of science degree in hydrology. He took ordination from His Holiness the Dalai Lama before engaging in his formal studies in Buddhist philosophy and psychology at Sera Jey Monastic University. He completed the entire twenty-year geshe program at Sera Jey and the traditional one-year Vajrayāna study pro...
Oct 21, 2023•59 min•Ep. 171
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast features Venerable Bhikkhu Anālayo . Venerable Anālayo is a scholar, meditation teacher, and author. He completed his PhD research on the Satipaṭṭhānasutta at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. His works from Wisdom include Daughters of the Buddha , Early Buddhist Oral Tradition , Superiority Conceit in Buddhist Traditions , and Rebirth in Early Buddhism and Current Research . In this episode Ven. Anālayo and host Daniel Aitken discuss Venerable’s newest ...
Oct 14, 2023•53 min•Ep. 170
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast , recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat features H. E. Kalu Rinpoche . Rinpoche is the Lineage Holder of Shangpa Kagyu. He was born in 1990 and recognized by H. H. the Dalai Lama and H. H. the 12th Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa . Kalu Rinpoche completed the traditional three-year retreat between January 2004 and September 2008. After graduating he traveled, gaining experience in the modern world, before returning to Sonada to give the full Shangpa transmission. Ri...
Oct 06, 2023•53 min•Ep. 169
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast , recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat features special guest Thupten Jinpa and host Daniel Aitken in a discussion about the series Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics series. The two pay special attention to the newest and last volume in the series, Volume 4: Philosophical Topics . Jinpa reads select passages and provides commentary and explanations from the book as well as answers questions from the audience. They also discuss: Illusion vs...
Sep 23, 2023•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 168
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast , features Lama Tsomo . Lama Tsomo is a spiritual teacher, author, and co-founder of Namchak Foundation, which preserves and shares Tibetan Buddhist practice in accessible, contemporary ways. She dedicates the majority of her time and resources to sharing the teachings and practices of the Namchak tradition, a branch of Tibetan Buddhism. Utilizing her psychology background, Lama Tsomo works to make it easier for Westerners to bridge contemplative practice and m...
Sep 15, 2023•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 167
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast , recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat , features a special guest, Malcolm Smith . Malcolm Smith has been a student of the Great Perfection teachings since 1992 and graduated in 2009 from Shang Shung Institute’s School of Tibetan Medicine. He is a veteran of the traditional three-year solitary Tibetan Buddhist retreat, a beloved and published translator, and was awarded the Acharya degree from the Sakya Institute in 2004. In this episode you’ll hear about Malc...
Aug 18, 2023•55 min•Ep. 166
