The Tattooed Buddha

Send us Fan Mail Born in Vietnam during the Vietnam war, Cuong Lu emigrated to the Netherlands in 1980 where he later studied at Plum Village under and later became ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh.  He served as a prison chaplain for 6 years and later founded the Mind Only School in the Netherlands, where he teaches Buddhist philosophy and psychology. He is the author of The Buddha in Jail: Restoring...

Send us Fan Mail While we usually have guests on, for this podcast we decided just to have a team discussion on the 2025 year. We discussed what challenged us, what we learned from, what we hope to see in 2026. We talked about grief, recovery, dogs, family, changes, the changing landscape of our nation and our world.  We hope you enjoy this different take on our podcast! Podcast edited by Brad Par...

Send us Fan Mail From journalist and internationally recognized author Lee Carlson comes a life-changing memoir about our journey to seek meaning and the personal relationships we build along the way. A Single Excellent Night weaves together awakening experiences and pivotal realizations from the first four years of a 15-year apprenticeship Lee Carlson spent with Peter Matthiessen . The relationsh...

Send us Fan Mail *trigger warning: Suicide Jaqui was a young, 22 year old free-spirited young woman who loved to plant trees and was a part of a tree-planting community.  She was an artist, a tattoo artist and an adventurer. Her dad had no longer needed a contractor van so she renovated it into a traveling van and went exploring.  Jaqui loved meditating and had been trying to get into a 10 day Goe...

Send us Fan Mail Kellie Schorr has not only written for The Tattooed Buddha since 2018, she has been publishing as a ghost writer for the romantic suspense genre for several years penning commissioned novels.  She is a Buddhist yogi in the Tibetan tradition and worked as a prevention specialist in the field of HIV and AIDS. She said she has always been a writer. She talks about her journey as a pr...

Send us Fan Mail Today we had a long term friend and former TTB board member, Daniel Scharpenburg on our podcast! Daniel has written a lot for The Tattooed Buddha as well as many other Buddhist magazines. He has worked for the IRS for 16 years now and he became a Union Steward in 2018 and during the COVID pandemic in 2020 he was elected as the first Vice President of his union. He has really enjoy...

Send us Fan Mail Do Not Try to Become a Buddha is a collection of short essays, Irish Soto Zen priest Myozan Ian Kilroy describes how he came to practice Zen, introduces some basics of Zen philosophy, and recalls the challenges of establishing a Zen Buddhist community in Catholic-dominated Ireland.  A former journalist, Rev. Myozan’s clear yet entertaining storytelling style paints a clear picture...

Send us Fan Mail Ethan Nichtern is the author of Confidence: Holding Your Seat through Life’s Eight Worldly Winds and several other titles, including the widely acclaimed The Road Home . A renowned contemporary Buddhist teacher and the host of The Road Home Podcast , Ethan teaches meditation and Buddhist psychology classes and retreats online via Dharma Moon and around the US. Kellie Schorr and Cl...

Send us Fan Mail If you meditate, chances are you may have heard of or have used Insight Timer. This app was brought to my attention because it wasn’t just a timer—it has classes, courses, talks and most especially it has a community. Our culture and society has become more and more digitalized . Socializing is done via messaging, texting and by using likes, dislikes and emojis. We meme, we snap,...

Send us Fan Mail Claire Parsons started writing for us here at The Tattooed Buddha with a column titled: The Bodhisattva of Power Suit s, but she is not new to writing. She started her own blog called Brilliant Legal Mind and has also written two books: How to Be a Badass Lawyer , and Mommy Needs a Minute . Claire E. Parsons is a practicing lawyer in the Cincinnati, Ohio area, and the mom of two g...

Send us Fan Mail In this podcast, we talk about how Rod found the Dharma, his journey to writing and eventually editing for both Wisdom Publications and then later, Lion's Roar. The post Talking with Guest Rod Meade Sperry, Editor of Buddhadharma at Lion’s Roar appeared first on The Tattooed Buddha . Follow us on Facebook and Instagram ! Interested in being a guest on our podcast? Contact us...

Send us Fan Mail Rod and I have been friends on social media for awhile now but we have never interacted (as what happens often with social media and networking). In this podcast, we talk about how Rod found the Dharma, his journey to writing and eventually editing for both Wisdom Publications and then later, Lion’s Roar . Rod started his own independent magazine (zine) originally to highlight how...

Send us Fan Mail Gary walks us through some of the aspects of this process, such as wearing robes all of the time (including while he slept), eating only two meals a day and shaving his cherished beard. The post Gary Sanders Ordains as a Temporary Monk {Podcast} appeared first on The Tattooed Buddha . Follow us on Facebook and Instagram ! Interested in being a guest on our podcast? Contact us at e...

Send us Fan Mail A few weeks ago Gary Sanders went on retreat and took temporary vows to be a monk. Gary walks us through some of the aspects of this process, such as wearing robes all of the time (including while he slept), eating only two meals a day, no dancing and singing and shaving his cherished beard. He explains why he chose to temporarily ordain, his experiences with retreats in the past...

Send us Fan Mail We discuss the trauma as a result, the aspects of shunning as control and being disfellowshipped, the use of fear to control, and how Buddhism and mindfulness became a path toward healing. The post Escaping from Jehovah’s Witnesses through a Buddhist Path appeared first on The Tattooed Buddha . Follow us on Facebook and Instagram ! Interested in being a guest on our podcast? Conta...

Send us Fan Mail Today we talk to Gary Sanders, Rebekah Reineke and David Jones about their experiences in the Jehovah's Witness community. While Gary and Rebekah grew up within the religion, David entered (and bowed out) later on in life. We discuss the framework behind the cult, the control tactics and how they have moved on a healed. Have you been in a similar situation and need someone to...

Send us Fan Mail We meet with Holly Herring---one of our columnists for The Tattooed Buddha. We chat about Holly's work with those that are homeless, her journey to being a writer and the process of writing. We also learn about how Holly and Michelleanne Bradley met and became friends, which in turn led her to write for The Tattooed Buddha! The post Getting to Know Holly Herring appeared firs...

Send us Fan Mail We meet with Holly Herring---one of our columnists for The Tattooed Buddha. We chat about Holly's work with those that are homeless, her journey to being a writer and the process of writing. We also learn about how Holly and Michelleanne Bradley met and became friends, which in turn led her to write for The Tattooed Buddha! Sit back and hear more about Holly and some of her s...

Send us Fan Mail We discuss meditation, neurolinguistic programming and how it can help us achieve the goals we wish toward and physical forms of meditation like yoga, Tai Chi and boxing. The post We Meet Boyan: Mindfulness Teacher appeared first on The Tattooed Buddha . Follow us on Facebook and Instagram ! Interested in being a guest on our podcast? Contact us at editor@thetattooedbuddha.com.

Send us Fan Mail ,Rebekah Reineke introduced us to Boyan, a mindfulness teacher originally from Bulgaria and currently living in London, UK. Boyan's website highlights various tools that aid in calming the mind and working toward practical applications of these tools. We discuss meditation, neurolinguistic programming and how it can help us achieve the goals we wish toward and physical forms...

Send us Fan Mail We hope you enjoy listening to our dialogue with John and please check out his latest book, Dharma Talk published by Wisdom Publications! The post Dharma Talk: Talking with John Brehm about His Latest Poetry Book {Podcast} appeared first on The Tattooed Buddha . Follow us on Facebook and Instagram ! Interested in being a guest on our podcast? Contact us at editor@thetattooedbuddha...

Send us Fan Mail We had the opportunity to speak with John Brehm on our podcast awhile back and it was such a pleasure to have him as our guest again. John is an amazingly talented poet and has written and edited books on poetry in the past. We hope you enjoy listening to our dialogue with John and please check out his latest book, Dharma Talk published by Wisdom Publications! Other books by John...

Send us Fan Mail Michelleanne Bradley talks about feeling the anxiety of traveling. Seeing people rush around the airport and the feelings that accompany that, she discusses how realizing the need to face people with kindness and compassion. This translates to everyday life, not only travel. What if we not only take care of others with this compassion and […] The post Meeting Others (and Myself) w...

Send us Fan Mail Michelleanne Bradley talks about feeling the anxiety of traveling. Seeing people rush around the airport and the feelings that accompany that, she discusses how realizing the need to face people with kindness and compassion. This translates to everyday life, not only travel.  What if we not only take care of others with this compassion and grace, but what if we also take care of o...

Send us Fan Mail   Today we have some guests on our podcast to discuss the role of women in Buddhism. Dana and Michelleanne talk with Mary Stancavage, Holly Herring and Ayya Yeshe. We share how we all came to practice, our history with this practice and belief in God, the types of Buddhism we all practice. Women play […] The post Women in Buddhism {Part I} appeared first on The Tattooed Buddha . F...