The Wisdom Podcast

In this special episode of the Wisdom Podcast—recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat—host Daniel Aitken speaks with Michael Imperioli , best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti in The Sopranos , for which he won a 2004 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Michael is also a practicing Tibetan Buddhist and is a student of His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche .  The convers...

In this special episode of the Wisdom Podcast—recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat—host Daniel Aitken speaks with Anne C. Klein (Lama Rigzin Drolma), professor of religion at Rice University and a founding director and resident teacher of Dawn Mountain, a center for contemplative study and practice in Houston. Anne brings us into the world of translating Tibetan and of the Nyingma tradition. She...

For this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken speaks with Zen teacher John Tarrant Roshi about one of John’s favorite topics: Zen koans. As a meditation teacher, koans are a core foundation of John’s teaching methodology, and he has spent a lifetime refining his understanding of their function as a gateway to insight as well as a teaching tool. For John, a koan is not a gadget but a m...

For this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken speaks with returning guest and author Venerable Thubten Chodron about her latest book with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, In Praise of Great Compassion . This is the fifth volume in the Library of Wisdom and Compassion series, which continues the Dalai Lama’s teachings on the path to awakening. Ven. Chodron has been working on this series f...

For this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken speaks with returning guest, author and celebrated teacher David Nichtern. Drawing from his book Creativity, Spirituality, and Making a Buck , David discusses how creativity naturally arises and the conditions that make it flourish before diving into concepts of “clarity, intention, and effort” in the context of both a Buddhist practice an...

For this, our 100th episode of the Wisdom Podcast, we have the honor and privilege of being joined by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other important guests celebrating the release of Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Volume 2: The Mind . During this special live event, His Holiness is presented with a copy of the book and answers questions from host Daniel Aitken about the s...

In this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken speaks with author, teacher, and researcher Dr. Alejandro Chaoul. Alejandro has been teaching meditation and Tibetan yoga ( tsa lung and trul khor ) workshops under the Ligmincha Institute since 1995 and recently released Tibetan Yoga , a Wisdom Academy online course. During this episode, which was recorded as part of our live Wisdom Dharma...

In this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken speaks with acclaimed Wisdom author Toni Bernard. In this powerful conversation, which was recorded as part of our live Wisdom Dharma Chats program, Toni discusses her most recent book, How to Be Sick: Your Pocket Companion , and shares her personal story detailing how her practice has helped and continues to help her come to terms with liv...

For this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken speaks with Evan Thompson, professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia, and author of several books including Waking, Dreaming, Being: Self and Consciousness in Neuroscience, Meditation, and Philosophy. Evan is among the most widely respected philosophers and writers on Buddhism today. In this fascinating conversation, yo...

For this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken speaks with Professor John Dunne, acclaimed scholar and teacher in both Indian and Tibetan Buddhist traditions. John’s research focuses on Buddhist philosophy in relationship to contemplative practice, religious studies, and cognitive science. John is presently Distinguished Professor of Contemplative Humanities at the University of Wiscon...

For this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken interviews American actress and musician Jessica Pimentel. Jessica is best known for her role as Maria Ruiz on the hit Netflix series Orange is the New Black. She is also a practitioner within the Geluk tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and studied under the former abbot of Sera Mey Monastery , H.E. Sermey Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Tharchin. Th...

For this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken speaks with Roger Jackson, renowned scholar of both Indian and Tibetan Buddhist traditions and author of several books, including his most recent, Mind Seeing Mind: Mahāmudrā and the Geluk Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. We’re also delighted to share that Mind Seeing Mind recently won the prestigious Toshihide Numata Book Award in Buddhist...

For this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken speaks with Michael Mendizza, documentary filmmaker and author of Always Awakening: Buddha’s Realization, Krishnamurti’s Insight . In this fascinating conversation, you’ll hear Michael share stories from his creative filmmaking journeys, and in particular the extremely rare opportunities he had of spending one-on-one time with two towering...

For this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken speaks with Wisdom author and renowned Tibetan Buddhist translator, Malcolm Smith. Malcolm has been a student of the Great Perfection teachings since 1992 and studied under Dzogchen masters Chogyal Namkhai Norbu and the late Kunzang Dechen Lingpa. His translations include Buddhahood in this Life: The Great Commentary of Vimalamitra , which...

For this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken speaks with Venerable Robina Courtin, Australian-born Buddhist nun. Venerable Robina has led an extremely active and inspiring life—from her dynamic work as an editor of a wide variety of Buddhist books, to her Buddhist teaching activities that traverse the globe. In this lively episode, you’ll hear Venerable Robina share riveting stories...

For this episode, host Daniel Aitken speaks with Shohaku Okumura Roshi, Japanese Soto Zen priest and revered writer and translator. Shohaku Okumura is also the founder and current abbot of the Sanshin Zen Community in Bloomington, Indiana. In this conversation, you’ll hear Okumura Roshi tell powerful stories, not only from his own life, but from the lives of his teachers: Zen Master Kosho Uchiyama...

For this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken speaks with Norman Fischer, American poet, writer, and Soto Zen priest. Norman is the author of many popular books including his most recent publication, The World Could Be Otherwise: Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path . In this fascinating conversation, you’ll hear Norman share stories from his own spiritual journey—from aspiring young...

For this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken speaks with Gil Fronsdal, American Buddhist writer, teacher, and scholar in both the Zen and Theravada traditions. Gil was ordained as a Sōtō Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and later became a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985. As someone committed to two distinct traditions, Gil brings an unusual breadth and depth of kno...

For this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken speaks with Daniel Goleman , acclaimed psychologist and author of several books , including the international bestseller, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. Daniel Goleman has written extensively on the connections between human psychology, science, and contemplative practice, as well as their practical applications in...

On this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken speaks with Tara Brach, renowned meditation teacher, psychologist, and author of several bestselling books, including Radical Compassion: Learning to Love Yourself and Your World with the Practice of R.A.I.N ; True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart ; and Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a...

For this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken travels to New York to speak with Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche. Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche is the author of The Great Medicine, and grandson and spiritual heir of the great Tibetan master Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche was one of the foremost Tibetan Buddhist masters of the 20th century. In this truly inspiring conversation, Rinp...

In this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken speaks with Larry Rosenberg, meditation teacher and founder of the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center, established in 1985. Larry is among the earliest pioneers of Buddhism in America. At 87, he has observed a great deal of American Buddhism’s growth and transformation in his forty years of teaching. In this rich conversation, Larry talks...

In this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken speaks with Koshin Paley Ellison, author of the wildly popular book, Whole-Hearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up, published by Wisdom. Koshin is co-founder of the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care and a teacher in the Sōtō Zen Buddhist tradition. In this fascinating conversation, Koshin tackles the subject of forgiveness, asking wh...

For this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken travels to Berkeley, California, to attend After Mindfulness , a two-day conference and retreat bringing together Buddhist practitioners from around the globe to ask the question what is mindfulness? At the conference, Daniel joins revered meditation teachers Ajahn Brahm and Shaila Catherine for a live panel discussion on the topic of deep...

On this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken travels to upstate New York to speak with Robert Thurman, pioneering scholar and translator in the Tibetan Buddhist world, and professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University. Professor Thurman has long been recognized as a leading authority on Buddhist religion, culture, and philosophy. Since this is Wisdom’s second podca...