Lion’s Roar Foundation Podcasts

Senior student of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh and author of Nothing to It: Ten Ways to Be at Home with Yourself, Brother Phap Hai talks about the connection between suffering and wisdom.By Sandra Hannebohm

Insight Meditation teacher Phoenix Soleil talks to Pamela Ayo Yetunde about dealing with racism, and how metta practice can help get you through.By Sandra Hannebohm

Fear can lead us to do regretful, hateful, and even violent things. Lion’s Roar’s new online course Medicine for Fear, inspired by Zen teacher Eihei Dogen’s essential instructions for awakening, offers a way to minimize fear’s impact on us—featuring Koshin Paley Ellison and Chodo Robert Campbell of New York Zen Center, as well as Mushim Ikeda, Pame…

Internal medicine physician and founder of the End Well Project, Shoshana Ungerlieder talks about the taboo of death and dying among medical professionals and the importance of taking time to ask what really matters to you and your loved ones, while you still can.By Sandra Hannebohm

Black, male-identified people have experiences in Buddhist communities that are markedly different than that of the majority–not only physically standing out in the group but facing unique internal questions and struggles. Willie Mukei Shoman Smith, SoOn Eli Brown-Stevenson, and Malik (MaLLy) Watkins talk to Lion’s Roar’s Pamela Ayo Yetunde about h…

Author of The Cure for Money Madness, Spencer Sherman talks about how one can grow spiritually while still engaging with money. Then Lion’s Roar editor-in-chief Melvin McLeod and deputy editor Andrea Miller discuss the latest issue of Lions Roar magazine, honoring both the late Thich Nhat Hanh and the late bell hooks, as well as a special look at P…

With Lion’s Roar’s free “Wisdom of Pema Chodron” Summit about to launch, we’re sharing Andrea Miller’s story abouts Pema Chodron and her advice on how to “walk the walk” of a spiritual person, and what being a “fake” spiritual person really means. Visit lionsroar.com to register.By Sandra Hannebohm

Sister Clear Grace is a black, non-binary monastic traveling across the country to lean in to the collective experience of the United States. The traveling nunk speaks with Lion’s Roar’s associate editor Pamela Ayo Yetunde about letting go of privilege, answering the call to become a monastic, and encounters on the road to liberation.…

Seth Godin is an expert on failure. While he’s founded several hugely successful ventures and written 20 bestselling books around the world including his newest book, The Practice, he has also learned from failing over and over. Today he explains what helps creative thought, and what so often gets in the way of true success.…

While the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh may seem simple, they are profound. Anh-Huong Nguyen, one of the first students to be ordained as a meditation teacher in the Plum Village tradition, demonstrates how mindfulness has helped her and the fearful inner child within, through the worst of times.By Sandra Hannebohm

We reflect on the death of one of the greatest Buddhist teachers of our time, and preview the new issue of Lion’s Roar magazine. Then makeup artist, monk, and author of This Monk Wears Heels, Kodo Nishimura tells Pamela Ayo Yetunde how even makeup and drag can be an expression of the dharma.By Sandra Hannebohm

Anxiety can be a pretty reasonable response to times of wide spread disease, environmental disaster, social unrest and polarization. Associate editor Chris Pacheco talks to Bruce Tift, psychotherapist and author of Already Free: Buddhism Meets Psychotherapy on the Path of Liberation, about attempting to control feelings of anxiety, why that only ma…

Wellbeing and social justice are one and the same, according to neuroscientist Dr. Sará King. Pamela Ayo Yetunde asks about The Science of Social Justice, her illustrative Systems-Based Awareness Map, and the implications of the framework that has the power to change how you understand yourself, your community, and even political events such as the…

A guided body scan meditation from Insight LA founder Trudy Goodman, plus an audio clip from her presentation for the new Insight and Mindfulness online learning series, available now at learn.lionsorar.com.By Sandra Hannebohm

How can Buddhist practice help you find refuge from racism? Especially from the internalized sense of inferiority that lives within the minds and bodies of racialized people? Teacher Sensei Alex Kakuyo and Lion’s Roar Associate Editor Pamela Ayo Yetunde discuss.By Sandra Hannebohm

Centered on a friendship between the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the documentary Mission: Joy was produced and co-directed by Peggy Callahan while its real life complement, The Big Joy Project, is an experiment in “citizen science.” She and Dr. Elissa Epel, vice chair of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, talk ab…

As everyday normalities change, or even vanish, what used to make sense is out the door, and a new vision of our lives and our world is needed. Kaira Jewel Lingo, former nun in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village tradition, offers a path forward as Associate editor Pamela Ayo Yetunde asks about her latest book, We Were Made for These Times.…

The facts of aging, illness, death, separation, and loss can actually be encouraging, Buddhadharma’s Koun Franz explains. Then, a guided meditation and quick check-in on your meditation posture.By Sandra Hannebohm

Author of Peak Mind Dr. Amishi Jha talks about the book, the natural capacity we have to cultivate our attention, and how you can function at your peak for the things that really matter in life.By Sandra Hannebohm

Editor-in-chief Melvin McLeod, deputy editor Andrea Miller, and associate editor Ross Nervig talk about the latest issue of Lion’s Roar magazine and some of the highlights therein, from Ted Lasso to Dogen.By Sandra Hannebohm

Buddhist meditation teacher Kate Johnson leads a session of Tonglen meditation informed by current events, and talks about her new book, Radical Friendship: 7 Ways to Love Yourself and Find Your People in an Unjust World.By Sandra Hannebohm

Pema Khandro Rinpoche shares the life of the Tibetan yogi Shabkar, whose practice and teachings were inseparable from loss and grief.By Sandra Hannebohm

Mushim Patricia Ikeda examines how spiritual work can help us generate wholeness, joy, ease, and even ancestral healing. Then, Rick Hanson guides a short meditation to rewire your brain for the better.By Sandra Hannebohm

AI scientist and Buddhist teacher Nikki Mirghafori talks about how to live and love more fully by facing our mortality, including a guided meditation.

On a pilgrimage to India Lion’s Roar’s Andrea Miller explores the life and teachings of the historical Buddha and the new insights she gained by being there. Then, Zen teacher Enkyo O’Hara shares a quick tip about the subtle joy of Shikantaza, also known as Silent Illumination or “just sitting.”