Exploring the role of trauma through art.

How vipassana meditation in the tradition of S.N. Goenka informs engagement during times of strife and instability.

A Burmese culinary author speaks out on the coup.

An interview with a former monastery helper now in the front lines of the nonviolent protest movement.

Welcoming the wayward younger son back home.

The importance of non-violence and unity even in the most challenging of times.

Words of wisdom in dealing with challenging events.

A story about Yangon past and present, and the Dhamma to be found on the city streets.

A research project into the amazing life of one of the first Western monks to dive into the Burma Dhamma.

Exploring a moment with no entanglement.

The spiritual journey of an international model leads to the Golden Land.

A groundbreaking anti-racism training at Dhamma Kunja, a vipassana center in Washington State in the tradition of S.N. Goenka.

The Johnny Appleseed of Filipino meditators reflects on lessons learned in Buddhist Burma.

A French vipassana meditator in the tradition of S.N. Goenka takes a spiritual pilgrimage in Myanmar, and falls in love with the Golden Land.

Three retreat centers in America share their responses to the coronavirus pandemic.

Two Filipino meditators share their experience of coming from a religious Catholic upbringing to practicing Buddhist meditation.

A book 30 years in the making comes at a pivotal time in Burma’s history.

A Dhamma book review examines the Western discovery of mindfulness over the course of 3 generations.

The second part of our discussion with Zaw Win Htet, in which we learn about Mohnyin Sayadaw, Hpo Win Daung Caves, Thanboddhay Monastery, and Nat Taing Monastic School.

A discussion with Zaw Win Htet about the history of the Monywa region, the backgrounds of Ledi Sayadaw and Maha Bodhi Ta Htaung Sayadaw, and the practice of removing shoes at Buddhist pagoda sites.

On this episode, we are treated to a reflective and introspective look at how Black practitioners have applied Dhamma wisdom through the pain of racism and prejudice.

The story of Melissa Coats is a tale of finding balances. It relates to navigating her identity, being half-white and half-Korean, and her practice, going back and forth between being a lay practitioner and Buddhist nun, in both secular and religious communities. Melissa’s journey has already been a long one for someone so young, and it is still unfolding.

We hear from meditators and monastics from Thabarwa Monastery to learn how the pandemic has affected their meditation practice, and how their Dhamma practice has informed their way of relating to the pandemic.

A shocking kick reveals the nexus of race, ethnicity, religion, and culture at a Burmese monastery. Sometimes a single moment can be so profound… or so complex… that it takes hours, or even days, following the encounter to get a handle on it. In the story that follows, that “moment” has been taking years to process.

The inaugural episode in our new series, “the Intersection of Dhamma & Race.” Here, we are widening the scope of our usual programming to examine the overlapping lines of Dhamma practice, racism and social justice. We hope that this show can be a platform for examining entrenched biases, practices and attitudes within the vipassana and mindfulness communities.

In the “Sheltering in Place” episode, we bring you the story of four foreigners who stayed in Myanmar just as the world was shutting down. From expats living in Yangon to meditators looking for a place to practice in Upper Myanmar, with some caring for a family and others leading fundraising effort, the stories that follow are as diverse as they are compelling.

In the “Exiled Expats Edition,” we bring you the story of four foreign practitioners who left Myanmar just as the world was shutting down. In their own ways, these four different tales convey an overarching Dhamma theme: the unpredictability of life. Each speaker faced significant instability and disruption, losing jobs or having to forego plans, with monasteries closing their doors, which for some was complicated by worried parents pleading for an imminent return. Though each one’s story is different in many details, they all point in their own way towards this sense of importance and urgency in our practice.

Insights from a brush with death: An American forest monk faces death with awareness and insight.

There is something special about the words of committed bhikkhus. Leaving behind the fetters of lay society in order to devote themselves to the contemplative life, monastics are often able to present a novel or fresh outlook on the “daily grind” that may be invisible to us lay folk, when we can’t see the forest for the trees. The freedom that monastics have from day-to-day necessities permits them a broader perspective through which to understand the present situation.

The second installment of the COVID-19 in Myanmar series brings us the Women’s Edition. So often at times of crisis and at key moments in world events, it is the voices of men who make the news or provide commentary. This is certainly not untrue in Myanmar, where speeches from revered Sayadaws or male meditation teachers dominate the Dhamma discourse. In this show, we want to highlight the voices of female practitioners, as they describe how they have responded to the ongoing pandemic.