Take an expansive tour through the four foundations of mindfulness in this sweeping guided meditation with Dr. David Kittay: mindfulness of body, feelings, mind, and mental objects. Guided Meditation: Four Foundations of Mindfulness with Dr. David Kittay Listen to our previous interviews with Dr. David Kittay here: Episode 77: Buddhism and Technology (Part 1) Episode 78: Buddhism and Technology (Part 2) Support the show

Professor David Kittay talks with Scott Snibbe about whether we should treat AIs with compassion, whether we are living in a simulation, and whether technologically assisted enlightenment might be possible. Dr. David Kittay teaches philosophy, religion, and technology at Columbia University, where his students call his courses life changing. Dr. Kittay is also an author, a translator, and a Tibet House board member. His latest publication is the Vajra Rosary Tantra, available from Wisdom...

A guided meditation by Ven. Sangye Khadro (Kathleen McDonald) on the natural goodness of our mind, or Buddha nature. In this meditation we let go of all our negative, disturbing states of mind like anger, anxiety, or fear; and cultivate our positive mental qualities of compassion, wisdom, and courage. 36. Guided Meditation on the Natural Goodness of our Mind — Ven. Sangye Khadro (Kathleen McDonald) Support the show

In this episode, I have one of my heroes back for a third time. Dr. Jan Willis is an extraordinary Buddhist scholar and practitioner and today she's talking with me about the question, Are we fundamentally good?  Buddhism sometimes seems quite depressing with its focus on suffering and death. But at the core of Buddhism is the idea that in fact, our nature is fundamentally good. Is there any evidence for this? And if so, how do we come to see it?  Listen to my interview with Dr. Willis to...

How can we use pleasure in our meditation practice? Buddhism offers specific techniques for meditating on pleasure as a way to deepen our qualities of concentration, fearlessness, loving-kindness, and even our understanding of the ultimate nature of reality. Episode 85: Guided Meditation on Pleasure Episode 84: Pleasure and Buddhism: Food, Sex and Netflix on the Path to Enlightenment Support the show

Pleasure is often viewed as a hindrance to the spiritual path, a hotbed of craving and attachment, but what if we told you that pleasure can actually be a positive part of the spiritual path, a portal to love and happiness? Episode 84: Pleasure and Buddhism: Food, Sex and Netflix on the Path to Enlightenment Support the show

Tenzin Chogkyi leads a guided meditation to cultivate compassion for yourself and others. Episode 139: Guided Meditation on Compassion with Tenzin Chogkyi   Support the show

In this episode Tenzin Chogkyi dives head on into the challenging topics of hierarchy, patriarchy, gender, and sexism in Buddhism. As a practicing Buddhist since the 1970s who spent 20 years as a nun ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself, she has deep, hard-won insights into these topics.  Tenzin Chogkyi is one of the most thoughtful, independent thinkers I know, and a person of extraordinary integrity who has dedicated her life to both inner development and advancing fairness and...

Artificial intelligence expert Kristian Simsarian joins host Scott Snibbe to discuss how we can create ethical, unbiased and compassionate AI, whether we should be scared of AI, and the implications of AI on the future of work and spirituality. Kristian Simsarian has a Ph.D. in human-robot collaboration and worked as a Robotics and AI computer scientist before holding leadership positions at IDEO, the California College of the Arts, Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center and many other...

Host Scott Snibbe offers touching personal stories and a meditation on how to best love our parents and our children using powerful Buddhist teachings and techniques on understanding, listening, and compassion. Episode 76: Loving Our Parents, Loving Our Children Support the show

Sujatha baliga leads a guided meditation to work through past traumas in a gentle, loving, and healing manner. 137. Guided Meditation on Healing Trauma with sujatha baliga Support the show

Macarthur Award winner sujatha baliga discusses healing trauma, restorative justice, and the power of love and meditation to build a better world. sujatha baliga is a restorative justice educator and advocate and a 2019 winner of the MacArthur fellowship. She has served as the director of the restorative justice project at Impact Justice, a co-founder of Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, and a Soros Justice Fellow at Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth. Sujatha earned her...

A 20-minute guided analytical meditation on how money exists through parts, causes, and the mind in our interdependent reality, seen through the Buddhist lens of emptiness. Episode 71. Guided Meditation: How Money Exists Previous Episode: Bitcoin and Buddhism Support the show

What can Buddhism teach us about how Bitcoin works and why it's so valuable? What can Bitcoin teach us about emptiness, the interdependent nature of reality? Episode 70. Bitcoin and Buddhism Support the show

Dan Harris, host of the hit podcast Ten Percent Happier, leads a loving-kindness meditation for skeptics. Recent research has shown that this practice positively impacts mental and physical health. Episode 135: Dan Harris Loving-Kindness Guided Meditation Support the show

Dan Harris, former ABC News anchor and host of the hit podcast Ten Percent Happier, talks with Scott Snibbe about love, skepticism, Buddhism, and the "cheesy upward spiral." Episode 134: Dan Harris: Love, Skepticism, and the "Cheesy Upward Spiral" Sign up for A Skeptic's Path to Enlightenment in 9 Meditations, our 12-week summer course on analytical meditation that starts September 3, 2023. Podcast listeners can use the code SKEPTIC for a 20% discount. Support the show

A 10 minute guided meditation on the body, relaxing into the open connection between body and mind through mindful awareness. Episode 63. 10 Minute Body Meditation Support the show

Could the true cause of happiness be simply thinking about whatever we are doing at the moment, what scientists and meditators call mindfulness? Episode 60. Why Mindfulness? Sign up for A Skeptic's Path to Enlightenment in 9 Meditations, our 12-week summer course on analytical meditation that starts September 3, 2023. Podcast listeners can use the code SKEPTIC for a 20% discount. Support the show

Kim Stanley Robinson is one of the greatest living science fiction writers, and one of the few people ever to have developed a credible solution to the climate crisis, which he describes in his latest novel, The Ministry for the Future.  In this interview, we talk about climate change solutions, Buddhism in his life and work, sci-fi and cli-fi (climate fiction), colonizing Mars, the outdoors as meditation, and how to stay optimistic. 104. Kim Stanley Robinson on Solving the Climate Crisis,...

Rob Hopkins, climate activist, co-founder of the Transition Network and host of the podcast series From What If to What Next talks about an engaged, passionate form of Buddhism that actively works for positive change in our communities and in the world. Episode 103. From What If to What Next — Rob Hopkins' Climate Optimism Sign up for A Skeptic's Path to Enlightenment in 9 Meditations, our 12-week summer course on analytical meditation that starts September 3, 2023. Podcast listeners can use...

What happens when you die? No one knows for sure. But the Tibetan Buddhist system describes a precise series of steps that our consciousness may experience as we die, which we can explore in a meditation to probe the boundary of life and death with curiosity and wonder. Episode 58: What Happens When You Die? Support the show

The idea of past lives may not make make sense, and isn’t scientifically verifiable. But still, the question of what we might have been before our conception is one worth asking. Where did I come from? Episode 57: Where Did I Come From? Support the show

I want to tell you a story about birth and death and infinity. We’re all born and we’re all going to die, but I don’t know how many of you have ever felt a connection to infinity. I want to tell you about the time in my life when I felt this connection to infinity every day. And I also want to tell you about how I lost it, and whether it’s possible to get it back again. Episode 56: Birth, Death, and Infinity Support the show

Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo is one of the very first Westerners to become ordained into the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. She is best known for having lived in a remote cave in the Himalayas for 12 years. In this 10-minute  meditation, she offers us the invitation to cultivate moment-to-moment inner awareness - the essence of meditation practice. Episode 93: Cultivating Our Inner Awareness with Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo - 10 Minute Meditation Support the show

Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo is one of the world’s most revered Buddhist teachers and one of the very first Westerners to become ordained into the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. She is best known for having lived in a remote cave in the Himalayas for 12 years. She spoke with us about the role of women in Buddhism from a historical and contemporary lens, the nature of mind and simple, powerful ways to meditate in the modern world. Episode 92: Wisdom and the Path for Women with Jetsunma Tenzin...