An Episode For The Over-Thinkers and The Stressed | Matthew Brensilver, Vinny Ferraro, Kaira Jewel Lingo

New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. This episode explores a Buddhist tool for resolving conflict and keeping your relationships on the rails. This tool, known as the Beginning Anew practice, was designed by the Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, who died back in January, and who we are celebrating this week on the show. On Monday’s episode, we spoke with a long-time student of Thich Nhat Hanh, Brother Phap Dung. Today’s guest is Kaira Jewel Lingo. She was an ordained nun for 15 years in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of Interbeing. She's now a lay dharma teacher based on Long Island. She graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. and an M.A. in anthropology and social sciences. She’s also the author of a recent book called, We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons on Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption.  This interview discusses the Beginning Anew practice and:  The four steps of the practice.  How even skeptics can see the value in the practice.  How it can strengthen relationships and resolve conflict.  Kaira Jewel's own experience with the practice as both a teacher and a practitioner. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/kaira-jewel-lingo-repost

23 Mars 20221h 3min

New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. -- In January 2022, Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Zen master, peace activist, poet, and author passed away. He was the founder of the International Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called him “an Apostle of peace and nonviolence” when nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Thousands of people came out for his funeral.    Brother Pháp Dung is making his second appearance on the show to talk about Thich Nhat Hanh. If you missed it last time he was on, Brother Pháp Dung has an incredible personal story. He was born in Vietnam in 1969 and came to the US at the age of nine. He worked as an architect/designer for four years before becoming a monk. He was very close personally with Thich Nhat Hanh, who he refers to as “Thây,” or teacher, and is now a Dharma teacher himself in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village tradition. This episode explores: The life of Thich Nhat Hanh: his path to Buddhism in the 1960’s and his exile from Vietnam for opposing the war. The meaning of “wrong view” or wrong perception.  What non-separation and inter-being is.  Thich Nhat Hanh’s view that birth and death are only notions. Grief, and why learning how to suffer will help you suffer less. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/brother-phap-dung-432

21 Mars 20221h 3min

Many, if not all, of us have a nonstop, ambient thought-track running through our minds of: how am I doing? How do I look? Why did I say that? Am I running behind? What do other people think of me? How did we get this way? And what do we do about it? Ron Siegel has thought a lot about this, and has plenty of practical answers, including the notion that we should lean into our insignificance. Many of us grew up being told how we were special. But Ron argues that the words, “you’re not special,” constitute extremely good news. Dr. Ron Siegel is a part-time assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School and a board member at the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy. In his private clinical practice, he provides mindfulness-oriented psychotherapy. He is also the author of the new book, The The Extraordinary Gift of Being Ordinary: Finding Happiness Right Where You Are. The episode explores: The notion that we didn’t evolve to be happy. Why we self-evaluate The downsides and upsides of self-assessment. Strategies for dealing with this often irrational self-grading criteria, which include mindfulness, self-compassion, and gratitude. What it means to “lean our ladder against the right wall.” Content Warning: This conversation includes brief references to mature topics, including sex and addiction. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/ron-siegel-431

16 Mars 202259min

Venerable Pannavati is a former evangelical pastor who has been ordained in three separate Buddhist traditions: Theravada, Chan, and Mahayana. She’s the co-founder and co-Abbot of Embracing-Simplicity Hermitage and Meditation Center; Co-Director of Heartwood Refuge and President of the Treasure Human Life Foundation. She teaches around the world, was a 2008 recipient of the Outstanding Buddhist Women’s Award, and currently serves as the Vice President of the US Chapter of the Global Buddhist Association. This episode explores: Why many meditators try to jump over important preliminary steps. Why Buddhism isn’t necessarily fun or easy.  The utility and impact of making vows. What Venerable Venerable Pannavati calls healthy shame. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/venerable-pannavati-430

14 Mars 202256min

How can we meditate when it seems like the world is falling apart? How do we titrate our news consumption? What do we do with our fears about World War III? How can we do anything constructive to help given how far away many of us are from the action? Why are so many people so upset about Ukraine when they weren’t paying much attention to the wars raging in places like Syria, Yemen, or Ethiopia?  Today’s guest is uniquely qualified to answer these questions, given his experience in combat. Claude AnShin Thomas is an ordained monk in the Japanese Soto Zen Tradition. At 17, he signed up to fight in Vietnam and spent his tour of duty in the theater of war, surrounded by death and destruction. He came home suffering from an undiagnosed case of PTSD and spent years grappling with addiction and homelessness before he was introduced to Buddhism. He says meditation can help all of us look at the roots of war and violence that we all harbor. Claude Anshin is now the founder of the Zaltho Foundation, dedicated to addressing the causes and consequences of violence in and among individuals, families, and societies. He has served in war zones, hospitals, schools, and prisons. He has also led meditation retreats at sites of war and suffering, and has worked with gang members, guerillas, and refugees. He is the author of the award-winning book At Hell's Gate: A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace, which has been translated into several languages, and Bringing Meditation to Life. This episode explores the above questions and additionally: The narcotic effect of war. How Buddhism helped Claude Anshin be at peace with what he calls his own unpeacefulness, and yet, why, to this day, he has to reckon with his impulse towards violence.  Why he doesn’t believe there is such a thing as a “just war.” Content Warning: There are discussions of war, violence, suicide, and substance abuse throughout this episode. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/claude-anshin-thomas-427

14 Mars 202251min

We’re now entering year three of the pandemic, and even though we’re in a very different stage of the game, there are still so many questions: Is it safe or ethical to return to “normal”? How do you deal with people who have different views on safety and vaccines? What do you do if you’re just bone tired of this whole mess? Today’s guest is Lama Rod Owens, who was trained in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism, holds a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School, and is the author of the book Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger. Lama Rod has been kind enough to come on to the show during moments of crisis. I spoke with him shortly after the murder of George Floyd and also during the 2020 elections. As you’re about to hear, one of the core arguments he will make is that apocalypse (and he has a broad understanding of what that word means) can present an opportunity.  This episode explores: The benefits of having an existing practice in times of heightened anxiety and uncertainty. Developing a direct, open relationship with fear. Working with regret. Why taking care of yourself is not selfish. Lama Rod’s take on social media and watching TV as a way to reset.  The obstacles to empathy.  A more expansive definition of the word violence.  A jarring New York Times article that posits that the recent rise in pedestrian deaths could be in part due to social erosion created by the pandemic. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/lama-rod-owens-427

11 Mars 20221h

As we enter year three of the pandemic, the psychology of COVID is no less complex or consequential. This episode features one of the most prominent chroniclers of the pandemic, David Leonhardt from the New York Times, who argues that there is irrationality on all sides when it comes to the pandemic. He would also urge you to consider whether you might be over or underestimating the risks of COVID, based on where you stand politically.  This episode also explores: the state of play in the pandemic right now and where we may be headed next; why and how attitudes about the pandemic, at least here in the US, have sorted along partisan lines; whether it makes sense to be angry with the unvaccinated; how a rise in vehicle crashes might speak to how COVID accelerated the fraying of America's social fabric; and David’s argument for why history and human decency can be a source of optimism going forward. David will also respond to his vehement critics who argue that his emphasis on lifting COVID restrictions and returning to some semblance of normalcy callously disregards the needs of the immunocompromised and unvaccinated.  David Leonhardt is a senior writer for The New York Times. He writes The Morning, The Times’s flagship daily newsletter, and also writes for the Sunday Review section. He has worked at The Times since 1999 and has previously been an Op-Ed columnist, Washington bureau chief, co-host of “The Argument” podcast, founding editor of The Upshot section and a staff writer for The Times Magazine. In 2011, he received the Pulitzer Prize for commentary.  Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/david-leonhardt-426

7 Mars 202255min

Dr. Paul Gilbert OBE is a professor of psychology at the University of Derby, Founder and President of The Compassionate Mind Foundation, the founder of Compassion Focused Therapy, and in 2011 was awarded the Officer of the British Empire, or OBE, from Queen Elizabeth II for his continued contribution to mental healthcare. He’s also the author of several books including The Compassionate Mind, Living Like Crazy, Overcoming Depression, and his latest, Compassion Focused Therapy: Clinical Practice and Applications.  This episode explores: What Compassion Focused Therapy actually is. Why he says wisdom and courage are key to compassion. Some surprising truths about your inner critic. How compassion can be used to your advantage, especially if you’re ambitious. The relevance of various meditation practices to cultivating compassion. How trauma can impact our ability to access compassion, and what we might do about it. The importance of the vagus nerve and its relationship to compassion, mindfulness, and friendship. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/paul-gilbert-425

2 Mars 202251min