Marianne Bentzen is a psychotherapist and trainer in neuroaffective development psychology. She is the author of a number of books including Neuroaffective Meditation: A Practical Guide to Lifelong Brain Development, Emotional Growth, and Heal

Dr. Daniel Ingram: Managing Controversy in Dharma Circles

Mar 13th, 2023 57m 27s

Dr. Daniel Ingram is a retired emergency medicine doctor who is the author of two versions of the book Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha. His current projects are the Emergent Phenomenology Research Consortium and a charity called th

Julianna Raye: The Unified Mindfulness Teacher Training Program

Feb 6th, 2023 1h 4m

Guest Julianna Raye joins Tucker to describe the Unified Mindfulness teacher training system. This is the second in our series on some of the larger teacher training programs; Vidyamala Burch's episode was the first.Support the show

Dharma 3.0 and Multiplayer Meditation with Vince Horn

Aug 30th, 2022 59m 51s

Vince Horn, meditation teacher and co-founder of Buddhist Geeks, talks with Upali about his path of transmission and training in Dharma Teaching. He also explores transparency in Dana, Dharma and Sangha in the world of Web 3.0, and the power o

Shaila Catherine: When Students Get Distracted

Aug 9th, 2022 1h 3m

Shaila Catherine rejoins us on the program. We discuss several ancient practices, including the asubha practice (sometimes called "foulness of the body") and what the Buddha calls "crushing mind with mind," and how these practices do and don't

Lopon Chandra Easton: 10 years of Vajrayana Training, and Feeding Your Demons

Apr 9th, 2022 1h 13m

Lopön Chandra Easton is a Westerner who grew up in the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition. She did nine years of preparatory (ngondro) practices and spent 5 - 10 years training to be a teacher. She is a lineage holder under Lama Tsultrim Allione,

Henrik Norberg: Religious Buddhism, or, Teaching Retreats in Caves

Mar 27th, 2022 50m 14s

Henrik Norberg is a celibate, non-monastic teacher of meditation retreats, often in caves in Southeast Arizona. Hear him and Upali talk about the difference between Eastern and Western conceptualizations of stream entry, Henrik's view that Wes

Kynan Tan: Success As a New and Fulltime Meditation Teacher

Mar 4th, 2022 36m 1s

Australian teacher Kynan Tan, PhD only recently began teaching meditation and was quickly able to leave his regular job and become a fulltime teacher. In this interview, you'll hear how he prepared himself to teach, how he gets continuing educ

Vidyamala Burch: Growing a Dharma Org Without Losing The Heart

Feb 18th, 2022 48m 29s

Vidyamala Burch is the founder of Breathworks, has a teacher training program with over 600 alumni, has been teaching mindfulness for pain for many decades, and has been voted one of the most influential disabled people in the United Kingdom.

Mukti: Teaching and Embodiment

Feb 8th, 2022 1h

Mukti is a teacher in a nondual lineage. She received her authorization to teach from Adyashanti, her husband. You can learn more about Mukti over here.Mukti’s teachings invite attunement to the act of being and to the heart of awareness. Suc

Upasaka Upali: I Can't Remember How Many Intro Classes I've Taught

Jun 3rd, 2021 53m 10s

Upali talks about teaching intro courses vs advanced students, coping with the unfairness of the world, working with students' emotional wellbeing, and how to escape Garfunkel syndrome.Upasaka Upali is a Dharma teacher who aims to demystify med

Don & Patty: How to Run a Retreat Center

May 13th, 2021 55m 39s

Don and Patty, both dharma teachers, run the Wellbeing Retreat Center in Tazewell, Tennessee. This special episode focuses, rather than on the usual topic of teaching meditation, on how to start and manage a meditation retreat center.Support

Shaila Catherine: Teaching Towards Full Liberation

Apr 27th, 2021 1h 3m

Shaila Catherine is the founder of Insight Meditation South Bay, a meditation group in Silicon Valley, and also Bodhi Courses, an online Buddhist classroom. She has been practicing meditation since 1980, with more than nine years of accumulated

Boaz Feldman: Freedom and Fulfillment

Apr 15th, 2021 1h 4m

Boaz Feldman talks with Upali from a multi-year meditation retreat and shares his personal journey of becoming a monk, returning to lay life, and becoming a psychologist. Boaz and Upali talk about the challenges and benefits of integrating anc

Dr. Andrew Holecek: Finding Your Niche

Mar 29th, 2021 1h 3m

Dr. Andrew Holecek covers a lot of ground, from describing finding his niche in sleep and dream meditation, to doing a three-year retreat, and his thoughts on the frequent scandals among dharma teachers. Learn more about Andrew at www.andrewho

Dorothy Hunt: How Do We Teach The Ineffable?

Mar 17th, 2021 1h

This episode touches on Christian practice, Adyashanti's lineage of Zen, and how to teach meditation from more of a non-doing, already-there perspective, rather than a technique-based one.Dorothy Hunt is the founder of the San Francisco Center

Shinzen Young: The Greatest Dignity Is Absolute Humility

Mar 1st, 2021 35m 35s

Shinzen Young is an American mindfulness teacher and neuroscience research consultant.His systematic approach to categorizing, adapting and teaching meditation, known as Unified Mindfulness, has resulted in collaborations with Harvard Medical S

Stephen Batchelor: Teaching Dharma vs Teaching Meditation

Feb 15th, 2021 1h

Upali interviews Stephen Batchelor, a contemporary Buddhist teacher and writer, a former monk best known for his secular or agnostic approach to Buddhism. They talk about teaching Dharma (vs simply teaching meditation), finding authority thro

Stephanie Nash: Building Your Own Following

Feb 2nd, 2021 1h

Tucker interviews Stephanie Nash. Stephanie has a psychology degree from Duke University and a Masters from Yale University. In addition to her career as an actress, Stephanie has had the privilege of working closely with Shinzen Young and ha

Dr. Tucker Peck: Coping with Imposter Syndrome

Feb 2nd, 2021 52m 6s

Upali interviews Tucker. Dr. Tucker Peck is a meditation teacher and clinical psychologist whose specialties include working with advanced meditators and using meditation to help those suffering from psychological disorders.Tucker began formal

Jessica Graham: Sex, Money, and Teaching Meditation

Feb 2nd, 2021 50m 27s

Tucker interviews Jessica Graham. Jessica is a meditation teacher, sex, relationship, and spiritual guide for couples and individuals, international speaker, and author of Good Sex: Getting Off Without Checking Out, which has been translated i

Jeremy Graves: Can You Be A Teacher And A Normal Person?

Feb 2nd, 2021 1h 9m

Upali interviews Jeremy Graves. Jeremy is a clinical psychologist-in-training in Berkeley, CA, as well as co-author of the bestselling meditation guide The Mind Illuminated. He's also an editor and contributor for a forthcoming book on Mahas

Michael Taft: How Not To Become Guru

Feb 2nd, 2021 50m 50s

Tucker interviews Michael Taft. Michael is a maverick meditation teacher, bestselling author, and podcaster. As a mindfulness coach, he specializes in secular, science-based mindfulness training in retreats, groups, corporate settings, and one