Bernadette Wyton
Bernadette Wyton has received teachings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, His Holiness the late 33rd Menri Trizin, Khenpo Tenpa Yungdrung, and His Eminence Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, and remains a grateful witness to the clarity of their wisdom, the excellence of their teachings, and the blessing that flows through them for the benefit of all.
Bernadette met Geshe YongDong in 2002 while he was teaching a course on meditation at the college in her hometown of Port Alberni, British Columbia. She has been his student ever since and has served as his writing assistant for the last ten years.
Books, Courses & Podcasts
Calm Breath, Calm Mind
Discover ancient Tibetan breath practices for calming your mind and improving your health in this plain-English guide.
Over millennia, many Eastern traditions have developed practices that use the powerful healing energy of breath to treat physical, emotional, and mental problems. In Chinese, this energy is called chi; in Sanskrit it is called prana; and in Tibetan it is called lung.
Lung is life-giving energy that moves through our bodies. A lack or imbalance of lung can create illnesses of body and mind or cause emotional struggles such as confusion, anger, and sadness. In this book Geshe YongDong Losar, a scholar and monk in the ancient Bön tradition of Tibet, guides us through time-tested practices to help balance our lung. His deep knowledge—garnered through years of study and practice—renders the practices simple and achievable, creating a clear path for us toward greater calmness, strength, and clarity.
“Over and over I have personally witnessed, both in myself and in my students, the breath’s clear potential to heal and deeply transform lives. I truly believe that in the future such practices will play an important role as a medicine for preventing and treating physical, emotional, and mental maladies. I am glad that Geshe YongDong is making these practices widely available, and I’m sure that by doing so, he is bringing benefit to countless lives.”
—from the foreword by Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Related Content
Geshe YongDong: Calm Breath, Calm Mind (#153)
This Wisdom Podcast episode features Geshe YongDong Losar. Geshela is a Tibetan Bön lama, or spiritual teacher, in the Yungdrung Bön lineage, which is rooted in the indigenous spiritual tradition of the Himalayas. He lives in Courtenay, British Columbia, where he established and directs Sherab Chamma Ling, the only Tibetan Bön Buddhist Center in Canada. He teaches in many centers and universities around the world and has also founded the Bon Da Ling center in Costa Rica.
In this episode, Geshe YongDong and host Daniel Aitken discuss
- Geshela’s early life and training with his family and in monasteries in Tibet and India;
- an overview of the Bön monastic curriculum and training path;
- sacred deity dancing;
- English lessons from H. H. the 33rd Menri Trizin Lungtok Tenpai Nyima;
- Geshe YongDong’s book “Calm Breath, Calm Mind;”
- the power of sound, breath, and mantra;
- special Tsa Lung Trul Khor yogic exercises;
- and much more!
Remember to subscribe to the Wisdom Podcast for more great conversations on Buddhism, meditation, and mindfulness. And please give us a 5-star rating in Apple Podcasts if you enjoy our show—it’s a great support to us and it helps other people find the podcast. Thank you!
Shaila Catherine: Beyond Distraction (#138)
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast features Shaila Catherine, who has been practicing meditation since 1980, with more than eight years of accumulated silent retreat experience. She has taught insight meditation since 1996 in the U.S. and internationally, dedicating several years to studying with masters in India, Nepal, and Thailand. She is the founder of Bodhi Courses—an online Dhamma classroom, and Insight Meditation South Bay—a Buddhist meditation center in Silicon Valley. Shaila has completed a one-year intensive meditation retreat and trained in jhana, metta, samadhi, and vipassana practices. Shaila is also the author of Beyond Distraction, Focused and Fearless: A Meditator’s Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity, and Wisdom Wide and Deep: A Practical Handbook for Mastering Jhāna and Vipassanā.
In this episode, host Daniel Aitken and Shaila discuss
- what distraction and intention mean for meditators at every level of experience;
- ‘wholesomeness’ and mental states rooted in greed, hate, and delusion;
- mindfulness, the construction of identity, and recognizing conditioning;
- realistic strategies for overcoming restlessness and distraction as presented in her new book Beyond Distraction;
- her experience with deep meditative states and practical wisdom we can apply now;
- shifting habitual patterns and thoughts by identifying and examining them gently;
- wisely approaching concentration and the joyful cultivation of insight;
- and much more!
Remember to subscribe to the Wisdom Podcast for more great conversations on Buddhism, meditation, and mindfulness. And please give us a 5-star rating in Apple Podcasts if you enjoy our show—it’s a great support to us and it helps other people find the podcast. Thank you!
A Peaceful Piggy’s Guide to Sickness and Death, Sadness and Love
When someone we love gets sick, we little piggies worry! It can feel scary when a person we care about is sick or in a hospital. Luckily, there is one good thing we peaceful piggies can do: meditate.
This is a story about love.
Experiencing a loved one’s illness or death is challenging for both children and their grownups. With three distinct sections to choose from—when someone we love is sick, dying, or has died—this guide will help you easily find soothing and practical mindfulness activities focused on what your young one needs in order to guide them through their big emotions and questions. These practices will help calm and empower children—and their grownups—as they discover they can still be with their loved ones through their heart connection, no matter where they are.
Click here for an animated video based on the story.
Koshin Paley Ellison: Making All of Life a Place of Practice (#125)
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, features a conversation with Sensei Koshin Paley Ellison. Koshin is an author, Zen teacher, Jungian psychotherapist, and certified chaplaincy educator. Koshin and host Daniel Aitken discuss the Commit-to-Sit: 90-Day Commitment to Practice he ran earlier this year; his most recent book, Wholehearted; his wisdom for making all of life a place of practice, from the bedsides of the dying, to intimate relationships, and to the heart of New York City and beyond.
Remember to subscribe to the Wisdom Podcast for more great conversations on Buddhism, meditation, and mindfulness. And please give us a 5-star rating in Apple Podcasts if you enjoy our show—it’s a great support to us and it helps other people find the podcast. Thank you!
Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche: Dharma for Difficult Times (#124)
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, features a conversation with beloved teacher Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche.
Rinpoche and host Daniel Aitken discuss
- practice during lockdown (this episode was recorded in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic),
- working with anxiety and stress,
- how to choose which teachings to follow,
- how to understand the nature of your mind,
- how Rinpoche structures his teachings for his students,
- and much more.
Rinpoche is the author of several bestselling books and oversees the Tergar Meditation Community, an international network of Buddhist meditation centers. He is the son of the renowned meditation master Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and was formally enthroned as the seventh incarnation of Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche by Tai Situ Rinpoche when he was twelve years old. When he was twenty years old, Rinpoche was appointed as the functioning abbot of Sherab Ling Monastery. In addition to his extensive background in meditation and Buddhist philosophy, Mingyur Rinpoche has held a lifelong interest in psychology, physics, and neurology. He teaches regularly throughout Europe, North and South America, and Asia.
Remember to subscribe to the Wisdom Podcast for more great conversations on Buddhism, meditation, and mindfulness. And please give us a 5-star rating in Apple Podcasts if you enjoy our show—it’s a great support to us and it helps other people find the podcast. Thank you!
Guy Armstrong: Illuminating Emptiness (#121)
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, features a conversation with beloved teacher Guy Armstrong. He and host Daniel Aitken discuss many aspects of Guy’s journey into Dharma and his practice with many famous Theravadin masters, as well as themes of interest to Guy, like emptiness.
Guy has been leading insight meditation retreats since 1984 in the United States, Europe, and Australia. He is the author of the Wisdom book Emptiness: A Practical Guide for Meditators and taught a Wisdom Academy online course based on the book. His training included living as a monk for a year in the Thai forest lineage. Guy is a member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and a guiding teacher of the Insight Meditation Society. He lives in Woodacre, California.
Remember to subscribe to the Wisdom Podcast for more great conversations on Buddhism, meditation, and mindfulness. And please give us a 5-star rating in Apple Podcasts if you enjoy our show—it’s a great support to us and it helps other people find the podcast. Thank you!