This is the companion volume to The Range of the Bodhisattva: Introduction and Translation, a critical Tibetan edition of the Mahāyāna Sūtra, the Bodhisattva-gocara, which presents one of the only Buddhist teachings extant on what might be called a “Buddhist theory of war.” The main body of the text takes the form of a dialogue between King Caṇḍapradyota and the Nirgrantha sage, Satyaka, who is later revealed by Shākyamuni Buddha to be a bodhisattva of high attainment. The author’s critical edition synthesizes the readings of five different recensions of the text to produce an edition of the sūtra that runs parallel to the published English translation.

Wisdom Dharma Chats | Sarah Harding

In this Wisdom Dharma Chat, host Daniel Aitken interviews Sarah Harding, qualified lama and teacher in the Shangpa Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Since 1972, Sarah has been a student and translator of Kalu Rinpoche (1905-1989), one of the first Tibetan masters to teach in the West. She works as a teacher, oral interpreter, and translator, and has taught in the religious studies department of Naropa University and lives in Boulder, Colorado. Sarah translated Creation and Completion: Essential Points of Tantric Meditation by Jamgön Kongtrul, and is currently working on translations of Tibetan Buddhist texts as a fellow of the Tsadra Foundation.

Sarah recalls how she began reading Buddhist texts, including the Life of Milarepa, when she was in high school. In subsequent years, she traveled across the world, eventually ending up in the Darjeeling region of India, where she became a student of Kalu Rinpoche in the Shangpa lineage along with a handful of other Westerners. Following time spent back and forth between India and Nepal, Sarah went to northern Thailand and attended a retreat with Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw and comments on the differences of practice in a Theravada context. Finally, after a return to America, she embarked on a three-year retreat in France and recounts what daily life was like there and the difficulty of integrating back into society afterwards. Sarah and Daniel also get into a discussion of Sarah’s experiences with the traditional practice of chöd.

Following the conversation, Daniel fields audience questions for Sarah. In this Q&A session, she speaks at length on the most challenging and rewarding aspects of translation, working with both colloquial and classical Tibetan, and the impact of her scholarship on her practice among other topics.

To learn more about some of the Tantric meditation practices that Sarah mentions, please check out her translated work, Creation and Completion, available through Wisdom.

Wisdom Dharma Chats | Leo Babauta

In this Wisdom Dharma Chat, host Daniel Aitken interviews simplicity blogger and bestselling author Leo Babauta. Leo created Zen Habits, a Top 25 blog with over a million readers, which he started writing to chronicle and share what he’s learned while changing a number of habits, including waking early, losing weight, quitting smoking, becoming a runner, eliminating debt, and more. He is also a husband, father of six children and a vegan; in 2010, he moved from Guam to California, where he leads a simple life with his family.

In this wide ranging conversation, Leo shares some of his approaches to eliminating “bad” habits and developing “good” habits, explaining how bringing awareness to thought and behavior allows for examination of deeply embedded psychological patterns and is thus instrumental in creating sustainable change within oneself. He opens up about his repeated attempts to quit smoking, and how he was finally able to commit to changing this habit through establishing accountability, identifying motivations rooted in serving others, and importantly, building self-trust. Leo describes how this self-trust can be cultivated by starting with one small, tangible habit that is relatively easy to follow through, and then gradually progressing to other habits. He also advocates for learning from failures and embracing them as opportunities to practice self-compassion rather than engaging in negative self-talk.

Leo also recounts his first encounters with the Zen tradition and found that the radical simplicity of the tradition spoke to him; since then, he discusses how meditation and mindfulness have come to permeate everything that he does. He goes on to talk about his recent experiments with maintaining a sense of open curiosity in situations of uncertainty and his ultimate mission to guide people through times of great change and tumult. Finally, Daniel relays questions for Leo from the audience on topics ranging from relationships to ambition.

The giveaway mentioned in the recording has closed, but we invite listeners to learn more about Leo’s training programs. Leo’s books are also available for purchase on his website.

How to Grieve: Pain, Gratitude, & Peace

The Range of the Bodhisattva, A Mahāyāna Sutra (byang chub sems dpa’i spyod yul)

Wisdom Dharma Chats | Sarah Harding

The Zen Master’s Dance

Remembering C.W. “Sandy” Huntington

The Wisdom Podcast

Wisdom Dharma Chats | Ven. Sangye Khadro

Wisdom Dharma Chats | Leo Babauta

Wisdom Dharma Chats | Malcolm Smith (2)

Wisdom Dharma Chats | Malcolm Smith (1)

June 2020

Wisdom Dharma Chats | Michael Imperioli

June 2020

Venerable Robina Courtin: Understanding the Buddha’s Teachings for Ourselves

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Peaceful Piggy Bedtime

In Praise of Great Compassion

Kālacakra and the Tibetan Calendar

Mastering Meditation

Wisdom Dharma Chats | Venerable Thubten Chodron

Shohaku Okumura Roshi: Stories from Modern Zen Masters

About the Interviewee

Join Wisdom

Jon Kabat-Zinn & Ven. Anālayo Discuss Mindfulness & Health