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Be Here Now Network Guest Podcast

Be Here Now Network Guest Podcast

By: Be Here Now Network
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The Be Here Now Network Guest Podcast features dharma talks from a rotating lineup of contributors like: Roshi Joan Halifax, Mirabai Starr, Gil Fronsdal, Mirabai Bush, and so many more!


© Be Here Now Network Spirituality
Episodes
  • Ep. 210 - Virya: Courage, Energy and Trust with Buddhist Teacher Trudy Goodman

    Ep. 210 - Virya: Courage, Energy and Trust with Buddhist Teacher Trudy Goodman
    May 30 2025

    Explaining Virya, the effort factor of enlightenment, meditation teacher Trudy Goodman explores the courage it takes to trust in our practice and to mindfully face the five hindrances.

    Today’s podcast is also brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

    This time on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Trudy Goodman explains:

    • Virya, the effort, energy, and enthusiasm factor of enlightenment
    • The courage it takes to be fully present with every life experience
    • Showing up for our human experience with qualities of heart, courage, and balance
    • An impactful Iraq War story that reveals the power of presence and awareness
    • How to work wisely with challenges that block mindful presence
    • The five classical hindrances: wanting, ill-will, restlessness, sloth & torpor, and doubt
    • A reading from the Flower Ornament Sutra about freeing the heart and mind from hindrances
    • How living defensively against pain limits our full human experience
    • The positive impact of naming our struggles and how it prevents us from being swept away
    • Moving through all experiences with steady effort—no halting, no straining
    • Daily spiritual practice and repetition in order to build trust in life and the dharma
    • The four great efforts that the Buddha talked about
    • Protecting our hearts by not watering seeds of harm that arise in our thoughts and emotions
    • Watering the seeds that are beneficial, feeding their growth, and encouraging goodness
    • How to stay open to life's potential by expecting goodness, not fearing missed chances
    • Trusting in the dharma, the natural world, and life’s unseen supportive forces

    About Trudy Goodman:

    Trudy is a Vipassana teacher in the Theravada lineage and the Founding Teacher of InsightLA. For 25 years, in Cambridge, MA, Trudy practiced mindfulness-based psychotherapy with children, teenagers, couples and individuals. Trudy conducts retreats, engages in activism work, and teaches workshops worldwide and online. She is also the voice of Trudy the Love Barbarian in the Netflix series, The Midnight Gospel. You can learn more about Trudy’s flourishing array of wonderful offerings at TrudyGoodman.com

    This 2011 recording is from Spirit Rock’s Fall Insight Meditation Retreat and was originally published on Dharmaseed.

    “It takes great effort, great energy, great trust. When we bring that to this practice everyday, the trust is also a kind of confidence that if we just do this, things will unfold naturally without forcing them.” – Trudy Goodman

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    54 mins
  • Ep. 209 - Why We Suffer with Buddhist Teacher Gil Fronsdal

    Ep. 209 - Why We Suffer with Buddhist Teacher Gil Fronsdal
    May 23 2025
    Gil Fronsdal explores why we suffer and how we can meet our suffering with a supportive presence for the benefit of ourselves and all beings. In this episode, Gil thoughtfully discusses:Becoming like a wise & peaceful snake, shedding our skin from time to timeHow mindfulness practice can contain the goal of cessation of greed, hatred, and delusionHow clinging creates emotional stress, mental pain, and spiritual sufferingNotice the “aah” of skillful action versus the “ouch” of unskillful action as we develop awarenessBeing present for the depth of suffering in the human heartBringing the qualities of the awakened mind in to meet our suffering and help us release itHelping our suffering feel safe and remembering that all suffering can be put to restThe ability to stay with our experiences without clinging and with a sense of wellbeing Meeting our suffering for ourselves and to show the way for othersPracticing mindfulness with sincerity, consistency, and heartfelt dedicationThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp & Dharma Seed:Join Krishna Das, the most well-known voice of Bhakti chanting (Kirtan) in the West, and David Nichtern - a senior Buddhist teacher, founder of Dharma Moon, guitarist in Krishna Das’ band, and producer of several of his albums - for a warm and engaging conversation about these two paths, their shared roots, and how they intersect in contemporary spiritual practice. Learn more about this FREE online gathering - THE HEART & MIND OF PRACTICE: BUDDHISM & BHAKTIToday’s podcast is also brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.About Gil Fronsdal:Gil Fronsdal is the co-teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011 he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center. He is the author of The Issue at Hand, essays on mindfulness practice; A Monastery Within; a book on the five hindrances called Unhindered; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma.This recording was originally published on Dharmaseed.orgNo matter what it is, suffering is always an activity that can be put to rest, that can stop. Suffering is not the deepest thing in you. It doesn't have to define you, it's not all of who you are." – Gil Fronsdal See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    41 mins
  • Ep. 208 - Love & Reason: The Intersection of Bhakti and Buddhism with Sharon Salzberg, Robert Thurman and Raghu Markus

    Ep. 208 - Love & Reason: The Intersection of Bhakti and Buddhism with Sharon Salzberg, Robert Thurman and Raghu Markus
    May 16 2025
    Recorded live at the 2022 Summer Mountain Retreat, Sharon Salzberg, Robert Thurman, and Raghu Markus explore the true essence of love through the lenses of service, social action, and selflessness.Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.Come join us this year at the 2025 Summer Mountain Retreat in Boone, North CarolinaIn this episode, Sharon, Robert, and Raghu hold a discussion on:Reframing love as an ability we can develop, rather than a fleeting emotion Taking responsibility for love—actively cultivating it instead of waiting for it to arriveRecognizing authentic love as a deep sense of connectionUnderstanding the etymology of metta, the Buddhist concept of loving-kindness and the sincere wish for another’s happinessConsidering if we can genuinely wish happiness for others if we are not happy ourselvesIdentifying the pitfalls of ego-driven self-love and how it disrupts true bliss and spiritual connectionMoving beyond spiritual ego—being real and grounded instead of feeling superior for simply meditatingReflecting on how Ram Dass radiated full, compassionate attention to everyone around himEmbracing love as the most powerful unseen force in the universe Learning to forget ourselves and awaken true happiness through compassion and loving-awarenessFacing the challenge of practicing loving-awareness with those closest to us—often the hardest test of allThis episode is sponsored by Dharma Seed:Join Krishna Das, the most well-known voice of Bhakti chanting (Kirtan) in the West, and David Nichtern - a senior Buddhist teacher, founder of Dharma Moon, guitarist in Krishna Das’ band, and producer of several of his albums - for a warm and engaging conversation about these two paths, their shared roots, and how they intersect in contemporary spiritual practice. Learn more about this FREE online gathering - THE HEART & MIND OF PRACTICE: BUDDHISM & BHAKTIAbout Sharon Salzberg:Sharon Salzberg is a meditation pioneer, world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. She is one of the first to bring mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation to mainstream American culture over 45 years ago, inspiring generations of meditation teachers and wellness influencers. Sharon is co-founder of The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and the author of twelve books, including the New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness, now in its second edition, and her seminal work, Lovingkindness. Her podcast, The Metta Hour, has amassed five million downloads and features interviews with thought leaders from the mindfulness movement and beyond. Learn more about Sharon and her books at www.sharonsalzberg.comAbout Robert Thurman:Robert Thurman is the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies in the Department of Religion at Columbia University and President of the Tibet House U.S., and is the President of the American Institute of Buddhist Studies. His new book, Wisdom Is Bliss: Four Friendly Fun Facts That Can Change Your Life, is now available.About Raghu Markus:Raghu Markus spent two years in India with Neem Karoli Baba and Ram Dass. He has been involved in music and transformational media since the early 1970s. Currently, he is the Executive Director of the Love Serve Remember Foundation and hosts the Mindrolling Podcast on the Be Here Now Network. Along with Duncan Trussell, Raghu also recently co-created The Movie of Me to the Movie of We.“When I thought of love as a feeling, it was also a commodity. It was in someone else’s hands and they could bestow it upon me, or, they could take it away from me…when I think of it as an ability, it’s a capacity within me that other people might awaken or inspire or threaten, but ultimately it’s mine. It’s mine to tender, it’s my responsibility.”– Sharon SalzbergSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    1 hr and 3 mins
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This was a huge disappointment. I love this man but there are so many little jokes, and the crowd is just cackling along. Especially one particular lady who constantly laughs so loud, like it's the first joke she's ever heard.

So anyway, we get to the end where it's finally serious, and he just gives this basic, run of the mill breathing exercise. Disappointing.

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