David Nichtern: Mantra and the Power of Pure Sound

09/05/18 • 58 min

On this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken speaks with David Nichtern, celebrated musician and senior teacher in the lineage of renowned Tibetan Buddhist meditation master Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. David is also author of Awakening from the Daydream, published by Wisdom. In this fascinating conversation, you’ll hear Daniel and David discuss the idea of mantra and the spiritual capacity of sound. As both a practitioner and seasoned musician, David shares his thoughts on the transformative power of sound in both musical performance and mantra recitation, and mantra’s ability to protect and renew the mind in meditation. You’ll also hear David recount direct teachings he received on mantra, meditation and the “sound of silence” by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, as well as the relationship between sound and the other sense perceptions as understood within his tradition. Lastly, David discusses his upcoming book project on creativity and spirituality, and the practical wisdom of integrating both into a flourishing and productive life.

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Previous Episode

Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel: On Faith and Dependent Arising

On this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken speaks with Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel, meditation teacher and practitioner in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and author of The Logic of Faith: the Buddhist Path of Finding Certainty Beyond Belief and Doubt. In this rich conversation, you’ll hear Elizabeth speak about her spiritual curiosity as a child and young adult, and her early ventures to Nepal where she met her husband and teacher Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. Having spent four years in retreat, Elizabeth shares how she learned to transform feelings of loneliness into a greater understanding of contingency and connection. This insight into the nature of dependent arising is at the heart of Elizabeth’s practice. She shares insights on the subtle ways we both lean into and resist this wisdom, and how a deeper understanding of this nature of contingency naturally paves the way for care and compassion. She and Daniel also discuss her devotional orientation to Madhyamaka philosophy and how she reconciles faith, reason, grace, and doubt.

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Next Episode

Janet Gyatso: Tibetan Buddhism, Animal Ethics and Compassion

On this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, host Daniel Aitken speaks with Janet Gyatso, renowned scholar and professor of Buddhist Studies at Harvard University. Janet is the author of several publications on the cultural and intellectual history of Tibetan Buddhism, including her award-winning book on the history of Tibetan medicine in early modern Tibet, Being Human in a Buddhist World.

In this rich conversation recorded at her home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, you’ll hear Janet tell stories of her early encounters with Tibetan Buddhism and the sense of “aesthetic shock” she experienced upon first coming into contact with its teachings and teachers. She shares fascinating recollections from her adventures as a young graduate student and scholar—from her time in the newly minted doctoral program in Buddhist Studies at UC Berkeley to her extensive travels in Asia. Along the way, she describes the meaningful contact she had with great masters such as Kalu Rinpoche, and later, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Janet also discusses her work on Jigme Lingpa and the terma tradition, and how she has negotiated the challenges of being both scholar and practitioner throughout her academic career.

Finally, you’ll hear Janet discuss the process of researching Tibetan medicine for over a decade and share the direction she hopes to take for her next project. She recalls formative experiences involving animals throughout her life that have contributed to her interest in pursuing further scholarship on animal ethics, how this is informed by her engagement with Buddhist philosophy and practice, and the ways in which we might transform our vision of care and compassion to prioritize the value and welfare of other species.

To hear Janet discuss her book Being Human in a Buddhist World, watch this interview. Also, be sure to check out Janet’s recent talk at the Harvard Divinity School for an update on her work regarding animals.

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