Ep. 11 – The Power of the Immigrant Experience with Larry Yang

In this Episode of Brown Rice Hour, Konda Mason talks with Thanissara about Buddhist nunhood, the patriarchy, and daring to do. Thanissara is a teacher, poet, climate activist, and co-founder of the Dharmagiri Sacred Mountain Retreat. She spent 12 years as a Buddhist nun and holds an MA in Core Process Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapy Practice. Thanissara was a founding member of Chithurst and Amaravati Buddhist Monasteries in England. She helped initiate/support a number of HIV/Aids response projects in deep rural South Africa. In addition, she has facilitated meditation retreats internationally for 30 years. She teaches across the U.S., in South Africa, and the UK. She is the author of several books, including her most recent, Time To Stand Up, A Buddhist Manifesto for Our Earth. Explore the intersection of Buddhism & Bhakti with Be Here Now Network teachers and guests at the inaugural Love Serve Remember Summer Mountain Retreat August 25th – 29th in Boone, NC!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Konda Mason and Tara Brach join forces to bring awareness to the treatment of non-human animals, and talk about how we can attend to this crucial domain of compassion. This podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/beherenowTara Brach has been practicing and teaching meditation since 1975, as well as leading workshops and meditation retreats at centers throughout North America and Europe. She has a PhD in clinical psychology, is the founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, and is the author of several beloved books, including Trusting the Gold: Uncovering Your Natural Goodness. Learn more about Tara and her offerings at tarabrach.com, plus don’t miss out on her podcast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Konda Mason, Kate Johnson, Crystal Johnson PhD, & Dawn Haney discuss their experience bringing anti-racism work to mindfulness teacher trainings.Kate Johnson is a Buddhist meditation teacher, writer, dancer, and mom who loves integrating embodiment, justice, and the practice of wise relationship in all of her work. She leads courses and retreats integrating somatic movement, social justice, creativity, and the practice of wise relationships. She is the author of the book Radical Friendship: Seven Ways to Love Yourself and Find Your People in an Unjust World. For more info, check out at www.katejohnson.comCrystal Johnson PhD is a retired clinical psychologist and a Community Teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center (EBMC) in Oakland, CA, where she also serves on the Leadership Sangha (Board) and as a member of the Radical Inclusivity Committee. In her teaching, she focuses on creating/co-creating programs for white dharma practitioners seeking to build awareness, knowledge and skills to challenge the dynamics of white privilege and race-based oppression, and create truly inclusive sangha.Dawn Haney is a teacher, coach, and consultant committed to helping communities and organizations how to navigate change while attending to dynamic of identity and power. They braid together wisdom from Buddhism, social justice, and psychology traditions and alchemize this with their own experiences as a white, fat, queer, chronically ill, nonbinary femme to support individual and community change through social movements, from migrant justice to fat liberation. More info at DawnHaney.netSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dharma teacher and author, Kaira Jewel Lingo, joins Konda in conversation around spirituality, social justice, community, Thich Nhat Hanh, acceptance, apocalypse, and collective healing.This podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/beherenowKaira Jewel Lingo is a Dharma teacher who has a lifelong interest in blending spirituality and meditation with social justice. She received Lamp Transmission from Thich Nhat Hanh and became a Zen teacher in 2007, and is a teacher in the Vipassana Insight lineage through Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Kaira teaches and leads retreats internationally, provides spiritual mentoring, and interweaves art, play, nature, racial and earth justice, and embodied mindfulness practice in her teaching. She especially feels called to share the Dharma with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, as well as activists, educators, youth, artists, and families. Check out her new book We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons on Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption, and discover more offerings at KairaJewel.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this Brown Rice Hour, Konda Mason welcomes Paul Hawken for a conversation about his new book, Regeneration, and how it offers a visionary new approach to climate change.Paul Hawken is an environmentalist, entrepreneur, author and activist who has dedicated his life to environmental sustainability and changing the relationship between business and the environment. He is one of the environmental movement’s leading voices, and the founder of Project Drawdown, a non-profit dedicated to researching when and how global warming can be reversed. Paul’s latest book is Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation. To learn more about him, visit paulhawken.com. Head to regeneration.org for the world’s largest, most complete listing and network of solutions to the climate crisis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of the Brown Rice Hour, Konda Mason welcomes Carol Cano for a conversation around hands-on healing, cross-cultural mindfulness, and the importance of our origin stories.Carol Cano brings a unique combination of Basque, Native American and Buddhist influences into her teaching. She is the founder of Braided Wisdom, a non-profit that empowers diverse communities by fostering transformational change through integrating indigenous wisdom teachings and cross-cultural mindfulness practices. Carol also co-founded Philippine Insight Meditation Community in the Philippines, and is a teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. You can learn more about her at carolcano.com.“Because there’s not a culture in the world – when you think of what we have in common – that doesn’t have the healing arts, that doesn’t have their own medicine, that doesn’t have their own story, that doesn’t have their own dance… There’s so much that we have in common than not. So, how do we begin to bridge our universal understanding?” – Carol Cano See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of the Brown Rice Hour, Konda Mason speaks with Noliwe Alexander about her work with two non-profit organizations, Peace At Any Pace and Deep Time Liberation.Noliwe Alexander has been a student of Vipassana meditation for over 20 years. Throughout this time of deep devotion to the Dharma, Noliwe has become a dedicated practitioner and meditation teacher. She dedicates her BuddhaDharma practice and teachings to the BiPOC, LGBTQIA+, At Risk and Elder communities. Noliwe is the founder of Peace At Any Pace, a non-profit organization that offers healing opportunities through culturally specific journeys. She is also a facilitator for Deep Time Liberation, a non-profit organization that offers ancestral healing journeys.   See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On Being's Krista Tippett joins Konda for a conversation on kinship, faith, spirituality, Black voices, democracy, Dr. Vincent Harding, and being comfortable with being uncomfortable.Krista Tippett is a Peabody Award-winning broadcaster, a National Humanities Medalist, and a New York Times bestselling author. Krista is Founder and CEO of The On Being Project, a nonprofit media and public life initiative; host of the radio programs and podcasts, On Being and Becoming Wise; and Curator of The Civil Conversations Project. For more information about her ongoing work at the intersection of spiritual inquiry, science, social healing, community, poetry, arts, race, and healing, please visit onbeing.orgSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mindfulness teacher Larry Yang joins Konda Mason for a conversation about the power of the immigrant experience, creating opportunities in the realm of mindfulness, and much more. Larry Yang teaches mindfulness and loving-kindness retreats nationally and has a special interest in creating access to the Dharma for diverse, multicultural communities. He is the author of Awakening Together: The Spiritual Practice of Inclusivity and Community, and is also a senior advisor in Mindfulness and Healing Justice for the Kataly Foundation. Learn more about him at larryyang.org.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Peace educator, Dr. David Ragland, joins Konda Mason for deep truth-telling, exploring the heart-level spiritual change needed for true reparations and transformation of a racist system.David Ragland, PhD, is the co-founder and co-director of the Truth Telling Project and director of the Grassroots Reparations Campaign. An educator, thought-leader, human rights, racial justice, and anti-war advocate; Georgetown University's Advocacy Lab included his research as part of the most important research on advocacy in the past 40 years. Dr. Ragland was recently inducted into the MLK Collegium of Scholars at Morehouse College, and has served as the Sr. Bayard Rustin Fellow at the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and as a Board Member for the Peace and Justice Studies Association.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.