Zen at the Sharp End
This is the podcast about how to turn difficult people and relationships into your best teachers. In each episode we'll be exploring different varieties of people, relationships and situations that we find irritating, difficult or painful. Together with a number of Zen friends, I'll be discussing how the practices of Buddhism and mindfulness can help us see our difficult people – in arenas as diverse as fellow commuters, the workplace, neighbours and family – as troublesome buddhas, our greatest teachers.
Episodes
31 episodes
Non-violent communication - with Claralynn Nunamaker
Claralynn Nunamaker grew up in Chicago. She first encountered Chinese philosophy when at university and particularly resonated with the Dao De Jing. She studied Chinese and spent some time in China before moving to moving to Ukiah, California, ...
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Season 2
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Episode 12
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42:51
Is that so? - with Steve James
Steve grew up in a Christian family on the Shetland Islands (off the northern coast of Scotland) and was very involved in church growing up. This provided the foundation for a life-long interest in spiritual investigation, philosophy, world mys...
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Season 2
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Episode 11
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41:35
Troublesome encounters in the dream world - with Charlie Morley
Charlie Morley is a bestselling author and teacher of lucid dreaming, shadow integration and Mindfulness of Dream & Sleep. Since early childhood, Charlie has been fascinated by lucid dreaming. His interest in Buddhism was piqued after readi...
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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38:30
Everyone is essentially a troublesome buddha! - with Matt
Matt has asked that I use only his first name to preserve his anonymity. Matt has been a member of the Zenways sangha for some years. He came to meditation originally through an interest in Asian martial arts and is now an authorised teacher of...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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40:41
Coming face-to-face with money, wealth and finances - with Spencer Sherman
Spencer Sherman’s journey started in the late 80s when he had a panic attack and ran into his burning office building to retrieve his client files, sparking a realisation that he had valued money higher than his own life. This inspired him to b...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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45:14
How to avoid being emotionally highjacked - with Geshe Namdak
Born in Netherlands, Geshe Namdak completed his university studies in Hydrology and went on to work as an environmental researcher. He found Buddhism via a martial arts practice and a general leaning towards a spiritual perspective on life. On ...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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41:13
Storylines, identity, race and transformation - with Rehena Harilall
Rehena was born in South Africa to a Buddhist family of Indian origin, who had been brought to South Africa during colonial times as indentured labour (her ancestors are originally from Bodh Gaya, the place where the Buddha attained enlightenme...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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42:21
Ah-un Meditation - Energising The Hara (Belly)
The ah-un meditation comes from the Rinzai Zen tradition and is a powerful practice for waking up, centering our awareness and energising the hara (belly). It may feel a bit weird at first (and sound strange), but the proof is in the p...
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9:44
Troublesome auditions, conductors and orchestras - with Evan Williams
Evan Williams is a professional French Horn player in an operatic orchestra in Germany and part of the Zenways sangha. Aside his concert appearances, Evan is also a music therapist and passionate about influencing people’s health in positive wa...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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29:02
Guided Loving Kindness Meditation
Generating the intention or wish that all beings feel well and happy. The meditation starts by encouraging you to wish loving kindness to yourself. Then it asks you to intensify and expand that feeling to the point where it feels l...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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20:20
The importance of practising loving kindness - with Frank Cooke
Zenways sangha member Frank Cook has worked in finance as a stock broker until his retirement a few years ago. He first got into meditation in the 1990s as a way of helping him deal with the stresses of work and having a young family, and has, ...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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36:08
Releasing ourselves from the prisons of our own making - with Sandy Rinko-an Chubb
Sandy Rinko-an Chubb is the guiding teacher at the Oxford Zen Centre, UK, in the Sanbo Zen lineage. She began Zen practice with Master Yamata Hogen in 1987, then continued her study with Sister Elaine MacInnes (founder of the Oxford Zen Centre)...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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31:48
Fostering a safe space for creativity - with Shelley Albrich
Shelley Albrich is a high school art teacher based in Eugene, Oregon and a member of the Blue Cliff Zen group led by Shinkai Roshi (who I interviewed a few episodes back). She encountered Zen and Buddhism via a yoga class that Shinkai was teach...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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38:50
Accepting everyone, wherever they are - with Bradley Jinaiyo Nussbaum
Bradley Jinaiyo Nussbaum is a Lay Minister with the Bright Dawn Center of Oneness and is based in New Jersey, USA. He is a social worker with a background in addiction and substance abuse and currently works in a hospice. His journey into Buddh...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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36:02
Spending time with family over Christmas - with Mark Westmoquette
My podcast has been going now for a year! Thank you so much to everyone who has listened over this time. I’ve had the amazing opportunity to share with you interviews with some very inspiring people, which I hope you’ve enjoyed and got a lot ou...
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35:25
Being a parent – with Birgitte Dosanjh
Birgitte Dosanjh is a physiotherapist and pilates teacher, and mother of two: Iona, 5 and Oskar, 2. Although it’s a slight departure for this podcast to speak to someone who doesn’t identify as a Buddhist or have a regular meditation practice, ...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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29:12
Troublesome politicians and climate activism - with Satya Robyn
Satya Robyn is a Pure Land Buddhist teacher and co-runs the Bright Earth Pure Land temple in Malvern, UK with her husband. She’s also a a psychotherapist and author – her latest books are 'Dear Earth: L...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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33:35
Don't distract me from my important spiritual practice! - with Matt Shinkai Kane
Matt Shinkai Kane Roshi is head of the Blue Cliff Zen Centre in Eugene, Oregon, USA. Before that he spent 7 years as a monk in Japan under Zen master Shinzan Miyamae in Gyokuryiji, becoming a teacher i...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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30:04
The importance of being truly heard - with Dr. Russell Razzaque
Russell Razzaque is a consultant psychiatrist working within the NHS, and author of “Breaking Down is Waking Up” (Watkins, 2014), a book that explores the relationship between psychological breakdown and spiritual awakening. His work involves r...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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34:30
Suddenly a lifetime of resentment shows up - with Wendy Shinyo Haylett
Wendy Shinyo is a long-time Buddhist practitioner and lay minister with The Bright Dawn Center of Oneness. She is also the host of the podcast, "Everyday Buddhism: Making Everyday Better", and wor...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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35:58
The troublesome self – with Bhante Vannyapamsa
Bhante Vannyapamsa grew up in Sri Lanka in a Catholic family. He was drawn to Buddhism in his teens after a poignant encounter with an enlightened monk. After becoming a monk himself in Burma, he moved to the UK to study for his masters in cogn...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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38:07
Surrendering to the physicality of the experience - with Jason Christopher
Jason Christopher is a London-based member of the Zenways sangha. He came to Zen through Christianity after he started meditating with a group run by a Christian minister with a long-time interest in Zen. In this episode, he discus...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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39:44
When you recognise that you enjoy the feeling of getting angry - with Pete Cherry
Pete Cherry joined the Zenways sangha in 2012 after having already been a yoga teacher for many years. He is now a trainee Zen teacher and regular in the community. He lives with his wife and son in London.In this episode, Pete discusse...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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33:39
Transforming anger into compassion - with Scott Snibbe
Scott Snibbe is an interactive media artist, entrepreneur, and meditation instructor. He’s been a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism for many years and is host of the popular “A Skeptic’s Path to Enlightenm...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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34:18
The troublesome self - with Melanie Sinclair
In this epiode I'm talking to Melanie Sinclair, ICU nurse, member of the Zenways sangha and trainee Zen teacher.Mel talks about her realisation that in many troublesome situations in her life, she’s realised she’s the common denominator...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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31:39