Interviews
These are interviews that I have had with various teachers and commentators from both the east and west, who are involved in the movement and mixing of their philosophies.
We'd love to hear your comments on these interviews. Leave them below!
Tarchin Hearn introduces his unique transmission on developing a sense of refuge through sensing and opening to a spacious awareness of 'presence' to the worlds of 'being', flowing from our ancestors through us into new forms of life. His emphasis is on "looking with eyes of interest' and non-clinging awareness that will soften the negativity of anger, fear, jealousy and ignorance ... More about Tarchin Hearn
Ian Gawler is one of Australias best known cancer survivors and international advocate for ways in which people with cancer and other life threatening conditions can help themselves. He describes his lifelong interest in meditation and the discovery of psychiatrist, Ainslea Meares, who believed in the healing power of meditation. ... More about Ian Gawler
ShantiMayi is the first westerner and woman in the ancient lineage of Indian Sacha Masters. ShantiMayi has a house by the Ganges in India and in the Pyrenees, plus centres in France, Germany, Denmark and Australia but she spends much of her time travelling around the world to her centres and to visit indigenous communities in remote parts of the world. ... More about ShantiMayi
Cecilie Kwiat is a meditation teacher from the west of Canada with skill in crafting traditional meditation techniques to accommodate individual needs.... More about Cecilie Kwiat
Dr Bill Genat, is an Australian lay meditation teacher in Melbourne, Australia. Bill has been studying and practicing Buddhadharma for over 30 years, primarily influenced by the universalist approach to the Buddhadharma developed by his late teacher (who was also my teacher), the Venerable Namgyal Rinpoche. Bill has a PhD in medical sociology and is a senior lecturer in Aboriginal Health at the University of Melbourne. ... More about Dr Bill Genat
Lama Choedak Rinpoche, is the founder and Spiritual Director of Sakya Losal Choe Dzong, Rongton Buddhist College and Virupa Retreat Centre in Canberra. He is also Spiritual Director of the Sakya Jamchen Buddhist Centre in Melbourne, as well as at least 20 centres around Australia and New Zealand and has helped design teaching programs for many other Tibetan Buddhist centers in Malaysia, USA, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand ... More about Lama Choedak
HH Sakya Trizin is the lineage holder of the Sakya School of Tibetan Buddhism ... More about HH Sakya Trizin
The Quakers - or Society of Friends - probably have the Western world's record for their consistent commitment over the centuries to peace and non-violence, in the face of numerous wars and oppression often fought in the name of religion. Listen to this interview with 83 y.o. Ruth Watson, who - as a Quaker - has spent much of her life supporting peace, mutual understanding and non-violent action for justice ... More about the Quakers
HE Jetsun Kushok Chimey Luding the sister of HH Sakya Trizin and is one of only three women in the history of Sakya to have transmitted the Lam Dre teachings... More about HE Jetsun Kushok Chimey Luding
HE Ghyana Vajra Rinpoche is a senior lineage holder of the Sakya Order of Tibetan Buddhism, and the younger son of His Holiness Sakya Trizin.... More about HE Ghyana Vajra Rinpoche
His Eminence Dungsei Ratna Vajra Rinpoche is the eldest son of His Holiness Sakya Trizin ... More about HE Ratna Vajra Rinpoche
Ven Robina Courtin is well known for her work with inmates in prisons in both Australia and the USA ... More about Ven Robina Courtin
Khenpo Ngawang Dhamchoe is the Director of the Drogmi Retreat Centre on the outskirts of Sydney, NSW. He speaks of his experience as a Tibetan monk who has grown up in India and had to learn English and the Australian culture in order to teach and lead his Australian dharma students ... More about Khenpo Ngawang Dhamchoe
Brilliant thank you Jacqui! Great reminders from the retreat and also a great tip to wiggle my toes!
aaah what a relief to listen...finally....to these words of wisdom between yourself and Cecilie, Tarchin and Shatimayii...so far...Thanks Jacqui, i find it really comforting and helps bring me back to what feels to me to be the 'essential'... lying underneath this busy mind Lots of Love Deborah
Hi Deborah, so glad you've discovered some of eastwest's interviews. I'm grateful to have gathered these inspirational words from such teachers and now they are a resource for us all. You will see that I've been inactive in my writing for quite some time, getting tied up in teaching and my clients and a new grandDaughter. However, I know I will get back to writing when I really have something to say. Lovely to hear from you. Please take care of yourself. Warmest wishes, Jacqui
Dear Jacqui,
Tonight i listened to the conversation shared between you & Tarchin Hearn. He is beautiful to listen to & i was very touched by his description of "timeless living", which he read from his written book at the interview's end. I don't remember if you mentioned his book earlier in the conversation & was wondering if you could email me the title of that particular book. I would love to read it.
Thankyou very much,
Raili
Dear Raili,
So happy you enjoyed listening to Tarchin. His readings from "timeless living" can be found, read and downloaded from the writings/practices section of his website: http://www.greendharmatreasury.org/writings/practices/. I think you will find many wondrous teachings and practices to explore in Green Dharma Treasury. His great generosity in freely offering and sharing his wisdom is a great boon to us all.
Warm wishes,
Jacqui
Hi mate. are you into buddhism too? I am going to see the dalai lama in Perth .... june 2011. i hope this is the same railli from buderim and nambour. I hope you remember me! Rachael with the horses, still think of you from time to time!
Hello Rachael, Yes, I am indeed into Buddhism! I hope to see the Dalai Lama in Brisbane in June. I confess to not being able to place you at the moment. Did we meet in Queensland or WA? Anyway, I hope you are well and happy, Jacqui
I really enjoyed listening to Ian Gawler, thank you. I note his remarks about focusing on Impermanance when in a grieving situation, but this promotes the timeless question of how we affect our heart through mental conditioning. I would also like to offer the following quotes from Sri Aurobindo for those interested in increasing their health through meditation. "What I meant was that the body consciousness through old habit of consciousness admits the force of illness and goes through the experiences which are associated with it - eg, congestion of phlegm in the chest and feeling of suffocation or difficulty of breathing etc. To get rid of that one must awaken a will and consciousness in the body itself that refuses to allow these things to impose themselves upon it. One step towards it is to get the inner consciousness separate from the body - to feel that it is not you who are ill, but it is only something taking place in the body and affecting your consciousness. It is then possible to see the separate body consciousness, what it feels, what are its reactions to things,how it works. One can then act on it to change its consciousness and reactions."
Thank you so much for the very useful quote from Sri Aurobindo explaining the connection between habituated body consciousness and body manifestation. I have already passed this on to my daughter who has an unexplained growth on her chest and she will incorporate this understanding with the healing visualisation she is about to start using. I feel the more understanding one has of disease manifestation processes and their causes, the more effectively we can use the mind to heal.
Warm wishes,
Jacqui
Dear Jacqui, My goodness what a gift you offer all beings through your interviews! Ian Gawler presents us with so much helpful knowledge through his sound experience, and just through the touch of the keyboard - thank you! It is wonderful to hear the voices and reflections of the Eastern teachers and Masters, but such a rarity to witness this experienced western elucidation of meditation 'in action' and mind. His clear exposition is inspiring, as he covers a depth of understanding we can easily relate to and benefit from in our own lives, illness, or even perhaps dying. It is no mystery that Ian is so successful. Essential listening!
Dear Michael, So glad you enjoyed the interview with Dr Ian Gawler. I agree with you that the practical angle he brings to meditation is of great value, particularly in relation to its helpfulness when we are unwell or facing death. I am heartened that you find the bringing together of teaching voices from the East and from the West inspiring and recognise that there is much to learn from both perspectives.
Warm wishes, Jacqui
Hi I am a member of the phuntsok buddhist centre here in Hawkesbay (New Zealand)and just wanted to pass on a huge thankyou for your interviews. Being able to click in a hear Lama Choedak Rinpoche and also His Holiness Sakya Trizin and his son is sooo heart warming. We have yearly visits at our centre and teachings from Lama Choedak Rinpoche. Our centre (which is very small) was blessed by his HH. Sakya Trizins' son and when we went to Auckland for Lamdre teachings we met his Holiness sooo we are know we are very spoilt. But now to find I can click in and hear there vioces anytime I want is awesome. Its extremely important because it keeps the conections stronger and my practise more alive. I am soooo incrediably lucky. Many many thanks and gratitude for bringing this to us.
Hi Jan,
Thanks so much for sharing with me your sense of gratitude and bounty from all the wonderful Sakya teachings and blessings. I am so glad you enjoy and make use of the interviews. As you can imagine, it was a great privilege to be given the opportunity to talk with all of the Khon family, plus Lama Choedak and Khenpo, while we were attending the Lamdre teachings in Sydney last year. We are also blessed with regular teachings from Lama Choedak and Khenpo, who both visit small centres in South East Queensland several times a year.
Do, please, spread the word amongst your friends and contacts about the site. We are attempting to make it interesting to a wide variety of people, ranging from those considering meditation through to experienced meditators and students of Buddha dharma. In the pipeline, we have plans to offer basic teachings, using multi media resources via the internet, that is suitable for beginners. The more people we can all introduce to the dharma and meditation, the better!
With warm wishes,
Jacqui
I was quite engaged listening to Lama Choedak Rinpoche. The conversation flowed beautifully yet, as one discovers in discourse with Rinpoche, there is always much to gain or benefit from his experience. He persists in presenting as a Master in humility, which belies his great accomplishments since his time in Australia. Thank you Jacqui for posting this interview (great synopsis)... which highlights how fortunate we are here in Australia, never to be taken lightly!
suresh banta
November 12th, 2009 at 2:59 pm · Reply · Edit
It is indeed motivating for person of my age who is pasing through similar stages.Kindly help me bygiving further guidence.
Jacqui
November 14th, 2009 at 12:46 pm · Reply · Edit
Dear Suresh, I see you have also left a comment on the “About Jacqui” section of this website and I think I must give a similar response to your comment here. I am very glad that you have found the interview with Cecilie inspiring and I would certainly be happy to provide more guidance if you can be more precise about what you want to know.
You may, for example, be interested in an ebook we have just published on the internet that describes the various types of health-oriented meditations used by some people suffering from cancer. The book is titled ‘Meditation and Cancer: Does it help?’ and in it I give a lot of guidance on some basic meditation methods and some examples of meditations to try. To see if this book is of interest to you, go to: http://meditation-and-cancer-advice.com.
Warm wishes,
Jacqui
Hi Jacqui,
Your interview with Cecilie was a joy to me, she's been a dear sister to me in both the dharmic and the karmic sense.
I must applaud your interview with Robina as well. I've spent a number of years as a prison chaplain, and can appreciate from that perspective the mind you were working with. Sharp indeed, and you very successfully interviewed that "porcupine". Prison chaplaincy (in Northern Canada) presents the need for a multi-disciplinary approach to mindfulness, and the ability to discuss the subject in the light of many traditions and cultures.
Thank you for your work on this list.
Hi Larry,
Sorry for delay in responding to your comment. I took my eye off the ball! I am so happy to learn you enjoyed the interviews with Cecilie and Robina. I also very much appreciate you commenting from the perspective of a prison chaplain, especially as one of my aspirations for EastWestWisdoms.com is to encourage interfaith dialogue as well as inter-disciplinary and cross-cultural exchanges.
I am currently exploring the possibility of attending the Parliament of the World's Religions in Melbourne, December 3-9 later this year. Here I would hope to gather some interviews from representatives of different faiths on such topics as 'living peacefully amongst conflict'; living with respect for the whole ecology of life; nurturing interfaith dialogue; encouraging spiritual development free of fundamentalism and opposition to 'the other'; and further exploration of the nature of mind from different religious perspectives.
If you have any further questions/topics you would like me to explore, please let me know.
Warm wishes,
Jacqui
Thank you Jacqui for the interview with Cecile Kwait. The wisdom and softening of her years shines through and her practical modern answers are very appropriate for us now.
Thanks, Johanna, for your comment on Cecilie's wisdom. It's very affirming to get feedback and to know that people are listening and gaining benefit from our offerings. Warm wishes, Jacqui
I just listened to the interview with Cecilie Kwiat and feel very fortunate to have access to such wonderful teachers. Thanks you Jacqui and Alan.
Thanks, Marga, for your gesture of appreciation. We are indeed very fortunate to have such wonderful teachers. Warm wishes, Jacqui
Thankyou Jacqui, I especially enjoyed Cecilie's interview. perhaps because there was such an easeful and direct communication between you or perhaps simply that a deep, wise and compassionate personality is transmitted and inspires commitment and faith. I love her wide view.
Thanks, Barb, for your thoughts on the interview with Cecilie. We spoke together in her apartment on our last day in Sydney, having seen each other every day at the Lam Dre teaching. I feel so fortunate to have had that extra contact with her, following on Alan's and my 3 month retreat with her, in her home in Alberta last year. I agree with you that her wide, compassionate view is both sustaining and inspiring.
Tashi delek Jacqui and Alan,
I listened to both HH and Khenpo-la's interviews. Very good, most worthwhile and looking forward to Khenpo-la's second interview with you. Thank you Alan for assisting me and my computer to access the interviews! Great site to BTW, will be recommending y'all to many other beings. 🙂
be well
I was so happy to hear the voice of Sakya Trizin again afther following the Lam Dre this year. It is an nice and usefull intervieuw. Thank you!
Alan, it's working fine for me. Very good. Helen
Hi Guys
Nice to see you in cyberspace. Internet explorer is still clipping off the right edge of the page...google chrome browser is fine.I find the font a little difficult to read-maybe it is my vision? Seems like the lines are too close together.
I liked your references to samadhi and also the pendulum effect of deep insights. What benefit do you feel it is to attain samadhi- or any state come to that? Some say that a number of samadhi experiences are a prerequisite to awakening-what say you? In yoga (i'm sure you know) samadhi is itself classified into several levels of realisation (depending on which stream is followed)...ah can that-i see it is already up on the wikipedia reference. Strange that it takes beings such a lot of effort to arrive at the natural state no?
Hi Jaqui
Good to see that you are happy and productive in Queensland
And that you are continuing your good work
I have tried to listen to the interview and the timer is clicking over but I can't get any sound
Is anyone else having this problem?
Best wishes in the Dharma
Johanna
Hi Joanna. It is working fine for us. I won't be able to check it properly until I get home on Tuesday, so will let you know what I find then. Anyone else had this issue? Thanks Alan