The Modern Buddhism Podcast

You Matter More Than You Know

1.9K views · 2d ago · 4:01

We rarely see the difference we make, and sometimes it’s bigger than we could ever imagine.

Free Your Mind with this Simple Technique

5.1K views · 5d ago · 3:10

Buddhist nun Gen Kelsang Norden shares a meditation technique that was originally taught in secret for centuries because of its power.

A Buddhist Monk's Search For Meaning

3.8K views · 1w ago · 4:30

Buddhist monk Gen Kelsang Rabten on searching for the real purpose and meaning of our life.

A Buddhist Monk Explains What Gives Life Meaning

384K views · 1mo ago · 1:05:28

In today’s episode, Gen Rabten explores one of the biggest questions we can ask about our lives: what is the point? In discussion with host Adam Starr, he explains how modern life can leave us feeling increasingly purposeless, whether through anxiety about the future, the pressure to achieve success, changing ideas about work and wealth, or the realization that the things we thought would make us happy often fail to provide lasting fulfilment.

Topics: The Search for Life’s Meaning · Searching Philosophy for Answers · Why We Chase False Happiness · Understanding Real Happiness · Finding Meaning Through Kindness · Guarding the Doors of the Senses

A Buddhist Monk's Candid Truths About Why Nothing Satisfies You

119K views · 1mo ago · 46:29

In today's episode, host Rebecca Gauthier interviews Buddhist monk Gen Kelsang Dragpa. Gen Dragpa shares his journey from a discontented youth to finding deep purpose through Kadampa Buddhism. Reflecting on his personal struggles with anger, expectations, and a painful relationship separation, he explains how Buddha's teachings function as a supportive mirror - helping us understand our own minds rather than blaming external circumstances.

Topics: Early Discontentment and Quest for Freedom · Reggae, Relationships, and Searching for Control · Discovering the Practical Science of Meditation · Using Buddha's Teachings as a Mirror · Meeting Geshe Kelsang and Requesting Ordination · Real Monk Challenges and Inner Kindness

How Do You Forgive Someone who never Apologizes?

38K views · 2mo ago · 50:21

Todays podcast is with guest Gen Kelsang Demo and host Agnes Bednarczyk. In this episode, we explore the deeply personal and transformative practice of forgiveness - and why letting go of resentment is ultimately about changing our own mind rather than waiting for someone else to apologize or make things right. The guest explains how our experience of hurt can become tied to blame, self-blame, and the mistaken belief that our faults or painful experiences define who we are.

Topics: Losing a Father & the Root of Blame · Seeing Your Own Role: A Cultural Story · No One to Blame: Self vs. Delusions · Karma, Conditions, and Feeling Neglected · When Neglect Is Real: Learning to Forgive · The Journey to Genuine Forgiveness

Musician to Monk: Why I Chose Meditation

38K views · 2mo ago · 43:06

In today’s episode, Gen Kelsang Sherab shares the remarkable journey that took him from being a professional musician in Israel and the Netherlands to becoming a Buddhist monk and meditation teacher. Looking back on his early search for meaning, he describes the quiet sense that something was missing from his life, even when everything appeared successful from the outside.

Topics: From Musician to Buddhist Monk · Searching for a Spiritual Guide · Discovering Kadampa Buddhism and Books · Samsara, Sorrow, and Losing His Mother · Choosing Ordination Over Music · Family Conflict and Spiritual Growth

WHAT IF YOU LOST EVERYTHING....AND WERE OK?

37K views · 3mo ago · 42:37

In today's episode, Kadam Michelle draws on 25+ years as a student of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso to explore how to find peace amid genuine uncertainty. Recounting her years as a resident teacher through three major hurricanes in Florida, she describes what she calls the "cone of uncertainty" - the idea that our entire life, not just a storm's path, is already pervaded by unpredictability.

Topics: Patient Acceptance and Letting Go of Attachment · Community, Compassion, and Helping After Disaster · Uncertainty, Impermanence, and Life's Storms · Training the Mind Through Patient Acceptance · Is Anger Ever the Right Response? · Building an Inner Refuge Through Meditation

I GAVE UP EVERYTHING (BEST DECISION I EVER MADE)

54K views · 4mo ago · 50:13

In today’s episode, Gen Chodor reflects on a powerful feeling he had as a young person—that life seemed almost dream-like—and how this sparked a deep search for meaning and purpose. Drawing on the wisdom of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, he explores how meditation can help us see reality more clearly, free ourselves from distraction, and discover a deeper, more lasting sense of inner peace.

Topics: Questioning Reality and Finding Buddhism · Meaning, Happiness and Inner Development · Morning Meditation and Setting Direction · Leaving Corporate Life Behind · Death, Impermanence and Living Without Regret · Why Spiritual Life Brings Meaning

A BUDDHIST MONK’S HONEST ADVICE ON LETTING GO & INNER PEACE

529K views · 5mo ago · 38:03

In today's episode, Gen Kelsang Chokyong - a Buddhist monk from Wales - shares the story of how he stumbled into a Dharma class while sheltering from the rain with a kebab, and never left. Drawing on nearly thirty years of practice and teaching within the New Kadampa Tradition, he shares life-changing insights into the nature of feelings - pointing out that most of what torments us is just a feeling, and feelings always pass.

Topics: Seeing Through the Fantasy of Worldly Life · How the Mind Creates Its Own Suffering · Buddhism's Relevance for Modern Life and Young People · Confidence, Self-Image, and Letting Go of Comparison · Working with Difficulties · Feelings and the Power of Letting Go

MEDITATION TOOLS WHEN YOU CAN'T CONTROL WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

24K views · 6mo ago · 43:32

In today's episode, Kadam Mick Marcon explores one of the biggest challenges in life - how to cope with uncertainty. Drawing on his own experience of losing his mother, witnessing a stranger's fear on a turbulent flight, and years of practicing and teaching within the New Kadampa Tradition, he reveals why our struggle with uncertainty runs far deeper than the unpredictable events of the outside world.

Topics: Bushfires, Escape Artists, and the Unprepared Mind · The Travel Blogger on a Turbulent Flight · Why Taming the Mind Feels Impossible · Informal Meditation - Becoming a Student of Life · The World's Problems and the Internal Answer · Unrealistic Wishes and the Root of Suffering

THE BUDDHIST MIND HACK THAT STOPS THE BLAME CYCLE WITH GEN KELSANG NORDEN

22K views · 6mo ago · 1:08:12

In today’s episode, Gen Kelsang Norden explores the meaning of karma and how understanding it can become a liberating and empowering force in our lives. Speaking from her heart and her own experience of practicing these teachings, she explains how our thoughts and actions shape the way we experience the world and what we encounter in the future.

Topics: A Powerful Method to Overcome Fear · The Secret to Feeling Joy Anytime · Can You Love People Who Hurt You? · Why We Lose Control (And How to Catch It) · Is Reality Actually Subjective? · Why You’re Not Stuck in Your Life

Cameron Mathison Opens Up About Facing Hate on Social Media

3.5K views · 6mo ago · 17:34

In this second part of a 2-part interview with actor Cameron Mathison, we learn how it feels to play one of TV's most despised characters. Cameron explains how he was able to see the truth of Buddha's teachings reflected in the character, using it as a mirror that helped him deepen his own spiritual training. However, the training didn't stop there. Cameron faced online hate as well as real-life confrontations from people unable to separate the role from the man behind it.

Topics: How Playing a Villain is a Mirror for Spiritual Practice · Handling Hate & Public Criticism · Building Resilience Through Challenges · How Delusions Negatively Shape Our Life · The Inner Conflict of Self-Cherishing · Why We Need Spiritual Friends & Accountability

CAMERON MATHISON ON HOW HE REBUILT HIS LIFE AFTER THE LA FIRES, CANCER, DEATH AND DIVORCE.

12K views · 7mo ago · 45:14

In today’s episode, we’re delighted to welcome actor and talk show host Cameron Mathison, who shares his deeply personal journey—from success in the entertainment industry to discovering lasting inner peace through the teachings of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.

Topics: When Success Was Not Enough · Discovering Kadampa Meditation · Learning to Work With the Mind · Practicing Dharma in the Entertainment Industry · Kindness in Difficult Relationships · Humility, Perspective & Real Success

I GRIEVED FOR 20 YEARS… UNTIL I LEARNED THIS

128K views · 7mo ago · 39:04

Guest: Gen Gomlam

We are delighted to welcome Gen Gomlam back for this powerful podcast. How do you transform the pain of loss into something life-enhancing? In this conversation, Gen Gomlam — a Buddhist nun and former hospice nurse — shares her deeply personal journey through grief, from the loss of her brother to the healing of her relationship with her father.

Topics: Early Experiences With Loss · Pain Comes From Our Reaction · Understanding Attachment · Prolonged Grief Is Attachment · Love Doesn't Die When They Die · Healing With Her Father