Connecting to the timelessness of the present moment, Gil Fronsdal offers practical steps towards the only source of true happiness: contentment.

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This time on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Gil Fronsdal explores:

• Seeing the timeless present through photographs
• Enjoying the preciousness of our limited time here on earth
• How corporate, capitalist America prefers people who are discontent
• What the Buddha said about the vital importance of contentment
• How many desires often dissipate on their own if you ride them out
• The ways in which desire alienates us from ourselves
• The embodied quality of contentment and being in touch with ourselves
• Freedom in the Buddhist sense: freedom ‘from’ rather than freedom ‘to do’
• Cultivating contentment by valuing it and seeing it as an important part of life
• Activities which encourage contentment versus remaining frantic
• Facing discontentment head-on so that it does not drive us

This recording was originally published on Dharmaseed.

“Contentment is a falling away of anxiety, restlessness, reaching forward, fear, being fragmented, and disconnected. It is a kind of settling. If we’re driven by desires, fears, preoccupations, or fantasies, often our energy, our center of attention, is upwelling in an unhealthy way. As we are contented, we feel the settling down, settling down into the center of gravity.” –Gil Fronsdal

About Gil Fronsdal:

Gil Fronsdal is the co-teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011 he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center. He is the author of The Issue at Hand, essays on mindfulness practice; A Monastery Within; a book on the five hindrances called Unhindered; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma.

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Uncovering the deep connection between Buddhism and Martial Arts, Damiano Seiryū Finizio joins Vincent Moore to explore what it truly means to face our most powerful opponent: the mind.

This conversation was originally recorded on Paths of Practice Podcast. Listen to more episodes HERE.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

This time on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Damiano and Vincent discuss:

• What initially brought Damiano to Buddhism after growing up in Italy, a predominantly Catholic country
• How Buddhism can be harmonious with martial arts
• Working on self-development and mutual growth rather than sparring
• Maintaining perfect mental presence during times of physical discomfort
• Following the Buddhist precepts and adopting a vegan diet for the principal of no-harm
• Mountains as natural energy centers
• Damiano’s global work and exposure to unique cultures in Vietnam, Cambodia, The Canary Islands, and more
• Bringing the message of peace, awareness, and compassion into the west
• Damiano’s advice for beginners walking the Buddhist path

About Damiano Seiryū Finizio:

Damiano Finizio was born in Italy in 1992. He began practicing traditional Japanese martial arts in 2012, where he met the Buddhist monk Seiun, who transformed his curiosity for Eastern disciplines and philosophies into dedicated practice. In 2014, he officially took refuge in the Dharma at Tenryuzanji Temple, receiving the name Seiryu, symbolizing his deep bond with his teacher and the temple. Since 2020, he has been living and working in Spain as a hostel owner, while also working seasonally in Italy and Croatia as a trip leader during the warmer months. Despite his commitments, he remains an active member of the Tenryuzanji community and continues to participate in its activities whenever possible.For more information about Tenryuzanji Temple, please click HERE. To keep up with Damiano, visit his Instagram.

“The advice is don’t do it yourself. It’s very likely to happen that you’re trying to tame your mind, but if you don’t know how to do it, most likely your mind will tame you and make you feel like you’re moving forward, but you’re just looking for comfort. This is why a teacher is important.“ –Damiano Seiryū Finizio

About Vincent Moore:

Vincent Moore is a creative and creative consultant living in San Francisco, California, with over a decade of experience in the entertainment industry and holds a graduate degree in Buddhist Studies. For years, he performed regularly at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, an improv and sketch comedy theatre based in New York and Los Angeles. As an actor, Vincent performed on Comedy Central, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Seth Meyers, Above Average, and The UCB Show on Seeso. As a writer, he developed for television as well as stage, including work with the Blue Man Group, and his own written projects have been featured on websites such as Funny or Die. Additionally, he received a Masters of Buddhist Studies from the Institute of Buddhist Studies with a Certificate in Soto Zen Studies and engages in a personal Buddhist practice within the Soto Zen tradition. Vincent is also the creator and host of the podcast, Paths of Practice, which features interviews with Buddhists from all over the world. Learn more on Vincent’s website HERE.

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Founder of Fireside Project, Joshua White, reflects on becoming a ‘loving rock’ and how Ram Dass’s teachings sparked his creation of a psychedelic peer support line.

Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

This time on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Joshua White outlines:

• How Joshua grew up feeling alienated from his Jewish roots
• The realization that we truly can just be observers of our own thoughts
• The inner knowing that there is more to this world
• Service as the highest form of psychedelic integration
• Being a ‘loving-rock’ for people in a psychedelic experience
• Becoming an environment in which someone can come up for air
• Connecting with our sense of ‘enoughness’ rather than brokenness
• Active listening and simply showing up for another person as a loving witness
• Welcoming all emotions and not referring to any as ‘wrong’

About Joshua White:

Joshua (he/him) is Fireside Project’s founder, the world's first psychedelic peer support line. He is a lawyer, peer support advocate, and psychedelic researcher who believes in the power of peer support and the role of support lines as foundational components of an equitable mental-health ecosystem.

Prior to founding Fireside Project, Joshua volunteered for many years as a counselor on Safe & Sound’s TALK Line and a psychedelic peer support provider for the Zendo Project.

Before devoting his life to the psychedelic field, Joshua spent more than a decade as a Deputy City Attorney at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, where he focused on suing businesses exploiting vulnerable communities, serving as general counsel to City departments, and co-teaching a nationally renowned clinic at Yale Law School. He also clerked on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and practiced civil litigation at Conrad | Metlitzky | Kane.

“Ram Dass’s experience encountering Maharaj-ji and having these magical experiences with him and all of the impact LSD and other psychedelics had on him, really showed me that these substances could be responsible tools for profound inner work.” –Joshua White

About The Host, Jackie Dobrinska:

Jackie Dobrinska is the Director of Education, Community & Inclusion for Ram Dass’ Love, Serve, Remember Foundation and the current host of Ram Dass’ Here & Now podcast. She is also a teacher, coach, and spiritual director with the privilege of marrying two decades of mystical studies with 15 years of expertise in holistic wellness. As an inter-spiritual minister, Jackie was ordained in Creation Spirituality in 2016 and has also studied extensively in several other lineages – the plant-medicine-based Pachakuti Mesa Tradition, Sri Vidya Tantra, Western European Shamanism, Christian Mysticism, the Wise Woman Tradition, and others. Today, in addition to building courses and community for LSRF, she leads workshops and coaches individuals to discover, nourish and live from their most authentic selves.

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