The Modern Buddhism Podcast

Turn Pain Into Purpose - A Buddhist Nun’s Journey from Tragedy to Transformation

In today’s episode, Gen Rinchung reflects on loss, grief, spiritual growth, and the transformative power of Dharma. Drawing on her personal experience of losing her brother at a young age and her subsequent search for meaning, she shares how this loss revealed there was something within herself that was causing her pain. Seeing how destructive mental states shaped her suffering set her on a quest to find a spiritual teacher—someone who could teach her about her mind and how to work with it.Meeting Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche profoundly changed her life. This episode explores how changing our mind is the only realistic way to change the world, bringing hope, purpose, and deep peace, and how authentic spiritual practice helps us live a more meaningful and compassionate life.Chapters00:00 Facing Death and Loss05:20 Losing Her Brother and Grief10:00 Spiritual Search and Meeting Venerable Geshe-la15:20 Meeting Venerable Geshe-la and Authentic Dharma20:02 Changing the Mind, Changing the World24:10 Meditation, Effort, and Stubbornness29:04 Ordination and Daily Commitment32:01 Goals, Prayer, and Letting GoBook ReferencesModern Buddhism: https://kadampa.org/book/modern-buddhismHow to Transform Your Life: https://howtotyl.com/Gen Rinchung is a senior teacher within the New Kadampa Tradition, an international Buddhist tradition with over a thousand meditation centers worldwide.Find a meditation center near you: https://kadampa.org/nkt-center-search/?lang=enListen to teaching clipsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nktikbuSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5QPCFEyZz74nOHZbQr1B4zSubscribe to get notifications of new episodes.#Kadampa #Grief #GesheKelsangGyatso #NewKadampaTradition #BuddhistWisdom #ModernBuddhism #Dharma #Meditation #Compassion #SpiritualGrowth #InnerPeace #MindTraining #GriefHealing #LifeMeaning #KadampaPodcast

Take Control of Your Mind

In this episode, Gen Ananda explores the Buddhist practice of patience, understanding it as a profound practice of acceptance - not passive tolerance, but a powerful method for transforming anger, conflict, and emotional pain. Through real-life examples, personal stories, and Kadampa Buddhist wisdom, we learn how patience creates inner freedom, courage in difficult conversations, and a healthier way to meet conflict - without suppressing our feelings or fueling them. A deep, practical conversation on emotional maturity, forgiveness, and changing the world by changing the mind.Chapters00:00  Why Patience Matters05:20  Working with Anger & Emotional Triggers09:20 Courage, Conflict & Inner Freedom13:45  Conflict Without Drama17:20  Healthy Ways to Process Anger22:15  Meditation as Real-Life Training25:20  Conflict with the World & Society33:45  Forgiveness & Letting Go of Blame40:00  Healing Through Responsibility & InsightBook ReferencesModern Buddhism: https://kadampa.org/book/modern-buddhismHow to Transform Your Life: https://howtotyl.com/Gen Ananda is a senior teacher within the New Kadampa Tradition, an international Buddhist tradition with over a thousand meditation centers worldwide.Want More?Find a meditation center near you
https://kadampa.org/nkt-center-search/?lang=enListen to teaching clips
https://open.spotify.com/show/5QPCFEyZz74nOHZbQr1B4zSubscribe to get notifications of new episodes.Follow The Modern Buddhism PodcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/modernbuddhismpodcast
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#Kadampa #Buddhism #Kadampa #Meditation #Patience #EmotionalHealing #InnerPeace #AngerManagement #SpiritualGrowth #MeditationPractice #MindTraining #RadicalAcceptance #Forgiveness #MentalHealth #ModernBuddhism #SelfDevelopment

Inner Peace in a World We Can’t Control

In today’s episode, Gen Demo shares her journey of working with the mind through Kadampa Buddhism and how this practice has transformed her experience of happiness and meaning. Reflecting on her early encounters with Buddhist teachings, international festivals, and meeting Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, she explains how learning to observe and train the mind gradually shifted her priorities and sense of fulfillment. Gen Demo describes how ordination and daily practice helped her see that unhappiness is not caused by external conditions, but by the way the mind responds to them. Through practical examples and personal insight, she shows how difficulties can become opportunities for inner growth, and how cultivating a peaceful, flexible mind leads to a stable happiness that does not depend on circumstances. This episode highlights the Kadampa approach to modern life - using meditation, reflection, and compassion to turn everyday experiences into a meaningful spiritual path.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Training the Mind
05:40 Discovering Kadampa Buddhism
11:05 Meeting Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
17:10 Ordination and Kadampa Nun Life
23:20 Daily Meditation and Inner Change
29:15 Overcoming Problems with Buddhism
35:10 Mind Training in Everyday Life
41:05 Using Difficulties as the Path
47:00 Finding Meaning and Lasting Happiness


Book References
Modern Buddhism:
https://kadampa.org/book/modern-buddhismHow to Transform Your Life:
https://howtotyl.com/Gen Kelsang Demo is a senior teacher within the New Kadampa Tradition, an international Buddhist tradition with over a thousand meditation centers worldwide.
Want More?Find a meditation center near you
https://kadampa.org/nkt-center-search/?lang=enListen to teaching clips
https://open.spotify.com/show/5QPCFEyZz74nOHZbQr1B4zSubscribe to get notifications of new episodes.Follow The Modern Buddhism PodcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/modernbuddhismpodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/modernbuddhismpodcast/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@modernbuddhismpodcast
#NewKadampaTradition #KadampaMeditation #GesheKelsangGyatso #MentalHealthAndMeditation #AnxietyRelief #PanicAttacks #WatchingTheMind #BuddhistPsychology #InnerPeace #MeditationPractice #AcceptanceAndHealing #CompassionTraining #ModernBuddhism #MentalWellbeing #FindingPeace

Turn Crisis into Calm: A Buddhist Nun’s Guide to Experiencing Clarity and Confidence

In today’s episode, Gen Chogma shares her personal journey of working with anxiety and panic attacks, explaining how meditation transformed her relationship with her mind. Drawing on her lived experience and the teachings of Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, she explains how intense feelings can seem overwhelmingly real, even when nothing is actually wrong externally, and why it is so important to control our mind—otherwise, it can easily deceive us.Through clear, honest examples from everyday life, she explores how learning to watch the mind helps us recognize the early stages of anxiety, create inner space, and gradually regain a sense of control. Rather than suppressing difficult emotions, this episode shows how gently pacifying the mind allows thoughts and feelings to settle naturally, like waves calming on an ocean.This conversation highlights a deeply practical approach to meditation and mental training that many people will find beneficial.Chapters00:00 Panic, Anxiety, and First Meditation05:30 Learning to Watch the Mind11:00 Feelings, Fear, and Deceptive Appearances16:30 Acceptance, Impermanence, and Loss22:00 Using Suffering to Grow Compassion27:30 Anxiety, Modern Life, and Mental Tools32:30 Watching the Mind in Daily Life37:45 Shifting from Self to OthersBook References

In this episode Gen Kelsang Chogma references :

How to Understand the Mind https://kadampa.org/books/how-to-understand-the-mindModern Buddhism 
https://kadampa.org/book/modern-buddhismHow to Transform Your Life
 https://howtotyl.com/Gen Chogma is a senior teacher within the New Kadampa Tradition, an international Buddhist tradition with over a thousand meditation centers worldwide.

Want More?Find a meditation center near you
https://kadampa.org/nkt-center-search/?lang=enListen to teaching clips
https://open.spotify.com/show/5QPCFEyZz74nOHZbQr1B4zSubscribe to get notifications of new episodes.Follow The Modern Buddhism PodcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/modernbuddhismpodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/modernbuddhismpodcast/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@modernbuddhismpodcast
#NewKadampaTradition #KadampaMeditation #GesheKelsangGyatso #MentalHealthAndMeditation #AnxietyRelief #PanicAttacks #WatchingTheMind #BuddhistPsychology #InnerPeace #MeditationPractice #AcceptanceAndHealing #CompassionTraining #ModernBuddhism #MentalWellbeing #FindingPeace

The Secret to Reclaiming Your Mind in an Anxious World

WHY OUR OWN THOUGHTS THAT SCARE US - & HOW TO FACE THEMIn today’s episode, Kadam Lucy James explores the challenges of modern life and the difficulty many people face in keeping their mind peaceful. Drawing on her experience and the teachings of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, she explains how our minds are often dominated by uncontrolled, anxious, or judgmental thoughts - a state that has become normalized in today’s fast-paced, distraction-filled world. She points out that most people are unable to sit quietly with their own thoughts, and so are forced to fill their life with busyness and distraction, which creates a vicious circle of mental pain.Using the powerful analogy of the mind as a vast, clear sky and thoughts as passing clouds, she demonstrates how meditation helps us step back from our delusions, gain perspective, and cultivate a deeper sense of self. This episode emphasizes that peace is already present within us, and by gently letting go of distracting thoughts, we can develop the space to be able to deal with things in a more constructive way.Chapters:00:00 Peace and Letting Go02:00 The Basics of Meditation06:26 Modern Life and Distractions11:03 Experiment on Sitting with Thoughts15:45 Fear of Our Own Mind20:12 Uncontrolled Thoughts and Judgment24:40 The Mind as a Sky29:10 Breathing Meditation Practice34:25 Experiencing Inner Peace39:00 Building a Healthy Sense of Self43:50 Long-Term Benefits of Meditation
Book References
Modern Buddhism:
https://kadampa.org/book/modern-buddhismHow to Transform Your Life
:https://howtotyl.com/Kadam Lucy James is a senior teacher within the New Kadampa Tradition, an international Buddhist tradition with over a thousand meditation centers worldwide.

Want More?Find a meditation center near you
:https://kadampa.org/nkt-center-search/?lang=enListen to teaching clips
:https://open.spotify.com/show/5QPCFEyZz74nOHZbQr1B4zSubscribe to get notifications of new episodes.#MeditationPractice #AnxietyRelief #InnerPeace #Mindfulness #Buddhism #KadampaBuddhism #MentalClarity #SelfAwareness #PeacefulMind #LettingGo #MindTraining #SpiritualGrowth #Contemplation #MindfulLiving #WisdomTeachings