We Can Be podcast - The Heinz Endowments
Society & Culture
Dr. Barry Kerzin is foremost a kind, giving, smart and all-around inspirational human being.
And if that were all he was, it would be more than enough.
But Barry is also a Buddhist monk, a personal physician to the Dalai Lama, and the founder of both the Human Values Institute in Japan and the United States-based Altruism in Medicine Institute, which teaches resilience to health care workers through training in compassion and mindfulness.
He shares his fascinating and moving journey with “We Can Be” host Grant Oliphant, including how the Dalai Lama told him that his path would be “50-50—one half medicine and the other half spreading love and compassion.” Barry listened and has followed that auspicious path for more than three decades.
“If we can learn to focus our mind even a little bit, we will be more successful in training our minds to be more compassionate—and therefore happier,” Barry says of his work teaching mindfulness to nurses, doctors and police forces in an effort to help them cope with the stress and trauma of their professions.
He has been profiled in media outlets around the world, including PBS and CNN, and shared his wisdom with audiences throughout Europe and North America, as well as in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Russia, and Mongolia, to name but a few.
Barry, whose brain has been studied by both Princeton University and the University of Wisconsin as part of their quests to understand the effects of long-term meditation, believes that “socially engaged Buddhism” has enormous potential for all of us.
“When you’re being compassionate, “he says, “you feel good.”
“We Can Be” is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at sroller@heinz.org.
The joy & complexity of giving w/ Giving Done Right author Phil Buchanan S02EP17
Poet, soldier, author & father Tim O’Brien on the extraordinary, beautiful power of maybe S02EP16
Building an army of support for refugees: Hello Neighbor’s Sloane Davidson S02EP15
Blindsided by the Taliban: Journalist & Postindustrial media co-founder Carmen Gentile S02EP14
From homelessness to Emmy Award winning composer & director: the shining light of Emmai Alaquiva S02EP13
Dr. Cornel West & Bikari Kitwana 2: the revolution in priorities our society needs S02EP12
Dr. Cornel West & Bikari Kitwana on the joy & struggle of today’s freedom fighters S02EP11
Different but united: the palpable positivity of 24-hours-a-day bridge-builder Wasi Mohamed S2EP10
From Parkland to Pittsburgh, student activists are forever altering the social change landscape S2E9
From Air Force plane nosedive to university president: Dr. Chris Howard & the power of mentoring S2EP8
Art is making souls soar in this rapidly changing neighborhood S02EP07
As environmental stakes rise, Emily Collins helps the underserved get a fair shake S02EP06
Trayvon Martin's activism legacy: mother Sybrina Fulton, Jasiri X & Black Lives Matter stand strong S2E5
Very Smart Brothas' Damon Young: the hyper-cognizance & beauty of being black in America S2E04
Archeology, family & fantasy: the fantastic Afrofuturist art of Alisha Wormsley S2E03
Tree of Life leaders: "We didn't think about courage; we thought about doing the right thing" S2E02
In aftermath of tragedy at Tree of Life synagogue, random acts of beauty & unity are the new normal (S02EP01)
Lifting the arc: Hazelwood’s Tim Smith & grassroots energy bring a new future to this riverfront community S01EP20
San Juan, PR Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz: speaking truth to power, green energy & her grandmother’s enduring impact. (S01EP19)
Truthful Art: Jasiri X on Trayvon Martin, Antwon Rose Jr. & the cross-section of unity that gives him hope. (S01EP18)
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