Friday, January 11, 2013

Compassion's Edge States: Roshi Joan Halifax on Caring Better (NPR's On Being)


From On Being, Krista Tippett's excellent NPR show (which frustratingly does not air locally as far as I know), an interview with Buddhist teacher, Zen priest, anthropologist, and author, Roshi Joan Halifax, the founder, Abbot, and head teacher of Upaya Zen Center in Sante Fe, New Mexico.

Roshi is one of my favorite Buddhist teachers (strange they are both female, the other being Pema Chodron), in part because she has actively sought to foster the conversation between Buddhism and its various practices and neuroscience research.

COMPASSION'S EDGE STATES: ROSHI JOAN HALIFAX ON CARING BETTER

January 10, 2013

Krista Tippett, host: 
It can be a stretch to summon buoyancy rather than burnout in how we work, live, and care — a thousand people soaked up Roshi Joan Halifax when I interviewed her at the Hall of Philosophy at the Chautauqua Institution. She has said: "I am not a 'nice' Buddhist. I'm much more interested in a kind of plain-rice, get-down-in-the-street Buddhism." Joan Halifax is a Zen teacher and medical anthropologist who's been formed by cultures from the Sahara Desert to the hallways of American prisons. She founded the Project on Being with Dying. Now she's taking on the problem of compassion fatigue, though she doesn't like that phrase. Whatever you call it, for all of us overwhelmed by bad news — and by the attention we want to pay to suffering in the world — Joan Halifax has wisdom.
Listen
Radio Show/Podcast (mp3, 51:06)
Unedited Interview: » Joan Halifax (mp3, 91:36) 
Learn
Books + MusicTranscript
Voices on the Radio


Joan Halifax

Halifax is the Founding Abbot of Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and director of the Project on Being with Dying.

Selected Readings


Inside Compassion: Edge States, Contemplative Interventions, Neuroscience

Joan Halifax speaks about the challenge of caregivers who care for those who are seriously ill. Learn about basic research in neuroscience and psychology on mindfulness, compassion, and the effects of stress on the body.

Pertinent Posts from the On Being Blog


Encountering Grief: A 10-Minute Guided Meditation with Joan Halifax
The Zen abbot walks a live audience through this guided meditation on encountering grief. Download and share with your friends and family.



Roshi Joan Halifax Discusses the Painful Truths of Death and the Impermanence of Life (video)
“Another level of your life opens up when you recognize that you have a life that is inside.” ~Roshi Joan Halifax

The Zen Buddhist monk and medical anthropologist talks to Krista Tippett about her life, Buddhist faith, inspirations, and the vast concepts of death, compassion, grief — and neuroscience.



A Little Bit of Mindfulness Meditation Can Reduce a Lot of Pain
Even novice meditators are able to curb their pain after a few training sessions in mindfulness meditation.



End of Life Zen Care
The first Buddhist chaplaincy training program in the U.S. is featured in this beautiful short film about end of life care.

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