The Wisdom Seat Podcast
by The Wisdom Seat
The Wisdom Seat is a group of Buddhist teachers and practitioners residing in the Mid-Atlantic region who host spiritual teachers, sponsor meditation retreats and offer support to those on the Buddhist path. Visit us at thewisdomseat.orgDrawing on the profound view of the Kagyu-Nyingma and Rimé traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, The Wisdom Seat seeks to bring these spiritual traditions into our modern-day life – cultivating healthy relationships between teachers and students and reliably transmitting the Buddhist teachings to others.
Episodes
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33: Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche in Conversation with Joanna Rotté - Halifax, August 2026
Welcome to this very special edition of the Wisdom Seat Podcast. In August 2026, Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche traveled to Halifax, Nova Scotia to give a week of empowerments and abhishekas. A number of us from The Wisdom Seat traveled there to attend. It was a celebratory, wonderful week, and Rinpoche...
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32: Michele Martin - "Studying with the Lamas of India and Nepal"
Michele Martin has two graduate degrees in literature from Yale University and has been a Buddhist practitioner in the Karma Kagyu lineage for over forty years. She is a founding board member of the Tibetan Buddhist Research Center and has spent more than thirty years studying with and…
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31: Larry Mermelstein - "Stories of the Late Great Chogyam Trungpa"
Larry Mermelstein has been a close student of the Venerable Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche since 1971. He is a founding member and Executive Director of the Nalanda Translation Committee, a senior teacher in the Vajradhatu-Shambhala community, and a consultant for Shambhala Publications. He resides in...
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30: Anam Thubten - The Wisdom of Meditation in Everyday Life
Host Bill Moriarty introduces a 2019 public talk from Anam Thubten: "The Wisdom of Meditation and Everyday Life" in the Dzogchen tradition. Anam Thubten describes meditation with an object (breath, body sensations, mantras, ordinary objects, sound) and meditation without an object (open…
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29: Andrew Hyman - president of Applied Mindfulness Training
Andrew is a consultant at Bain & Company, a firm that provides advice to public, private, and non-profit organizations. He's also the president of Applied Mindfulness Training. Andrew and Michael talk shop about "what exactly does a consultant do?" and reminisce about Andrew's father Patton…
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28: Chris Kayser - an actor in the Atlanta area for over 40 years
Michael Carroll sits down with Chris Kayser, who has been earning a living as an actor in the Atlanta area for over 40 years. Most recently he performed in a play about death and has been coming to terms with his own cancer diagnosis. He and Michael discuss how both acting and death can bring us...
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27: Dr. Michael Baime - founder of The Penn Program for Mindfulness
Michael Carroll sits down with Dr. Michael Baime, founder of The Penn Program for Mindfulness to talk about how applying mindfulness helps both patients and doctors manage stress and heal through sharing an authentic human connection....
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26: Ron Rojas and Michael Carroll - CEO at Continental Sales
Ron is CEO at Continental Sales lots-4-less, a discount store on the South Side of Chicago. Started by Ron's father in 1965, the store has gained a loyal customer base and sees upwards of 1000 sales a day. Ron and Michael discuss the thrill of treasure hunting and the company's values, which...
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25: Jacqueline Gallo - Chief Operating Officer of Whitcraft Group
Michael talks with Jacqueline Gallo, Chief Operating Officer of Whitcraft Group, about how applying mindfulness at work helps weather change, make tough leadership decisions, and even see around corners. They also discuss Whitcraft's highly successful prison work release program. This episode was...
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24: Susan Piver - New York Times bestselling author and founder of the Open Heart Project
Susan Piver is a Buddhist teacher, New York Times bestselling author and founder of the Open Heart Project, a community of support for living an awakened life. Michael sits down with his long-time friend, Susan Piver to talk about community, creativity, pain, loneliness, and other things we're...
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23: Sanskrit for Mere Mortals - a conversation with Dr. Varun Khanna
A Mindful Gathering - August 2025 Ever wonder what you're actually saying when you chant "Om" or mumble through "Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha"? Join us for a fascinating conversation with Dr. Varun Khanna, who studied traditional Sanskrit grammar in India and earned his PhD from...
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22: Vajrayana and the 21st Century Paradox with Michael Carroll & Bill Moriarty
In this episode of The Wisdom Seat podcast, we have a conversation exploring the dynamic tension between ancient Vajrayana Buddhist teachings and modern life. What does it mean to genuinely practice Vajrayana in the context of our digital, fast-paced, and often fragmented 21st-century world? How...
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21: Anam Thubten - Public Talk at the Philadelphia Shambhala Center
Anam Thubten spoke in 2023 at the Philadelphia Shambhala Center. He emphasized the path of the Bodhisattva.
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20: Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche - Resting in the True Nature of Mind - Essential Meditation Instructions
Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche Resting in the True Nature of Mind: Essential Meditation Instructions Commentary on a text by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche In 2019, we were deeply honored to host Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche for a special teaching event in the Swarthmore Friends Meeting house. This rare visit from...
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19: What is a Drala Landing Pad? with Michael Carroll
What is a Drala Landing Pad? In this episode of the Wisdom Seat podcast, Bill Moriarty, Michael Carroll, and the community delve into the concept of dralas. They discuss the idea of 'Drala landing pads,' the intersections of personal experience and the phenomenal world, and how these interactions...
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18: Talking with Lama Lodro Lhamo - President of Karma Triyana Dharmachakra
This is audio from a video discussion - see this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/eFpLpjmPNxc Bill Moriarty talks with Lama Lodro Lhamo at the Karma Triyana Dharmachakra (KTD) monastery in Woodstock, New York. We discuss the importance of this place as the seat of the Karmapa in North America,...
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17: The Dalai Lama's Book agent, with Stephanie Tade
In this episode of the Wisdom Seat Podcast, Bill Moriarty talks with esteemed literary agent Stephanie Tade, founder of The Tade Agency, shares her remarkable journey in the publishing industry. Stephanie, known for representing notable and varied figures like the Dalai Lama, Mindy Pelz, and Joan...
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16: Preparing for the 3 Year Retreat with Matt DiRodio
In this Wisdom Seat podcast episode, the focus is on co-founder Matt DiRodio as he prepares to embark on a 3 Year Retreat in the Tibetan Buddhist Kagyu lineage starting in August 2024. The episode features a detailed discussion from a recent Wisdom Seat community gathering, where Matt explains…
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15: Anam Thubten on Nonviolence
On April 9, 2024, Anam Thubten visited Philadelphia, PA to give a talk. This event was put together by local students of Anam Thubten including Sunisa Manning, Ada Kase, and Geoff Matis. Anam Thubten was hosted by Germantown Friends Meeting to speak about nonviolence. https://dharmata.org The...
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14: How The Wisdom Seat Started with Michael Carroll and Matt DiRodio
Welcome to another episode of The Wisdom Seat podcast. On today's episode, we are diving into the origins of The Wisdom Seat. I talk with Michael Carroll and Matt DiRodio, the two founders, about what brought them together, and what their original vision was. Then we'll hear about the…
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13: Orchestrating Insight: A Discussion on Sharing Buddhist Teachings
Podcast episode 13. Orchestrating Insight: A Discussion on Sharing Buddhist Teachings Bill Moriarty and Michael Carroll discuss how to approach becoming a teacher, and what that even means. Notes from this show: The Vagrant and the poet W. Blythe Miller, Phd....
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12: Anam Thubten discusses joy in Buddhism
This is a special one. Anam Thubten recently came and led a retreat at The Wisdom Seat in Pennsylvania in September, 2023. He generously agreed to a 1:1 podcast interview with me after the retreat. There was a sense of celebration throughout the weekend, and afterward Anam Thubten suggested we...
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11: Richard Driscoll remembers his teacher Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
Board member of The Wisdom Seat, and longtime practitioner Richard Driscoll tells his very personal story of becoming a Buddhist under the guidance of Venerable Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche. Learn more about Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche's life here: https://rinpoche.com/ Visit us at:...
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10: Venerable Tenzin Dasel "Finding Balance in Our Troubled World"
Tsunma Tenzin Dasel, born Lisa V. Blake, became a Tibetan Buddhist nun at mid-life after a career in education and social justice. Her interest in a spiritual life began early in her life through a love of the outdoors and questioning the suffering she witnessed around her. This led to a search…
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9: Phakchok Rinpoche "Transforming Confusion into Wisdom: The Path of Buddhist Meditation in Everyday Life"
Phakchok Rinpoche Pendle Hill, Wallingford, PA We were pleased to host our first event for Phakchok Rinpoche in 2015. Rinpoche gave a talk titled "Transforming Confusion into Wisdom: The Path of Buddhist Meditation in Everyday Life." https://www.thewisdomseat.org/post/phakchok-rinpoche...
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8: What is the point of going on a meditation retreat?
Bill Moriarty talks with Michael Carroll, Matt DiRodio, and Jacqui Merrell to ask: why would someone go on a meditation retreat? How do you choose one? Are they all different? I hope this is of benefit for you. Michael will be leading a 2 week retreat in July, 2023. Check us out at The Wisdom Seat
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7: Discussing how to take care of your home with Michael Carroll
Bill Moriarty interviews Michael Carroll to discuss how he takes care of his home which is filled with art, objects, thangkas, family life, events... it's a lot. For anyone lucky enough to visit Michael's home, you know it is very beautifully laid out and accommodating. He and his wife regularly...
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6: Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche - Training in Tenderness
We were honored to host Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche in May of 2018 for a talk at Swarthmore College and a reception. Rinpoche presented teachings from his new book: Training in Tenderness: Buddhist Teachings on Tsewa, the Radical Openness of Heart That Can Change the World. Visit this post for more...
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5: Phakchok Rinpoche and Erric Solomon discuss their book, Radically Happy
We were pleased to host Phakchok Rinpoche and Erric Solomon for several days in November, 2018. Visit this post for more information and photos from this visit. Your donation helps directly support The Wisdom Seat Podcast We presented a talk and book signing at the Philadelphia Ethical Society…
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4: Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel: Women, Wisdom and The Buddhist Path: The awakening of feminine energy in modern times
Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel Women, Wisdom and The Buddhist Path: The awakening of feminine energy in modern times Feminine wisdom or prajnaparamita in Sanskrit is considered the very foundation of all the teachings and practice lineages of the Buddha. You might say that such feminine wisdom is the...
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3: Ringu Tulku Rinpoche: Intelligent Heart - Devotion in the Buddhist Path
Your donation helps directly support The Wisdom Seat Podcast The Tibetan Buddhist Vajrayana path emphasizes devotion where the relationship between the student & the teacher grows throughout the entirety of the path cultivating compassion, wisdom and ultimately enlightenment. Yet, such devotion…
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2: Discussing Regret with Michael Carroll
Michael Carroll & Bill Moriarty discuss regret, and Matt DiRodio adds some music. Your donation helps directly support The Wisdom Seat Podcast Visit us at thewisdomseat.org
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1: Asking Michael Carroll: Why is it so difficult to describe the awakened state?
Our first episode! Bill talks to Michael Carroll about why it is so difficult to describe the awakened state. Matt adds some improvised music. Visit us at thewisdomseat.org Your donation helps directly support The Wisdom Seat Podcast
About this show
The Wisdom Seat is a group of Buddhist teachers and practitioners residing in the Mid-Atlantic region who host spiritual teachers, sponsor meditation retreats and offer support to those on the Buddhist path. Visit us at thewisdomseat.orgDrawing on the profound view of the Kagyu-Nyingma and Rimé traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, The Wisdom Seat seeks to bring these spiritual traditions into our modern-day life – cultivating healthy relationships between teachers and students and reliably transmitting the Buddhist teachings to others.
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