Paths of Practice with Som Pourfarzaneh, PhD

Paths of Practice with Som Pourfarzaneh, PhD

Author: Vincent Moore September 20, 2024 Duration: 55:05

Som Pourfarzaneh, PhD, is the Associate Professor of Islamic and Digital Media Studies and Director of the Center for Multi-Religious Studies at Starr King School for the Ministry.

We talk about the dietary and spiritual impact of adopting a dog, identifying as a Muslim and a Buddhist, developing a connection to the Dharma Drum tradition and the Tallahassee Chan Center, spiritual wrestling, and how martial arts serves and also differs from Buddhist approaches to meditation.


Vincent Moore hosts Paths of Practice: Conversations on Journeys into Buddhism, a space where personal stories take center stage. Each episode is built around a simple, profound question: what does it actually look like to live with Buddhist teachings? You’ll hear from people whose lives have been shaped by this path, from long-time monastics and dedicated lay practitioners to those who have just felt a curious pull toward mindfulness and compassion. The conversations avoid dry theory, focusing instead on the messy, human, and often surprising realities of integrating practice into daily life-through family, work, doubt, and discovery. This podcast operates on the belief that there are as many ways to walk this road as there are people walking it, gently exploring that diversity one honest conversation at a time. It’s less about providing answers and more about sharing the map-making process itself, offering companionship and insight for anyone interested in the varied terrain of spiritual life.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Paths of Practice: Conversations on Journeys into Buddhism
Podcast Episodes
Paths of Practice with Bhante Sanāthāvihārī Bhikkhu [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:30
Bhante Sanāthāvihārī is a Mexican-American Theravāda monk at the Sarathchandra Buddhist Center in North Hollywood, a Sri Lankan center. He is a student of the late Dr. Bhante Madawela Puññaji, and the founder of Casa De…
Paths of Practice with Stephen Mugen Snyder, Roshi [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:46
Stephen Mugen Snyder, Roshi began practicing daily meditation in 1976. Since then, he has studied Buddhism extensively—investigating and engaging in Zen, Tibetan, Theravada, and Western non-dual traditions. He was author…
Paths of Practice with Damiano Seiryū Finizio [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:41
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…
Paths of Practice with Venerable Robina Courtin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:33
Ordained since the late 1970s, Ven. Robina has worked full time since then for Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT). Over the years she has served a…
Paths of Practice with Sinclair Shinryu Thomson, PhD [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:35
Sinclair Shinryu Thomson is the abbot of the Village Zendo in New York City. He received Denkai, or full priest ordination, from Enkyo O’Hara Roshi in August 2007, dharma transmission in December 2009, and Inka in Januar…
Paths of Practice with Naomi Matlow [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:01
Naomi Matlow is a writer and educator specializing in integrating mindfulness and meditation into the lives of those that struggle with busy minds. She recently published her Mindfulness Studies Masters thesis from Lesle…
Paths of Practice with Phoenix Song [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:42
*Disclaimer: this episode features brief mention of self-harm.Phoenix Song is a queer, nonbinary Korean American adoptee teacher, performer, writer, and healer featured in SF Magazine’s Best of the Bay for yoga music. Ph…
Paths of Practice with Vickie Chang, PhD [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:33
The daughter of Chinese immigrants born and raised in the SF Bay Area, Dr. Vickie Chang first encountered the dharma through the doorway of mindfulness meditation in 2008. She graduated from the Spirit Rock Dedicated Pra…
Paths of Practice with Venerable Clear Grace Dayananda [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:02
Venerable Clear Grace Dayananda is a Buddhist Monk who received novice ordination in 2018 as Sister True Moon of Clear Grace in the Plum Village Vietnamese Zen tradition headed by the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh. In 2020,…
Paths of Practice with Ram Appalaraju [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:34
Ram Appalaraju has served on the boards of nonprofit organizations for over eight years after retiring from the high-tech industry where he worked for 35 years. Ram has been studying Buddhism under Gil Fronsdal and is cu…