Already Free with Bruce Tift

Already Free with Bruce Tift

Author: Tricycle: The Buddhist Review July 10, 2024 Duration: 49:43
Bruce Tift is a psychotherapist and longtime practitioner of Vajrayana Buddhism. In his book, Already Free: Buddhism Meets Psychotherapy on the Path to Liberation, he lays out why he believes that the approaches of Buddhism and Western psychotherapy are fundamentally irreconcilable—and what we can learn from holding these contradictory energies simultaneously. In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Tift to discuss the differences between what he calls the developmental and fruitional approaches to freedom, how attempts at self-improvement distract us from our fundamental liberation, and what it means to know that we’re already free.

In a world full of noise, Tricycle Talks offers a different kind of conversation. This podcast from the team at Tricycle: The Buddhist Review sits down with insightful teachers, authors, and practitioners to explore how ancient wisdom meets modern complexity. Host James Shaheen, the magazine's editor-in-chief, guides these discussions with a curious and grounded presence, often joined by co-host Sharon Salzberg for the "Life As It Is" series, which focuses on integrating practice into daily routines. What you'll hear isn't abstract theory, but tangible reflections on navigating life's big questions-from dealing with anxiety and loss to cultivating compassion and clarity in a distracted age. Each episode feels like a thoughtful dialogue, peeling back layers on meditation, ethics, and what it means to live an examined life. It’s a natural extension of the award-winning work Tricycle is known for, translating the depth of Buddhist thought into accessible, personal audio. Listening to this podcast provides a pause, a moment to reflect alongside voices who have dedicated their lives to the path, offering practical insights that resonate long after the conversation ends.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Tricycle Talks
Podcast Episodes
Finding Joy in Everything We Do with Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:13
Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche is a Tibetan Buddhist teacher and author based in southern Colorado. In his new book, Diligence: The Joyful Endeavor of the Buddhist Path, he draws from the teachings of the 8th-century Buddhist…
Saraha, Poet of Blissful Awareness with Roger R. Jackson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:45
When Roger R. Jackson was an undergraduate at Wesleyan, he came across the verses of Saraha, a 10th-century mystic known for his fierce exhortations to cut through the layers of delusion in order to experience the true n…
How to Grieve What We've Lost with Sameet Kumar [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:17
Sameet Kumar is a clinical psychologist at the Memorial Cancer Institute and Moffitt Hematology and Cellular Therapy program. His work focuses on mindfulness-based approaches to grief and loss. In his new book, How to Gr…
Abortion and Buddhist Ethics with Katy Butler [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:36
When journalist Katy Butler first committed to the Buddhist precepts, it didn’t occur to her to consider her two abortions in their light. Now, fifty years later, she has come to understand abortion in the context of har…
A Safe Place to Fall Apart with BJ Miller [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:40
When BJ Miller was a sophomore in college, he climbed atop a commuter train and was immediately electrocuted, causing him to lose both legs and half an arm. In the aftermath of his own near-death experience, he turned to…
Becoming Thay with Adrienne Minh-Châu Lê [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:37
Thich Nhat Hanh was one of the most influential figures in contemporary Buddhism, from his founding of the Order of Interbeing and the Plum Village Tradition to his popularization of Engaged Buddhism. Yet his background…
A Meditator's Guide to Buddhism with Cortland Dahl [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:13
Cortland Dahl is a Buddhist scholar, translator, meditation teacher, and contemplative scientist based in Madison, Wisconsin. In his new book, A Meditator's Guide to Buddhism: The Path of Awareness, Compassion, and Wisdo…
Breaking Bias with Anu Gupta [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:10
Anu Gupta is an educator, lawyer, research scientist, and meditation teacher, and his work focuses on harnessing mindfulness and compassion practices for social change. In his new book, Breaking Bias: Where Stereotypes a…
I'm Mindful, Now What? with Andrew Holecek [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:12
Mindfulness has become ubiquitous as a practice. Yet according to meditation teacher Andrew Holecek, mindfulness is not enough to meet the challenges of the modern world. Holecek is a teacher in the Tibetan Buddhist trad…