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Be Here Now Network Guest Podcast

Be Here Now Network Guest Podcast

By: Be Here Now Network
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The Be Here Now Network Guest Podcast features dharma talks from a rotating lineup of contributors like: Roshi Joan Halifax, Mirabai Starr, Gil Fronsdal, Mirabai Bush, and so many more!


© Be Here Now Network Spirituality
Episodes
  • Ep. 249 - The Strength to Continue with Gil Fronsdal

    Ep. 249 - The Strength to Continue with Gil Fronsdal
    Apr 1 2026

    Drawing on the wisdom of The Four Resolves, Gil Fronsdal discusses finding our own inner strength to remain committed to the path of practice.

    Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

    This week on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Gil Fronsdal illuminates:

    • Gil’s own introduction to Vipassana practice
    • How sickness, old age, and death motivated the Buddha
    • Spiritual support and determination at Zen monasteries
    • Why cultivating your own inner resolve is one of the greatest challenges on retreat
    • The Four Resolves of Buddhism: truth, wisdom, generosity, peace
    • How Vipassana practice is dependent on allowing the truth to reveal itself
    • Discovering truth in the smallest moments through mindful awareness
    • How everyday mindfulness builds the resilience needed for life’s most challenging moments
    • Letting our hearts be generous and stepping out of self-preoccupation
    • Surfing the ways of life without drowning: becoming one with the ocean

    This episode was originally published on Dharmaseed

    About Gil Fronsdal:

    Gil Fronsdal is the co-teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. He currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. In 2011, he founded IMC’s Insight Retreat Center. He is the author of The Issue at Hand, essays on mindfulness practice; A Monastery Within; a book on the five hindrances called Unhindered; and the translator of The Dhammapada, published by Shambhala Publications. You may listen to Gil’s talks on Audio Dharma.

    “It does take some inner resolve, determination, to keep hanging in here sometimes. It’s so easy to come down for tea, go to your room, go for a hike, all of which is appropriate at times, and inappropriate at others. What we’re asked here at Spirit Rock is more challenging than at a Zen monastery. It’s up to you much more. You have to find it in yourself.” –Gil Fronsdal

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    59 mins
  • Ep. 248 - Bringing the Dhamma to Africa with Bhante Buddharakkhita, PhD & Vincent Moore

    Ep. 248 - Bringing the Dhamma to Africa with Bhante Buddharakkhita, PhD & Vincent Moore
    Mar 27 2026
    Pioneer of Buddhism in Africa, Bhante Buddharakkhita, dives into building a sangha, practicing meditation, and the journey from pleasure to lasting peace.Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.This week on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Bhante and Vincent discuss:Bringing the dhamma to Africa and creating the Uganda Buddhist Center Creating a self-sustaining Sangha out of simplicity & self-sufficiency What made Bhante commit to ordination as a Buddhist monkDisillusionment with experiences that were once pleasurableEducation and excellence in training one’s own mindThe joy and fascination of looking into the mind through meditationMaking a habit out of meditation rather than only focusing on pedagogyCultivating happiness and peace in your life as the first step to living fullyStepping out of books and into a retreat or working with a teacherThis conversation was originally recorded on the Paths of Practice Podcast. Listen to more episodes HERE. “Really meditate in order to find peace within oneself, because for me, there is one thing that brings me a lot of joy, which is to be able to see and look at my mind. There are many aspects of Buddhism, ceremonies, rituals, culture, and academics. Of all the things we can do, what I found to be very helpful is to really learn how to meditate and make it a habit. It's such a fascinating thing being able to look at your mind.” –Bhante Buddharakkhita, PhDAbout Bhante Buddharakkhita, PhD:Venerable Bhante Buddharakkita was born in Uganda, Africa. He first encountered Buddhism in 1990 while studying and living in India. He was ordained as a Buddhist monk by the late Most Venerable U Silananda in 2002 at the Tathagata Meditation Center in San Jose, California. He then spent eight years under the guidance of Bhante Henepola Gunaratana at the Bhavana Society, West Virginia. He is the founder and Abbot of the Uganda Buddhist Center in Uganda. Besides spending time at the Uganda Buddhist Center, he is a visiting professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and he holds an Honorary Doctorate in Buddhist Studies from Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University (MCU), Thailand. He is long-time member of Global Buddhist Relief’s advisory council in New Jersey.He has been teaching mindfulness meditation in Africa, the U.S., and worldwide since 2005, and he is a much-loved teacher in many countries. His book, Planting Dhamma Seeds: The Emergence of Buddhism in Africa, tells the story of his religious and spiritual work in the continent of his birth. Keep up with Bhante on his website.About Vincent Moore:Vincent Moore is a creative and creative consultant living in San Francisco, California, with over a decade of experience in the entertainment industry and holds a graduate degree in Buddhist Studies. For years, he performed regularly at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, an improv and sketch comedy theatre based in New York and Los Angeles. As an actor, Vincent performed on Comedy Central, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Seth Meyers, Above Average, and The UCB Show on Seeso. As a writer, he developed for television as well as stage, including work with the Blue Man Group, and his own written projects have been featured on websites such as Funny or Die. Additionally, he received a Masters of Buddhist Studies from the Institute of Buddhist Studies with a Certificate in Soto Zen Studies and engages in a personal Buddhist practice within the Soto Zen tradition. Vincent is also the creator and host of the podcast, Paths of Practice, which features interviews with Buddhists from all over the world. Learn more on Vincent’s website HERE.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    47 mins
  • Ep. 247 - How to Cultivate Devotion with Trudy Goodman

    Ep. 247 - How to Cultivate Devotion with Trudy Goodman
    Mar 20 2026

    From meditation retreats to pop music, Vipassana teacher Trudy Goodman describes cultivating devotion in both obvious and unlikely places.

    Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

    In this episode, Trudy Goodman illuminates:

    • Cultivating devotion through seeing things with a positive connotation
    • The activity of compassion as a beautiful possibility to experience the sacred
    • A story of Trudy’s daughter and facing severe illness with grace
    • Holding a deep gratitude for life and the dharma
    • Practicing devotion through pop music and romance ballads
    • Remembering the present moment, the only moment we have
    • Experiencing devotion through the tenderness of our shared joys and sorrows
    • Enduring messy and painful moments with gratitude and continuing to enjoy our practice
    • How judgment and worry fall away when we are truly present
    • A lesson from Ram Dass on loving everything
    • Emerging from the mystery of the cosmos

    This recording from a 2025 retreat at Spirit Rock was originally published on Dharmaseed

    About Trudy Goodman:

    Trudy is a Vipassana teacher in the Theravada lineage and the Founding Teacher of InsightLA. For 25 years, in Cambridge, MA, Trudy practiced mindfulness-based psychotherapy with children, teenagers, couples and individuals. Trudy conducts retreats, engages in activism work, and teaches workshops worldwide and online. She is also the voice of Trudy the Love Barbarian in the Netflix series, The Midnight Gospel. You can learn more about Trudy’s flourishing array of wonderful offerings at TrudyGoodman.com

    “Of course, these songs are romantic songs, devoted to you, my lover. But, you could say devoted to you, the Buddha, the dharma, the sangha. You could listen to all those teenage ballads that way, and it deepens your practice. You can listen to beautiful religiously inspired music like Bach, but you can also listen to pop songs. It can be about the Dharma. Devotion everywhere." –Trudy Goodman

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    49 mins
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This was a huge disappointment. I love this man but there are so many little jokes, and the crowd is just cackling along. Especially one particular lady who constantly laughs so loud, like it's the first joke she's ever heard.

So anyway, we get to the end where it's finally serious, and he just gives this basic, run of the mill breathing exercise. Disappointing.

Stand Up Comedy Hour

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