The Weekend Listener

07.03.2020 THE WEEKEND LISTENER If you are like me, you’ve been clocking a lot of screen time: scrolling through social media, stress-reading the news, or trying to find something to watch on Netflix to fill the hours in quarantine. This weekend, consider giving your eyes a break and choose from three of my personal favorites from the Lion’s Roar podcast. Feel free to take this opportunity to sit back, close your eyes, and listen.   In the Sallatha Sutta, the Buddha says: “Just as if they were to shoot a man with an arrow and, right afterward, were to shoot him with another one, so that he would feel the pains of two arrows; in the same way, when touched with a feeling of pain, the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person sorrows, grieves and laments, beats his breast, becomes distraught. So he feels two pains, physical and mental.”  He continues:  “In life, we cannot always control the first arrow. However, the second arrow is our reaction to the first. And with this second arrow comes the possibility of choice.”   Life can feel like a quiverful of second arrows these days. The analogy of the second arrow is a teaching that never stops providing me with valuable lessons. In the Lion’s Roar podcast episode, “The Second Arrow of Suffering,” Dr. Valerie (Vimalasara) Mason-John offers ways in which to work with our painful reactions and stop kicking ourselves. In “Making Sense of Death with Ram Dass and East Forest,” Lilly Greenblatt talks to musician East Forest about his collaborative album with the late spiritual teacher. They speak honestly about the passing of Ram Dass, and how to attend to grief — the second arrow that inevitably follows death. If you feel like you’re already steeped in pain and grief, I suggest listening to “When Buddha Met God,” in which Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman gives a humorous retelling of an old folk tale in which the omnipotent God and the Buddha meet face-to-face.  —Sandra Hannebohm, editorial assistant, Lion’s Roar Special Projects

The Second Arrow of Suffering with Dr. Valerie Mason-John Life has a way of throwing us a curveball when we least expect it, and when we think we can’t withstand any more, something else happens. Author and mindfulness teacher Dr. Valerie (Vimalasara) Mason-John shares the parable of the “second arrow” – a metaphor for the extra suffering we cause ourselves – and five ways to work with habitual thoughts so we can start rolling with the punches, and stop kicking ourselves.

Making Sense of Death with Ram Dass and East Forest Ram Dass passed away in December 2019, not long after the final realease of musician East Forest’s collaborative album with the spiritual teacher. The album encompasses Ram Dass’s lifetime of wisdom in 14 tracks, bringing his teachings to life after death. On this episode, East Forest talks about meeting Ram Dass, recording with him, and making sense of his passing.

When Buddha Met God / Is Buddhism even a religion? There are Buddhists who don’t believe in God (or gods) and there are Buddhists who do. In this reading by editor in chief Melvin McLeod from an article he wrote called, “Are You Spiritual but Not Religious? Ten Reasons Why Buddhism Will Enrich Your Path,” we find out why Buddhism is well-suited to people who don’t necessarily like religion.   Robert Thurman, Buddhist author and scholar, tells an old folk tale of the time that Brahma (the Hindu god) and Buddha, actually met.

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