The Spiritual Context Podcast

Bishal Karna

Dedicated to the Ultimate Realization, this podcast features interviews with long-time spiritual practitioners and teachers, focusing on their spiritual biographies, core practices and perspectives, and approaches to integrating spirituality into everyday life. The host, Bishal Karna, is a professor of religious studies and a long-time spiritual practitioner.

  1. 18h ago

    Delivering Compassion: Tonglen, Chod & Medicine Buddha | Babette Teich-Visco

    Babette Teich-Visco’s spiritual journey spans six decades, beginning at age seven, when she built a shrine and bowed before a Buddha statue in her family’s basement. At 20, she trained at a Theravada forest monastery in Burma, but the arhat ideal left her wondering, “What about everybody else?” Two decades later, a dream of the Dalai Lama and a teaching on bodhicitta opened the door to Tibetan Buddhism. A certified nurse-midwife, Babette has grounded her life in the healing practice of the Medicine Buddha. She shares her experiences with Tonglen and Chöd, recounting both a terrifying encounter with the void while driving to a delivery and a profoundly peaceful experience of the mind’s luminous nature. With the blessings of her teachers, Jhado Rinpoche and Singha Rinpoche, she helped found Thekchen Choling Temple in Syracuse, New York. https://thekchencholing.us/00:00 A Buddha Shrine at Age Seven03:45 Theravada Training in a Burmese Forest14:40 "How can I commit myself to something so selfish": The Arhat Ideal22:15 A Dream of the Dalai Lama25:05 Bodhicitta: "Like a Key in the Lock"31:19 Devoted to Helping All Sentient Beings33:47 Enlightenment: "Only Buddha Knows Buddha"37:30 Tonglen for Her Father in the ICU48:58 Chod: Giving Away the Body53:57 Nepal: A Forest Lama's Chod Empowerment01:02:16 Empowerment: Helping the Karma Ripen01:09:26 Medicine Buddha Empowerment & Bliss Waves01:14:01 Visualization in Tibetan Buddhism01:17:13 Searching  for the Self: Void and the Terror01:22:14 The Clear Light of Mind: An Emptiness Experience01:34:48 Medicine Buddha Practice and Healing in Midwifery01:44:22 Tsa-Tsa,  Stupas, & Blessing Earthworms01:56:01 Merit, Offerings, and a Patrul Rinpoche Story02:03:22 Founding Thekchen Choling Syracuse02:11:14 Where to Begin: Lamrim & Bodhicitta Books02:15:50 "Stumbling Around, Feeling in the Dark" Intro and outro music by Benjamin Bigelow

  2. Oct 28

    Love Is Our Religion: Sister Lucy Kurien and the Story of Maher

    “If you have love in your heart, you can do it.” A priest spoke these words to a young Catholic nun struggling with guilt and anger. In 1991, a pregnant woman came to her convent seeking shelter for the night. Sister Lucy Kurien had to turn her away. That same night, the woman’s husband set her on fire. Six years later, with no money and little formal education, Sister Lucy founded Maher, meaning “mother’s home” in Marathi. Today, Maher has grown into 75 homes across seven Indian states, offering shelter and support to women, children, and men with nowhere else to go. Though she is a Catholic nun, the Bible, the Qur’an, and the Bhagavad Gita sit side by side on Maher’s altar, and everyone is welcomed without regard to religion, caste, or class. In this conversation, Sister Lucy shares the painful, moving, and inspiring stories that have shaped her life. She reflects on the faith and courage that enable her to serve others without worrying about where the resources will come from, the importance of simply being present for someone who is suffering, and her experience of the Divine Energy in everyone. Learn more about Maher: https://maherashram.org Timestamps00:00 "Jesus Came Today," and Lucy Didn't Treat Him Well 04:31 A Kerala Childhood: "I Thought Kerala Was the Whole World" 06:54 Mother Teresa and the Poorest of the Poor 11:44 Her Mother's Grief: Joining the Sisters of the Cross of Chavanod 16:05 "Save me, save me": The Night that Changed Everything 20:28 Guilt, Anger, and "If you have love in your heart" 23:44 From Two Rupees to 75 Homes in Seven States 30:38 "Love Is Our Religion": A Family, Not an Institution 38:25 The First Maher House: Market Scraps and Bird Grain 43:35 "Give Us Today Our Daily Bread": Trusting Providence 53:37 The Men Who Came to Kill Her, and the Children's Prayer 59:03 The Everywhere-Present Loving Divine Energy 01:01:34 Vipassana, the Dalai Lama, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, and Pope Francis 01:05:13 "When People Look at Me, They Should Feel Joy Instead of Pain" 01:09:04 The Woman Chained to a Tree: Mental Illness and Healing 01:14:48 The Power of Loving Presence 01:17:59 "I would rather starve": The Grant She Refused 01:20:01 A Closing Prayer and Song Intro and outro music by  ⁨@BenBigelow3⁩

  3. Oct 21

    Husband and Wife on Forgiveness as a Spiritual Practice

    What do you do when you want to forgive, but can't?In this conversation, my wife Monika and I explore forgiveness as a spiritual practice, a way of tending our own wounds and choosing peace. I share how I worked through a deep personal hurt over several years, letting the hardest emotions rise and pass, and slowly learning to see the divine in the people involved. Monika offers a gentler way in: begin with small, everyday hurts, and let the capacity to forgive grow from there.We also explore why every forgiveness is self-forgiveness, how to make amends, and why forgiveness is at once a selfish and a selfless act. Timestamps0:00 Why Forgive? Beyond Religion and Morality6:00 Eva Mozes Kor: "Do I Not Deserve to Heal?"9:41 What Is Forgiveness? Letting Go of Changing the Past12:46 Not Forgetting, Not Excusing, Not Reconciling16:23 A Practice, a Skill, and a Choice20:25 How Do You Actually Forgive?27:24 What If the Emotions Overwhelm You?30:51 Seeing the Divine Even in Those Who Hurt Us35:57 Start with the Five-Pound Weight40:31 "I Want to Forgive, But I Can't Right Now"45:29 Is It a Slog? Why the Path Gets Lighter47:26 The Three Sides of Forgiveness50:54 "I Am Not What Happened to Me"54:44 Kung Fu Panda and Inner Peace57:03 Every Forgiveness Is Self-Forgiveness58:57 Who Is Responsible for My Happiness?1:04:31 Unenforceable Rules: Barking Up the Wrong Tree1:06:55 Forgiving Your Younger Self1:08:33 Making Amends: The Twelve Steps1:10:22 For Those Who Are Too Hard on Themselves1:16:17 A Real Apology Has No "If"1:20:27 Every Journey Is Unique1:21:44 Forgiveness: A Selfish and a Selfless Act

  4. Oct 14

    Awakening through Dance: Charya Nritya and Newar Buddhism with Prajwal R. Vajracharya

    What if dancing could be a path to awakening? "Meditation is not only sitting," says Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya, a Newar Buddhist priest and master of Charya Nritya, the sacred dance of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. For him, the dance is a practice for actualizing one's awakened qualities. A 35th-generation priest, Prajwal began training at age eight under his father, who opened Charya Nritya beyond the few castes once permitted to practice it. Prajwal has carried it to the world. He founded Dance Mandal and co-founded Nritya Mandala Mahavihara in Portland, Oregon, the first Newar Buddhist temple in the West. We explore how mudra, ornament, and movement, joined with somatic awareness, help practitioners embody the Buddha's qualities. Prajwal explains the outer, inner, and secret dimensions of the dance, discusses the connection between Buddhist art and meditation, and performs the charyas of Vajrasattva and Vajrapani on camera. Throughout, we return to how these practices bring compassion and awareness into everyday life. Learn more: Nritya Mandala Mahavihara: https://www.portlandbaha.org Dance Mandal: https://www.dancemandal.com Timestamp 00:00 A Secret Newar Buddhist Dance, and His Father Who Opened It 07:01 Training from Age Eight: Mudras, Jataka Tales, Deity Yoga 11:09 Becoming the Deity: Ornaments as the Six Paramitas 18:06 Mudras and the Five Elements in the Fingers 24:43 "Mudra Is the Whole Body" 31:54 Body, Speech and Mind: Outer, Inner and Secret Dance 40:21 The Mind is Evident in the Body (Charya Nritya and Zen) 43:27 "Everybody Has Their Own Mudra": Steps, Rhythm, Song 48:46 Sufi Whirling, Bhakti, and "You Are the Buddha" 54:34 Vajrapani and Vajrasattva: Deities of Protection and Purification 01:02:15 Prajwal Performs Vajrapani and Vajrasattva Charyas 01:07:25 Charya Nritya as Healing: Guilt, Forgiveness, Purification 01:13:18 The Integrity of Art and Performance 01:15:40 Opening Newar Buddhist Ritual Beyond Caste 01:24:49 Reviving Ancient Charya Through Meditation 01:29:10 "Meditation Is Not Only Sitting": Charya in Daily Life Intro and outro music by Benjamin Bigelow Photos provided by www.dancemandal.com

  5. Oct 7

    Dr. Fred Luskin on Forgiveness: When the Hurt Becomes Your Whole Story

    The past cannot be changed. The hurt done to us cannot be undone. How do we move forward and find peace? Dr. Fred Luskin, director of the Stanford University Forgiveness Projects and author of Forgive for Good, offers forgiveness as a path to that peace. Drawing on decades of research, he clears up the misconceptions that make us reluctant to forgive and explains how forgiveness can be learned and practiced as a skill. Together, we explore how unresolved grief hardens into a recurring "grievance story," how the "unenforceable rules" we impose on life make us miserable, and why the stories we tell about our lives may be less truthful than we think. We also discuss the complexities of self-forgiveness, the importance of taking responsibility and making amends, and a provocative question: is it possible to forgive ourselves too easily? Timestamps 00:00 Fred Luskin & the Science of Forgiveness 04:01 What Forgiveness Is and Isn't 08:50 Remembering Differently: The Grievance Story 14:17 Successfully Processing Grief Leads to a Greater Map of Reality 18:20 Giving Up Hope for a Better Past (Attitudinal Healing) 19:47 Unenforceable Rules: Making Peace with "No" 25:33 "We almost never tell the truth about our lives" 32:59 Changing the Channel: Seeing the Good 45:51 Letting Go of One's Perception of an Event 49:50 New chapter 50:00 Is Having Needs or Desires a Problem? 52:07 Forgiveness After Violence: Northern Ireland 56:33 Self-Forgiveness: Make Amends, Then Let Go 01:02:30 Positive Emotion Refocusing Technique (PERT) 01:05:10 "Too Much Self-Forgiveness" 01:07:27 Forgiveness in Addiction Recovery & What Makes a True Apology 01:11:24 Humility and Self-Perception 01:13:23 Cleansing of Perception & Reclaiming Relational Capacity 01:19:26 Real Optimism and Resilience 01:21:34 "The Full Catastrophe": Living with Human Darkness 01:25:35 Spirituality: Beyond the Material View Intro and outro music by Benjamin Bigelow

  6. Sep 30

    A Catholic Priest in the Heart of Hinduism | Fr. Yann Vagneux

    At seventeen, Fr. Yann Vagneux knocked on the door of a Carthusian monastery and was told to come back at twenty-one. At twenty-one he was in India instead, and South Asia has been home since. Varanasi became his Carthusian monastery, and life in the holy city of the Hindus deepened his Catholic faith. In this conversation, Fr. Yann walks us through an ordinary day in Varanasi: studying Sanskrit and Hindu scriptures and weaving friendships across traditions. He speaks, with some reluctance, of his own inner life and of how the Katha Upanishad’s vision of the Absolute has touched him. He describes spiritual friendships so deep that communion becomes possible across differences. But he also warns that a careless mixing of religious traditions can erase the very differences we need to honor, fueling resentment and even violence. Fr. Yann Vagneux is a French Catholic priest and theologian of the Paris Foreign Missions Society, currently based in Kathmandu. His publications in English include: - A Priest in Banaras (2020) - Indian Portraits: Eight Christian Encounters with Hinduism (2021) - An Emulation of Sanctity: Hinduism and Christianity in Dialogue (2025) - The Trinitarian Philosophy of Jules Monchanin: The French Years (1922–1939) (2026) - The Trinitarian Mysticism of Jules Monchanin: The Indian Years (1939–1957) (2026) Timestamps 00:00 Fr. Yann Vagneux: A French Catholic Priest in Varanasi 02:13 At 17, Knocking on a Carthusian Monastery Door 12:04 Discovering Henri Le Saux, Swami Abhishiktananda 25:52 Life Consecrated to India & Experiencing Hinduism 38:00 Emulation of Sanctity: Search for the Absolute and Building Bridges Between Religions 45:51 "The holy city of the Hindus made me more Catholic" 51:23 Co-Pilgrims: Unity That Does Not Erase Singularity 01:00:30 Neither Ignorance Nor a Syncretism That Erases Differences 01:15:16 Is there Diversity in Non-Duality? 01:27:27 The Trinity, Shankara, and "Not-Two Is Not One" 01:34:22 "Varanasi is my Carthusian Monastery": Daily Rhythm in the Ghats 01:44:38 Loneliness and Belonging: Finding Home in India 01:49:00 Prayer and Presence: The Essence of Spiritual Life 01:54:27 Advice to a Young Seeker: Find a Teacher, Don't Scatter Intro and outro music by  ⁨@BenBigelow3⁩  #interfaithdialogue #interreligious #catholicindia #nonduality

  7. Sep 23

    Karen Newell: Existential Loneliness to the Reservoir of Love

    During a Sufi heart-rhythm meditation, Karen Newell encountered an existential loneliness so complete that she was inconsolable. Rather than resisting it, she allowed herself to fully experience the loneliness. What emerged was what she calls a “reservoir of support”—an unfailing love that has never left her. Karen is the co-founder of Sacred Acoustics and co-author with Dr. Eben Alexander of Living in a Mindful Universe. In this conversation, we explore healing from “baby wounds,” generating and radiating love, the HeartMath research on the heart’s field, and using binaural beats to explore expanded states of consciousness. Drawing on decades of inner exploration, Karen reflects on suffering, the purpose of life, and what it means to be the love that you are. Karen’s work: sacredacoustics.com and innersanctumcenter.com.Timestamps: 00:00 Existential Loneliness: An Inner Experience in Meditation 04:56 The Baby Wound: A Divorce and a Seven-Year-Old's Decision 09:18 Puppies Under the Bed: Using "Reference Points" to Generate Love 14:01 Wounds That Come Before Words: Eben Alexander's Adoption 19:28 The Reservoir of Support: Meeting "the Council" 23:07 Love Makes Life Worth Living 27:46 Radiating Love : HeartMath and the Heart's Field 32:12 One Mind: Triggers, Resonance, and Responsibility 39:17 Meeting Eben Alexander: "The Brain Doesn't Create Consciousness" 43:53 When Classical Meditation Failed: Binaural Beats and Sacred Acoustics 55:35 The Inner Observer and Allowing the Emotions to Be Experienced 01:02:41 Using Sound Meditation for Guidance 01:10:42 The Flying Carpet, the Council, and The Fifth Element 01:18:32 "We really are the same at a fundamental level, and that sameness is made of love." 01:22:42 Suffering is an Engine for Our Growth 01:24:31 Purpose of Life: "Be the Love That You Are" 01:26:52 One Mind and the God-Force Intro and Outro music by Benjamin Bigelow

  8. Sep 16

    Ajahn Dhammasiha: In Search of the Deathless

    Reading the Dhammapada gave Ajahn Dhammasiha the final push to renounce the world and embark on the search for Nibbāna — the Deathless, the Marvellous. Once an atheist in the West Berlin party scene, he had grown increasingly disenchanted with worldly life and traveled to India for PhD research. He abandoned the scholarship and ordained as a Theravada Buddhist monk. Ajahn Dhammasiha talks about monastic training in the forest tradition, what it means to have faith in the Buddha's awakening, how to practice with the precepts, how to work with anger and pain in meditation, overcoming attachment and grief, the role of devotion, cultivating mettā, and navigating cosmological views like planes of existence, karma, and rebirth. Timestamps: 00:00 Reading the Dhammapada in India: "I knew I was a Buddhist" 08:17 Atheism to Spirituality: Disenchanted in West Germany 17:14 Experiences in Sri Lanka: The Path to Buddhist Ordination 21:55 What Is Nibbāna?: Realizing the Unconditioned 27:43 Craving Nibbāna: The Role of Aspiration in Practice 30:01 Daily Life in a Forest Monastery 38:15 Transitioning to Australia: Embracing the Thai Forest Tradition 40:47 What is a Forest Monastery? 45:28 Not Being Attached to an Idyllic Life in a Monastery 48:56 Staying Detached While Being Engaged in Worldly Affairs 53:34 The Suttas Are More Like a Cookbook, Not a Novel 57:38 Loss, Grief, and Attachment 01:02:08 Challenges on the Buddhist Monastic Path 01:07:33 Alms Round: The Practice of Begging for Food 01:13:44 Working with Anger, Trauma, and Memories in Meditation 01:19:28 Meditation Isn't the Same Practice Every Day 01:23:22 Devotion to the Buddha: "He who sees the Dhamma sees the Buddha" 01:33:10 Buddhist Cosmology and Relics Veneration: Why a Western Monk Believes 01:38:32 Avoiding the Trap of Spiritual Pride 01:43:35 Practicing the Precepts: Not Killing or Lying, No Matter What 01:49:57 The Monk Who Radiated Mettā Without Saying a Word 01:55:54 "In gladness and in safety, may all beings be at ease."Bio: Ajahn Dhammasiha is a senior Buddhist monk and the founding abbot of Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage, a Theravada monastery in the Brisbane hinterlands, Queensland, Australia. Born in West Germany in 1966, he has been an ordained monk for three decades. He first ordained in the Sri Lankan forest tradition, and after moving to Australia, came to practice primarily within the Thai Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah. He is widely recognized for his deep scholarly knowledge of the original Suttas and his accessible teachings tailored for contemporary Western daily life. https://www.dhammagiri.net/  https://www.youtube.com/@dhammatalksatdhammagiri8724 Intro and outro music by Benjamin Bigelow

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Dedicated to the Ultimate Realization, this podcast features interviews with long-time spiritual practitioners and teachers, focusing on their spiritual biographies, core practices and perspectives, and approaches to integrating spirituality into everyday life. The host, Bishal Karna, is a professor of religious studies and a long-time spiritual practitioner.

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