On March 14, 2020, just after COVID was declared a national emergency, meditation teacher and activist Shelly Tygielski wanted to find a way to support her community in South Florida. She created two simple Google forms—one to give help and one to get help—and shared both on social media. The next morning, each form had over 500 responses from around the country, and the mutual aid organization Pandemic of Love was born. Since Pandemic of Love’s conception, the organization has connected over 2 million donors with individuals and families in need and has responded directly to global crises including hurricanes, mass shootings, and the ongoing war in Ukraine. Just this past month, Tygielski returned from the Poland-Ukraine border, where she was supporting Ukrainian refugees displaced by war.

In this episode of Life As It Is, Tricycle editor-in-chief James Shaheen and co-host Sharon Salzberg sit down with Tygielski to discuss her work in Ukraine, the history of mutual aid movements, and the radical power of just showing up.

The Radical Power of Just Showing Up with Shelly Tygielski

There are lots of reasons to be angry right now. It’s often said that if you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention. But according to scholar Allison Aitken, anger only leads to further harm, no matter how justified it may feel in the moment. As a professor of philosophy, Aitken believes that Buddhist texts offer valuable resources for working with our anger and healing contemporary divisions. Drawing from the work of the eighth-century Indian philosopher Shantideva, she positions compassion as a substitute attitude for anger and lays out methods for moving beyond righteous rage.

In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Aitken to talk about how anger distorts our perceptions, why anger can be so seductive, and how we can transform our rage into compassion.

Transforming Anger into Compassion with Allison Aitken

When Koshin Paley Ellison was just eight years old, he already knew that he wanted to become a Zen Buddhist monk. He began practicing meditation after a karate teacher insisted that he could never be free until he could be still with his pain. Now, Ellison serves as a Zen teacher, chaplaincy educator, and cofounder of the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, and in these roles, he helps others learn to be still with their pain. In his new book, "Untangled: Walking the Eightfold Path to Clarity, Courage, and Compassion," Ellison lays out how Buddhist practice can free us from our destructive patterns and help us access a greater sense of pleasure.

In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Ellison to talk about the tangles that ensnare us, the power of learning to become intimate with our suffering, and how every aspect of our lives can become a place of practice.

Getting Untangled with Koshin Paley Ellison

Over the course of the past few years, many of us have found ourselves dealing with loss. Yet our contemporary culture often doesn’t allow us the space we need to grieve. Meditation teacher Kimberly Brown believes that mourning takes time, and she works as a grief counselor to support people through difficult and complicated losses. In her new book, "Navigating Grief and Loss: 25 Buddhist Practices to Keep Your Heart Open to Yourself and Others," Brown lays out concrete tools to help us become better friends to ourselves as we grieve.

In this episode of Life As It Is, Tricycle’s editor in chief, James Shaheen, and co-host Sharon Salzberg sit down with Brown to talk about how we can learn to stay with our grief, why it can be so hard to ask for help, and how rituals can help us honor the losses in our lives.

Navigating Grief and Loss with Kimberly Brown

For 50 years, Pico Iyer has been traveling the globe, seeking out sacred sites from the hidden shrines of Tehran to the funeral pyres of Varanasi. Iyer believes that travel can help us confront questions that we tend to avoid or bypass when we’re at home, forcing us out of our usual routines and bringing us into contact with the “crisscrossing of cultures.” In his latest book, "The Half Known Life: In Search of Paradise," Iyer investigates how different cultures have understood the notion of paradise, recounting his travels to contested places including Jerusalem, Kashmir, Sri Lanka, and Ladakh.

In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor in chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Iyer to discuss the risks of the commercialization of paradise, the power of not knowing, and how we can find paradise in the midst of impermanence.

Searching for Paradise with Pico Iyer

As a psychiatrist and Zen priest, Robert Waldinger has devoted much of his professional career to the question of what makes a good life. He currently serves as director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, which is the longest scientific study of happiness. The study has tracked the lives of participants for over 75 years, tracing how childhood experiences and relationships affect health and well-being later in life. In his new book, "The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness," Waldinger shares what he’s learned from directing the study.

In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Waldinger to discuss what makes a good life, the common regrets that people have toward the end of their lives, and how his Zen practice informs his work as a psychiatrist.

It's Never Too Late to Be Happy with Robert Waldinger

It can be so easy to dismiss joy as frivolous or not serious, especially in times of crisis or despair. But for poet Ross Gay, joy can be a radical and necessary act of resistance and belonging. In his new essay collection, "Inciting Joy," Gay explores the rituals and habits that make joy more available to us, as well as the ways that joy can contribute to a deeper sense of solidarity and care. 

In this episode of Life As It Is, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, and co-host Sharon Salzberg sit down with Gay to talk about finding joy in the midst of grief and sorrow, the dangers of believing ourselves to be self-sufficient, and how joy can dissolve the boundaries between us.

Joy as a Practice of Resistance and Belonging with Ross Gay

A world-renowned meditation teacher, Sharon Salzberg is the founding teacher at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. In her new book, "Real Life: The Journey from Isolation to Openness and Freedom," she weaves together Buddhist psychology, her own experiences, and insights from a variety of contemplative traditions to examine how we can live with greater creativity, connection, and joy. Through exploring the forces that keep us trapped in constriction, she lays out a path toward what she calls “real life,” or a life of spaciousness and freedom.

In today’s episode of Life As It Is, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Salzberg to talk about what it means to live a real life, how we can break free of our habitual patterns, and how expansiveness makes love more available to us.

Opening to Freedom with Sharon Salzberg

The Empress - Annie & Sarah

Neil Theise is a professor of pathology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and a practicing Zen Buddhist. For the past twenty years, he has been fascinated by the science of complex systems from the infinitesimal level of quantum foam to the vastness of our entire universe. In his new book, "Notes on Complexity: A Scientific Theory of Connection, Consciousness, and Being," Theise provides a comprehensive introduction to complexity theory, outlining its synergies with Buddhist principles and teachings.

In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Theise to discuss his journey to Buddhism, what it means to live at the edge of chaos, and how complexity theory can help us navigate the unpredictability of our everyday lives.

Living at the Edge of Chaos with Neil Theise

This audiobook by Pema Ch&ouml;dr&ouml;n, the renowned American Buddhist nun, offers short, stand-alone sections designed to help us cultivate compassion and awareness amid the challenges of daily living. More than a collection of thoughts for the day, Comfortable with Uncertainty offers a progressive program of spiritual study, leading the reader through essential concepts, themes, and practices on the Buddhist path.&#160; Comfortable with Uncertainty does not assume prior knowledge of Buddhist thought or practice, making it a perfect introduction to Ch&ouml;dr&ouml;n's teachings on lovingkindness, meditation, mindfulness, "nowness," letting go, and working with fear and other painful emotions. Through the course of this audiobook, listeners will learn practical methods for heightening awareness and overcoming habitual patterns that block compassion.

Comfortable with Uncertainty by Pema Chödrön, read by Joanna Rotte

Tricycle Talks: Listen to Buddhist teachers, writers, and thinkers on life's big questions. Hosted by James Shaheen, editor in chief of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, the leading Buddhist magazine in the West.


Life As It Is: Join James Shaheen with co-host Sharon Salzberg and learn how to bring Buddhist practice into your everyday life.


Tricycle: The Buddhist Review creates award-winning editorial, podcasts, events, and video courses. Unlock access to all this Buddhist knowledge by subscribing to the magazine at tricycle.org/join

Joy as a Practice of Resistance and Belonging with Ross Gay

Tricycle Talks

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