Ep. 161 – Pamela Weiss

Metta Hour with Sharon Salzberg

For episode 161 of the Metta Hour, Sharon is in conversation with Buddhist teacher and author Pamela Weiss.

This episode of Sharon Salzberg’s Metta Hour is brought to you by BetterHelp. We’re honored to partner with a platform that brings confidential and convenient therapy wherever you are. BetterHelp will assess your needs and match you with your own licensed professional therapist. Start living a happier life, explore your inner world with a professional therapist in under 48 hours.

As a listener, you’ll get 10% off your first month by visiting our sponsor at BetterHelp.com/metta

Join over 1 million people who have taken charge of their mental health.

About this Episode:

Pamela Weiss is among the few Buddhist teachers authorized to teach in two traditions—Zen and Theravada. She is the only layperson in the Suzuki Roshi Soto Zen lineage to receive full Dharma Transmission. After living as a monastic at Tassajara Zen Mountain Monastery for five years, she completed comprehensive training through Spirit Rock Meditation Center to become an Insight meditation teacher. She is currently a member of the Spirit Rock Teacher Council and a guiding teacher at San Francisco Insight, and in 2020 released her first book, A Bigger Sky: Awakening a Fierce Feminine Buddhism.

This conversation begins with Pamela sharing how she came to the path of Buddhism and meditation. She shares her path as a student of Zen and also Insight Meditation, and how the two lineages balanced each other out in her life. Sharon and Pamela discuss what inspired her to write her book, and the sharing of her own personal story, intertwined with more ”feminine” aspects of the teachings.

They discuss at length the role that women in monastic life in the Theravadin tradition, and the role that cultural context plays in Buddhism. Sharon & Pamela also share how it has been for each of them to write books that are autobiographical in nature, and how it is to share their personal history on the written page. The conversation closes with Pamela leading a short guided meditation.

Learn more at PamelaWeiss.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.