The dharma protectors are among the most striking figures in Tibetan Buddhism. Fierce, wrathful, often terrifying in appearance. For the May Mindful Gathering, Barry Boyce joined Bill Moriarty and the community to talk about what they actually are and what it means to work with them in practice. Barry laid out three levels of protector practice: outer, inner, and secret. At the outer level, protectors guard teachers and places. At the inner level, they protect the teachings f

A Mindful Gathering with Susanna Lack, Rhea Colmar, and Bill Moriarty On April 30, 2026, The Wisdom Seat hosted a Mindful Gathering on one of the least visible parts of community life: what it actually takes to plan and hold a group retreat. Every retreat has a visible side and an invisible one. Susanna Lack and Rhea Colmar joined Bill Moriarty to discuss what planning and holding a group retreat actually involves - from choosing a venue and approaching teachers, to managing

Video starts about 2 minutes in. The March Mindful Gathering was on Dependent Origination, one of the Buddha's core teachings. Michael used the metaphor of Indra's Web to explain it: everything finds its nature in relationship to everything else, rather than existing as independent objects with independent causes. Nothing that is happening in the world today happened overnight. What does it mean to really sit with that? From there the conversation opened up into territory tha

On January 27, 2026, we gathered on Zoom to explore Chapter Five of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche's Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior , titled "Synchronizing Mind and Body." It was a facilitated group discussion where everyone was invited to share their reflections, questions, and insights, whether they were familiar with the teaching or encountering it for the first time. If you missed it and want to explore this teaching on your own, we recommend reading Chapter Five an

Exploring the Five Wisdom Energies with Irini Rockwell On December 11, 2025, The Wisdom Seat welcomed Irini Rockwell for an exploration of the Five Wisdom Energies, a Buddhist framework for understanding personality, emotions, and relationships in everyday life. Irini, who has been teaching for over 40 years and founded the Five Wisdoms Institute , introduced each energy's characteristics. She emphasized recognizing and aligning with each energy's wisdom aspects while working

On November 18, 2025, The Wisdom Seat gathered for a community discussion exploring Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche's teaching on nowness from chapter 11 of Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior . Board President Bill Moriarty facilitated the conversation, inviting everyone to share their reflections, questions, and insights on this foundational teaching. This session was not recorded. Trungpa Rinpoche writes: "The way to experience nowness is to realize that this very moment, t

At this month's Mindful Gathering, I presented on Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche's life, his influence on American Buddhism, and connection to The Wisdom Seat. Born in 1910 in eastern Tibet, he spent 13 years in solitary retreat before being called to teach.

A Mindful Gathering with Dr. Varun Khanna Watch the recording: https://youtu.be/17XM3Gq2XxU Ever wonder what you're actually saying when you chant "Om" or mumble through "Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha"? Join us for a fascinating conversation with Dr. Varun Khanna, who studied traditional Sanskrit grammar in India and did his MPhil in Sanskrit and PhD in Hinduism at the University of Cambridge, UK . We explore how ancient practitioners understood Sanskrit as vibra

A Mindful Gathering with Michael Carroll and Bill Moriarty Watch the full discussion below: (I didn't record this one in the usual way, so only the hosts' video is displayed. My mistake -Bill) In our Mindful Gathering of July, we had an open conversation about the Four Immeasurables: loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. This discussion featured insights from Michael, a long-time practitioner of Buddhism, who shared his personal connection to these tea

A Mindful Gathering with Marybeth McMurray, Margerie Strousser, Michael Carroll, and Bill Moriarty

A Mindful Gathering with Bill Moriarty

A Mindful Gathering with Al San Valentin and Bill Moriarty