Standing at the Edge (Roshi Joan Halifax)
\u201cI think there are a number of ways that we move into action that's characterized by integrity and where, you know, healthy altruism and compassion are present. I'm very grateful that I'm an old Buddhist , you know, with years of practice behind me and the practice of cultivating intentional balance, cultivating emotional balance, really being able to self-reflect on what, what's going on in my body, what's happening in the stream of my emotions and thoughts. So, you know, all of this\xa0has been of benefit to me over the years of practice in terms of stabilizing myself and being more able to engage, less done in by the work that I do. I mean, I'm 80 years old and I feel, you know, mostly full of life, and, and, and humor and so forth. And I really attribute it to the mindset that has come out of these decades of practice.\u201d\nMy guest today is the brilliant Joan Halifax\u2014a Buddhist teacher, Zen priest, anthropologist, and author of many books, including Being with Dying and Standing at the Edge. The founder, Abbot, and Head Teacher of Upaya Zen Center, a Buddhist Monastery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Joan has dedicated her life\u2019s work to engaged and applied Buddhism, with a particular emphasis on end-of-life care.\xa0\nToday, she shares with us wisdom gleaned from Zen traditions, mindfulness practices, and the Buddhist approach to death; drawing from her groundbreaking research on compassion and decades of experience working with the dying and their caregivers all the while. As our current reality pushes us all to the existential exploration of suffering, altruism, and meaning, Joan\u2019s words become an exceptionally valuable source of inspiration, guiding us to the edges of our human experience in order to discover wise hope, truth, and a fuller realization of what it is to be alive.\xa0\n\nEPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:\n\nPathological altruism\u2026\n\nServing with our self, not our strength\u2026\n\nCompassion is adaptive\u2026\n\n\nMORE FROM JOAN HALIFAX:\nStanding at the Edge: Finding Freedom Where Fear and Courage Meet\nBeing with Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the Face of Death\nExplore JOAN'S WEBSITE\nFollow her on INSTAGRAM and TWITTER\n \nTo learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy\n \n Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices