How does someone heal an addictive mind? Matthew Hahn is a co-founder of Recovery Dharma, which uses Buddhist methods to overcome addictions. He also contributes to the Boundless Freedom Project, teaching mindfulness, ethics and compassion to people in prison and on their return to the outside world.

Our conversation explores how Buddhist principles and practices empower those in recovery to find inner wisdom. We consider how this differs from “12 step” approaches, which enlist the help of God, while noting the importance of community to both. Another part of Matthew’s work is to advocate for changes in carceral policy that make transformation more widely accessible.

These commitments grew out of his experiences, both as an addict and convicted felon. Matthew has been sober since 2005, but his earlier escapades earned him ten years in prison. That story is worth a whole podcast in itself (see this episode of How to Human for a fuller exploration). Put simply, his life turned around after stealing a safe, and his response to what he found inside reduced his sentence.

Matthew describes his own recovery in this essay, included in the second edition of Recovery Dharma, which is available for free download here. He posts on Instagram, TikTok and X / Twitter with the handle @hahnscratch.

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What can we learn from over 2,000 years of fascination with the East? Chris Harding explores this question in The Light of Asia – a book that shares its title with a poem about the Buddha from the nineteenth century. His focus is on characters whose personal engagement with Asian traditions shaped Western perceptions.

Our conversation reflects on the impact of efforts to reconcile different viewpoints. Does one way of seeing predominate? What guards against cherry-picking? Among many other topics, we also consider:

* The early influence of Jesuits in spreading ideas

* Alan Watts as a priest, blurring multiple boundaries

* Bede Griffiths and inter-religious experiments in India

* The importance of community to spiritual practice

* What it might mean to “decolonise philosophy”

Chris is a cultural historian at the University of Edinburgh, specialising in modern India and Japan. He contributes regularly to the BBC, and a range of publications, including Aeon and Unherd. He is also the author of IlluminAsia.

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Does yoga really mean union? As Zoë Slatoff explains in this fascinating chat about philosophy and Sanskrit, the simplest answer is probably “sometimes”…

Zoë’s PhD explores how yoga became entangled with non-dual Vedānta, blurring distinctions between the two systems. One important catalyst was the popularity of physical practice, whose aims were framed in terms of oneness. So gnostic teachers adapted its methods, which were slowly combined with Patañjali’s yoga.

We discuss how this happened through the prism of a text the studied (called the Aparokṣānubhūti, on which more here). And since Zoë is also the author of a Sanskrit textbook for yoga practitioners, we talk about the challenges – as well as the pleasures – of learning the language. Even just a little bit can make a big difference.

Zoë has practised yoga since the 1990s, teaching it for much of that time. She's now a professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and offers online courses in Sanskrit via the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies.

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Who are we really, beyond our ideas about ourselves and the world? After more than half a century as a Buddhist practitioner, Kamalashila (Anthony Matthews) reflects on his life and impending death – he was recently told he had four months to live.

As he wrote back in April: “What is happening to me happens to everyone and it will happen to you, so think about that too and practice some dharma.” Our conversation explores what this means from a range of perspectives, drawing inspiration from a lifetime of inquiry. Among many other topics, we discuss:

* His early experience of insight through LSD

* Encountering Buddhism and meeting his teacher

* The benefits of celibacy and living off-grid as a hermit

* Some of the drawbacks to “Western Buddhism”

* Fear of death, and how to alleviate it

In passing, we mention an essay by Kamalashila (“My Dharma Life”, posted here), and criticisms of his teacher, Sangharakshita (on which more here). There’s an overview of Triratna, formerly the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order, on his website. And if you’ve never heard of Suella Braverman, here’s some context.

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What makes people wary of getting immersed in the Bhagavad Gītā? To start with, it’s set in a war zone, where God issues edicts to kill and upholds social hierarchy. Yet its message is also inspiring, making yoga compatible with everyday life, and developing a loving awareness that sees all beings equally.

This podcast with Hari-kirtana das explores his new book on the Gītā’s teachings, which is subtitled A Guide to Exploring Timeless Principles of Transcendental Knowledge and Integrating Them Into Your Life. As we discuss, how we interpret the text depends on our worldview. Although it features a personal God, is devotion mandatory?

In addressing this question, we consider distinctions between subjective experience and objective facts, and the extent to which religion is compatible with different ways of seeing. We also talk about historical misconduct in devotional lineages, and how the Gītā counteracts misguided thinking.

Finally, we ask whether some of its passages might need ignoring – instead of trying to update them with more palatable readings – or whether cherry-picking undermines the text. For more from Hari-kirtana, follow him on Instagram or YouTube.

🤿 To dive deeper into a hybrid of practical insight and critical thinking, join me online for The Path of Knowledge, a year-long immersion in yogic ideas.

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What makes for good translations from an old language? For Suhas Mahesh and Anusha Rao – co-editors of How to Love in Sanskrit – it's “a game of compromise”. Rather than fixating on “excessive attention to irrelevant detail”, they focus instead on making words come alive. So a female lament from 2,000 years ago becomes: “Dear God, make him hang out with other women more. He does not seem to realise what a catch I am.”

This is a rich conversation about life in general, not just linguistics. We talk about why monks write love poems, the pitfalls of marrying academics, and all sorts of other topics, including:

* What to look for when choosing translations.

* The extent to which Sanskrit is a living language.

* Where to find advice on love beyond the Kāma Sūtra.

* Whether some ancient words are untranslatable.

* Why Rumi quotes are rarely what they seem.

Indian readers can buy the book here – or try here if you’re in the U.K., or here in the U.S. You can also email Suhas here and Anusha here if you have any suggestions for future translations – they’re already at work on the next compilation.

🤩 If you'd like to get immersed in yogic traditions from a modern perspective, join me for a course called The Path of Knowledge (early bird rates end June 15).

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Which qualities might help us to thrive In a turbulent world? For Elizabeth Oldfield – who hosts a podcast called The Sacred – the key is to prioritise values that bring us together and strengthen relationships.

"I want to be growing into faith, hope and love – not out of them," she explains in this discussion about her new book, titled Fully Alive. Its framework for moulding one's character might sound surprising – the seven deadly sins. However, as Elizabeth clarifies, the point is to rethink "sins" as unhelpful tendencies blocking connection, which leads to a focus on developing their opposites.

Our conversation explores a number of overlaps with yoga philosophy, as well as other traditions of timeless wisdom. To consider these parallels in more depth, join me for an online course at truthofyoga.com.

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What was haṭha yoga before it meant postures?

As the scholar Jason Birch explains, medieval yogis used a three-part sequence of physical methods to raise vital energy and empty their minds (video here). Their ultimate goal was transcendence of death.

Our conversation discusses Jason’s book, The Amaraugha and Amaraughaprabodha of Gorakṣanātha: The Genesis of Haṭha and Rājayoga. We also explore other questions, including:

• What might practitioners learn from this system, and other recent findings?

• Is haṭha yoga needed for liberating insights? What does it mean to become immortal?

• Are the subtle components of yogic anatomy always involved? Do different approaches reach similar goals?

• Is academic work informed by practice, or are the two separate?

🔗 You can read Jason's publications at academia.edu, or via The Luminescent, which he co-founded with Jacqueline Hargreaves.

🎓 For more on the history of haṭha, as well as immersions in texts and traditions, join me for an online course at truthofyoga.com.

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What does it mean to “study” yoga, rather than “practise”? The two aren’t mutually exclusive, explains Amy Landry, who’s hosting a series of online discussions on how to combine them. The Study Yoga summit runs live from April 29 to May 3, with replays available. There are more than a dozen contributors – one of whom is me – and the interviews are shaped by Amy’s extensive experience as a teacher and practitioner of yoga and other Indian disciplines, including classical dance and Āyurveda.

Amy also hosts a podcast called Living in Alignment, which weaves together wisdom for everyday life based on yogic inquiry. We talk about this and her forthcoming book, as well as the transformative power of knowledge in various forms – from scholarly research to experiential insight. Join me to explore these themes in an online immersion in early Upaniṣads. It runs live from April 29 to May 26, with Q&As on Sundays.

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When John Donne wrote “no man is an island”, his alternative was to be “involved in mankind”. Francesca Ferrando has broader ideas. As a philosopher and “leading voice in the field of posthuman studies”, Francesca's aim is to get us to think in terms of life.

The Art of Being Posthuman – Francesca's new book – is a string of meditations about how to do this. Our conversation considers connections with Indian traditions, and in the process discusses (among other topics):

* Why life is diverse, non-hierarchical and interdependent

* Why humanity is more about relationships than individuals

* Why people can’t say what they want, or how much is enough

* How it helps to embrace the maxim: “my life is my work of art”

* Whether life is a game, and if so how to play it successfully

To explore some of the overlaps between "posthuman" thinking and yogic traditions, join me for a course at truthofyoga.com. An Upaniṣads immersion starts on April 29.

And if you'd like to support the podcast, please consider subscribing or buy me a coffee... All donations are greatly appreciated!