Navigating the complexities of justice and freedom, Spring and Lama Rod discuss choosing the hard work of liberation over comfort.

In this episode, Spring and Lama Rod have a conversation about:

• Choosing liberation versus comfort and stability
• Getting to the root of suffering and the root of who we are
• Moving deeper into our current predicaments instead of bypassing
• The intense labor of liberation and choosing freedom in an unfree world
• Transforming suffering into wisdom and clarity
• Pain as our guide and teacher
• Building communities that can hold the nuances of justice and freedom
• Finding a teacher with experience in all paths
• The tension between enlightenment and humanity
• Bridging conventional reality with the ultimate

About Lama Rod Owens:

Lama Rod Owens is a Black Buddhist Southern Queen. An international influencer with a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School with a focus on the intersection of social change, identity, and spiritual practice. Author of Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger and co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, his teachings center on freedom, self-expression, and radical self-care. Highly sought after for talks, retreats, and workshops, his mission is showing you how to heal and free yourself. A leading voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers with over 11 years of experience, Lama Rod is highly respected among his peers and the communities that he serves. From these intersections, he creates a platform that’s very natural, engaging, and inclusive.

About Spring Washam:

Spring Washam is a well-known teacher, author, and visionary leader based in Oakland, California. She is the author of A Fierce Heart: Finding Strength, Courage and Wisdom in Any Moment and her newest book, The Spirit of Harriet Tubman: Awakening from the Underground. Spring is considered a pioneer in bringing mindfulness-based meditation practices to diverse communities. She is one of the founding teachers at the East Bay Meditation Center, located in downtown Oakland, CA. She has practiced and studied Buddhist philosophy in both the Theravada and Tibetan schools of Buddhism since 1999. She is a member of the teacher’s council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in northern California where she was trained for over a decade.

In addition to being a teacher, she is also a shamanic practitioner and has studied indigenous healing practices since 2008. She is the founder of Lotus Vine Journeys, a one-of-a-kind organization that blends indigenous healing practices with Buddhist wisdom in South America. Her writings and dharma teachings have appeared in many online journals and publications. She currently teaches meditation retreats and leads workshops, and classes worldwide.

“I’m not interested in your comfort, I’m interested in your freedom. Because if you’re always trying to prioritize comfort in this work then you’re going to be really disappointed. You won’t grow.” – Lama Rod Owens

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