Chapter 1: Dualities

In this episode of Teaching Peace, we begin our deep dive into the Dhammapada with Chapter 1: Dualities—a powerful opening that sets the foundation for the Buddha’s path to wisdom and liberation.

These verses reveal how our thoughts shape our reality, emphasizing the connection between mind, suffering, and peace. Through a liberationist and trauma-aware lens, Jason Storbakken unpacks the implications of these teachings for personal and collective healing. How do our inner narratives create cycles of harm—or pathways to freedom?

Join us as we reflect on the transformative power of the mind and the role of awareness in breaking free from suffering.

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Dhammapada – Episode 1

Welcome to Teaching Peace, the official podcast of the Brooklyn Peace Center. In this first episode of our new series, we begin an exploration of the Dhammapada, one of the most revered Buddhist scriptures, through a liberationist and trauma-aware lens.

This episode features the introduction and first three chapters, originally published in the University of Hawaii Press Journal of Buddhist-Christian Studies. Jason Storbakken shares insights into the translation process, the ethics of interpretation, and how the Dhammapada speaks to those seeking healing from cycles of harm and oppression.

Expect reflections on wisdom, mindfulness, and liberation, as we engage the verses not just as ancient text but as living wisdom for today’s struggles. Listen in as we unpack the beauty, depth, and power of these sacred teachings.

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🎧 Follow & share if this speaks to you.🕊️ Donate to the Brooklyn Peace Center to help us continue producing trauma-aware, liberationist content — www.brooklynpeace.center

#Dhammapada #TeachingPeace #BuddhistWisdom #TraumaInformedSpirituality

Rita Nakashima Brock is Senior Vice President and Director of the Shay Moral Injury Center at Volunteers of America. She leads the organization’s efforts to deepen understanding about moral injury in the many populations who experience it.

A noted theologian, Dr. Brock was the Founding Director of the Soul Repair Center at Brite Divinity School where she also was a Research Professor of Theology and Culture. Among other books, she is co-author of  Soul Repair: Recovering from Moral Injury after War, and Proverbs of Ashes: Violence, Redemptive Suffering and the Search for What Saves Us. She is a leading national expert on moral injury in combat veterans and has offered trainings for VA mental health providers, for professional chaplains, and for veterans and their families.

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Chloe and Elgin Storbakken, guest cohosts, are in conversation with Madison  Banks and Peony Walcott. Madison and Peony are MCC Summer Service Program Leaders at Groundswell and Radical Living, respectively.

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Iris de León-Hartshorn has served Mennonite Central Committee (1996-2007) and Mennonite Church USA (2007-present) in various leadership roles. Previously the denomination’s director of transformative peacemaking, the Portland, Oregon, resident is now its associate executive director for operations, a new position that encapsulates the roles of chief of staff and key advisor to the executive director. She has been a strong advocate for racial and gender justice in the church and its related institutions.

In this episode of Teaching Peace, Addie and Jason are in conversation with Alexandra Meneses, cofounder of Quite Peace Center, coordinator for Project for Refugee People, and former pastor at Quito Mennonite Church. Also joining us is Peter Wigginton, Ecuador partnership coordinator for Mission Network, who provided interpretation.

Addie and guest cohost Greg Vanderbilt are in conversation with Gordon McDade. Gordon is a peacebuilder in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Along with Karen Sethuraman, Gordon facilitates a peace & reconciliation hub called Soulspace (and the Down Community).

Jason and Addie are in conversation with Oscar Nceba Siwali, founder and executive director of a South African peace center called Southern African Development and Reconstruction Agency (SADRA). https://sadra.co.za/

In the inaugural episode of the second season of Teaching Peace, Jason Storbakken and Addie Banks are in conversation with Sue Park-Hur, Denominational Minister for Transformative Peacemaking in the Mennonite Church USA, and co-director of ReconciliAsian, a peace center in Los Angeles specializing in conflict transformation and restorative justice for immigrant churches.

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Addie and Jason are in conversation with Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan-Simpson, executive director of Fellowship of Reconciliation.