Transcript

Richie Davidson:
Attachment is operating from a place where your self-identity is somehow tied up with some object or person, and when you are therefore in the absence of this, you crave it.

Sonya Renee Taylor:
Unattachment is sort of synonymous with surrender for me. What am I being asked to let go of? And not even necessarily let go of, but be willing to let go of. 

Eve Ekman:
There’s just such a beauty and eloquence of understanding why we want to have this non-attached or non-clinging state. It’s so we can be free.

Isabella Rosselini:
Welcome to season 4 of AWAKEN, a podcast from the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art about the dynamic path to enlightenment and what it means to “wake up.” I am Isabella Rossellini, an actress and filmmaker and your host for this season of AWAKEN, where we are exploring a fundamental concept in Buddhist thinking and philosophy: attachment. 

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche:
I think according to Buddhism once you are in this world, there’s no way to have no attachment. So just generally, it’s a question about what kind of attachment, what degree of attachment, what the purpose of the attachment is, how constructive and destructive the attachment is. These are I think more important questions.

Isabella Rosselini:
Himalayan art has long been a pathway to insights and awakening, and in this season, we look at objects from the Rubin’s collection as a way to better understand attachment and its counterpoint, non-attachment. With stories and wisdom from artists, writers, Buddhist teachers, psychologists, and others we will explore how letting go of attachments can create space for new ways of seeing, thinking, and being. 

Annabella Pitkin:
The real core is this openness, this kind of generosity that can come when we allow ourselves to kind of surrender. And so another way to think about working with attachment is to ask how one could work with attachment more skillfully. How could one be aware of one’s attachments and how they come up in our lives? 

Isabella Rosselini:
Wake up to what is possible. Tune in to Season 4 of AWAKEN wherever you get your podcasts or at rubinmuseum.org.

Welcome to Season 4 of AWAKEN—a Webby Honoree podcast about the dynamic path to enlightenment and what it means to “wake up.” Hosted by actress and filmmaker Isabella Rossellini, this season delves into the complex Buddhist concept of attachment and explores how the practice of letting go of preconceived ideas, beliefs, and identities can transform our experience of the world. Artists, writers, psychologists, poets, Buddhist teachers, and others reveal how releasing what no longer serves us creates space for new ways of seeing, thinking, and being.

Trailer voices in order of appearance: Founder and Director of the Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Founder and Chief Visionary for Healthy Minds Innovations, Inc. Dr. Richie Davidson; author and transformational thought leader Sonya Renee Taylor; contemplative social scientist Eve Ekman; teacher and meditation master in the Bon Buddhist tradition Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche; and scholar of Tibetan Buddhism Annabella Pitkin.

AWAKEN Season 4 will launch on November 12, 2024.

Guests in this EpisodeGuests in this Episode

Headshot of Isabella Rossellini

Isabella Rossellini grew up in Paris and Rome and is the daughter of actress Ingrid Bergman and director Roberto Rossellini. She started her career as a model, gracing the cover of over 500 magazines and representing the cosmetic line Lancôme for over 40 years. Rossellini made her cinematic debut as an actress in 1979 and has appeared in many films, including Blue VelvetWild at HeartWhite NightsRodger DodgerCousins, Death Becomes HerFearlessBig Night, and Joy. She also lent her voice to the Disney-Pixar animated film The Incredibles.

Rossellini has a master’s degree in animal behavior and conservation and has received a PhD Honoris Causa from the science faculty at the University of Quebec at Montreal. She won several Webby awards for her short film series Green PornoSeduce Me, and Mammas that offer comical and scientifically accurate insights into animal behavior. She also toured extensively worldwide with her theatrical monologues Green Porno and Link Link Circus.

Rossellini’s interests include the preservation of her family’s extraordinary cinematic heritage. She is the founder of Mama Farm, an organic farm in Brookhaven, NY.

Headshot of Richie Davidson

Richie Davidson is best known for his groundbreaking work studying emotion and the brain. A friend and confidante of the Dalai Lama, Time magazine named Dr. Davidson one of “The 100 Most Influential People in the World” in 2006. His research is broadly focused on the neural bases of emotion and emotional style, as well as methods to promote human flourishing; among these, meditation and related contemplative practices. He has conducted studies with individuals with emotional disorders such as mood and anxiety disorders and autism, as well as expert meditation practitioners with tens of thousands of hours of experience. His research uses a wide range of methods including different varieties of MRI, positron emission tomography, electroencephalography, and modern genetic and epigenetic methods. Dr. Davidson is the William James and Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison where he has been a faculty member since 1984. He is the founder of Healthy Minds Innovations, Inc., an external, affiliated nonprofit dedicated to supporting the mission of the Center for Healthy Minds.

Headshot of Sonya Renee Taylor

Sonya Renee Taylor is a New York Times best-selling author; world-renowned activist and thought leader on racial justice, body liberation, and transformational change; international award-winning artist; and founder of The Body Is Not an Apology (TBINAA), a global digital media and education company that explored the intersections of identity, healing, and social justice through the framework of radical self-love. Sonya is the author of seven books, including The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self Love.

Eve Ekma

Eve Ekman PhD, MSW, is a contemplative social scientist designing, delivering and evaluating tools to support emotional awareness in the fields of health care, well-being, and technology. She draws from interdisciplinary skills and first-person experiential knowledge from clinical social work, integrative medicine, and contemplative science and meditation. Ekman was raised in San Francisco with a love of New York bagels and social justice action and is a cold water ocean enthusiast.

Headshot of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, the founder and spiritual director of Ligmincha International, is a respected and beloved teacher and meditation master in the Bon Buddhist tradition of Tibet. He has students in more than 25 countries, teaches around the world, and reaches thousands of students through his online programs. Trained as a Bon monk, Rinpoche now lives as a householder, allowing him to more fully relate to the needs and concerns of his students. Known for the depth of his wisdom and his unshakeable commitment to helping students recognize their true nature, he is the author ​of t​en books, including Wonders of the Natural Mind and the Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep.

Headshot of Annabella Pitkin

Annabella Pitkin is associate professor of Buddhism and East Asian religions at Lehigh University. Her research focuses on Tibetan Buddhist modernity, Buddhist ideals of renunciation, miracle narratives, and Buddhist biographies. She received her BA from Harvard University and PhD in religion from Columbia University. She is the author of Renunciation and Longing: The Life of a Twentieth-Century Himalayan Buddhist Saint, which explores themes of non-attachment and teacher-student relationship in the life of Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen.

Published October 22, 2024
PodcastsSeason 4AWAKEN

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