Ep. 298 – Ann Tashi Slater

For episode 298, Sharon sits down with first-time guest Ann Tashi Slater.
Ann Tashi Slater (anntashislater.com) is the author ofTraveling in Bardo: The Art of Living in an Impermanent World (anntashislater.com/traveling-in-bardo). She has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Paris Review, and Oprah Daily, among others, and is a contributing editor at Tricycle, where she hosts an interview series about bardo and the art of living.
Ann’s speaking and teaching engagements include Princeton, Columbia, Oxford, and The American University of Paris. Her work explores how our personal histories and cultural roots shape us—and how we find meaning in a world where everything changes and ends. This is Ann’s first appearance on the Metta Hour Podcast.
In this conversation, Ann and Sharon speak about:
• Ann’s exploration of her Tibetan roots
• The liminal periods of our lives
• The definition of bardo
• How Ann discovered bardo teachings
• TheTibetan Book of the Dead (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo_Thodol)
• The story of Ann’s great-grandfather
• Examples of everyday bardos
• Becoming more intimate with uncertainty
• Opening to being undefined in transitions
• Bardo leading to the experience of non-self
• How lovingkindness affects bardo periods
• What role grief plays in bardo
• The Buddhist story ofKisa Gotami (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kisa_Gotami)
• Non-Attachment, Acceptance, Attention
• What Ann’s near-death experience taught her
• Accepting reality without giving up hope
• How do we live in a world where nothing lasts forever?
Additional Resources
The episode closes with Ann reading an excerpt from her book,Traveling in Bardo (anntashislater.com/traveling-in-bardo). You can learn more about Ann’s workright here (anntashislater.com).
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