Cortland Dahl

Cortland Dahl, PhD, is a scientist, translator, author, and meditation teacher with a lifelong interest in meditation and the science of flourishing. His journey began in the early 1990s when he first learned to meditate. His passion led him on a journey around the world, from monasteries in Burma to zendos in Japan, as well as eight years living in Tibetan refugee settlements in Nepal and India. During his travels, Cort became fluent in Tibetan and became a translator and scholar, receiving a master’s degree in Buddhist studies and publishing 12 volumes of translations. He went on to study at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he was mentored by the renowned neuroscientist Dr. Richard Davidson and received a PhD in mind, brain, and contemplative science, the first-ever degree of its kind awarded by the university. He has since published numerous scientific articles, including a new scientific framework for the cultivation of well-being, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). As part of his PhD dissertation, Cort created the Healthy Minds Program, now a free mobile app that has been featured by The New York Times, Vogue, Sports Illustrated, and many other publications. More recently, he authored “A Meditator’s Guide to Buddhism: The Path of Awareness, Compassion, and Wisdom” and the forthcoming “Born to Flourish: How to Thrive in a Challenging World,” with Dr. Richard Davidson. Cort currently serves as executive director and board member for Tergar International, the organization that oversees the Tergar community in the West, as well as a senior instructor for the Tergar community. He is also a scientist at the Center for Healthy Minds and chief contemplative officer for its affiliated nonprofit, Healthy Minds Innovations.

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Cortland Dahl, PhD: The Energizing Force of Compassion

Cortland Dahl — January 21, 2025

Imagine how our world would change if all of our actions were rooted in love and compassion. Is that even possible? In this podcast, Tami Simon sits down with Dr. Cortland Dahl, the renowned Buddhist scholar, translator, scientist, researcher, and author of several books including his newest, A Meditator’s Guide to Buddhism, to discuss how compassion can become the energizing force that motivates you and inspires you each and every day.

Listen now for their insights on attuning to the intelligence of your heart; a neuroscientific approach to healing anxiety; the exciting research and new modalities emerging from the study of contemplative practice; how quickly we can begin to enjoy the profound benefits of meditation; the four pillars of a healthy mind: awareness, connection, insight, and purpose; appreciation and noticing the positive; living life in a meditative way; bringing your innate compassion up to the surface of conscious experience; doing the dishes as an act of love—how every action can become a gift; generosity, the inner richness that can never be exhausted; how empathy and compassion activate the brain’s “care network”; compassion in relationships; the universal longing for meaning and purpose; transformative pain, and why physical discomfort does not equal suffering; dealing with uncertainty; unlocking the insights of our emotions and finding the beauty in difficult experiences; a pith instruction: look at your mind; and more.

Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.

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David Brooks: Perception Is an Act of Creation

— December 30, 2025

What does it mean to truly see another person—not just their surface, but their soul, their yearning, their infinite dignity?

This week, Tami speaks with David Brooks—acclaimed New York Times columnist, author, and PBS NewsHour commentator—about his remarkable journey from emotional guardedness to what he calls “heart vision.” In this profound interview on Insights at the Edge, David shares the mystical experiences that transformed his understanding of human connection, including a pivotal moment in a New York subway when he suddenly perceived everyone around him as souls in motion.

Join Tami and David to explore:

David’s emotional awakening and the journey from cerebral detachment to human vulnerability
The distinction between diminishers and illuminators—and how we see others
Why attention is the ultimate form of generosity and morality
The difference between heart intelligence and mental intelligence
How perception itself is an act of creation, not passive observation
Practical skills for seeing others deeply: the on/off switch of attention, being a loud listener, and avoiding the topper trap
Why he identifies as a religious rather than a spiritual person
The moral order of the universe and how our yearnings reflect something woven into reality itself
How rupture and repair shape us—and why staying in pain can be necessary for growth

David’s wisdom reminds us that in a world increasingly dominated by data and algorithms, the art of truly seeing another human being remains our most sacred—and most practical—capacity.

Listen now to discover how cultivating the illuminator’s gaze can transform every relationship in your life.

This conversation offers genuine transmission—not just concepts about awakening, but the palpable presence of realized teachers exploring the growing edge of spiritual understanding together. Originally aired on Sounds True One.

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Post Views: 8,310

Frank Ostaseki: “I’m Allergic to the Notion of a G...

— December 23, 2025

What truly matters when we face the end of life? After decades of sitting at the bedside of hundreds of dying people, Frank Ostaseski has distilled the deepest human concerns into two essential questions: Am I loved? Have I loved well?

This week on Insights at the Edge, Tami welcomes Frank Ostaseski—co-founder of America’s first Buddhist hospice, the Zen Hospice Project, founder of the Metta Institute, and author of The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully. Frank brings extraordinary wisdom from his pioneering work in compassionate end-of-life care, along with profound personal insights from his own encounters with heart surgery, strokes, and the transformative vulnerability of being “on the other side of the sheets.”

Join Tami and Frank to explore:

The two essential questions that arise when facing death—and what they reveal about living fully now
Why emotional flexibility is the true condition for healing and transformation
How to meet our own fear and pain without abandoning ourselves or others
The practice of “allowing” as a path to both wisdom and compassion
What happens in the dying process: surrender, reconstitution, and coming home
Why Frank is allergic to the notion of a “good death”
The indestructible love that emerges when we keep our hearts open through pain
How to practice dying by paying attention to everyday endings

This conversation is for anyone grappling with loss, change, or the fundamental questions of existence—offering not prescriptive answers, but the profound medicine of honest presence and the recognition that our vulnerability itself is one of our most beautiful human qualities.

For more with Frank Ostaseski:

Year to Live Course (Spirit Rock Meditation Center)

Spirit of Service (Upaya Zen Center)

Awareness in Action: The Role of Love (Upaya Zen Center, Frank Ostaseski & Sharon Salzberg)

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A.H. Almaas and Henry Shukman: “The Many Faces of Aw...

A.H. Almaas
Henry Shukman — December 16, 2025

What if awakening isn’t a single destination but an endless unfolding of reality’s many faces? This week on Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon facilitates a groundbreaking conversation between two of the most profound spiritual teachers of our time: A.H. Almaas (Hameed Ali), founder of the Diamond Approach, and Zen teacher Henry Shukman.

In this rare dialogue, these teachers—meeting for the first time—explore how different wisdom traditions point to distinct dimensions of awakened experience. Rather than claiming all paths lead to the same mountaintop, they celebrate the unique territory each tradition reveals: from the “blazing forth” of creative emptiness to experiences where consciousness itself dissolves, from the recognition that each point contains the entire universe to the discovery that everything is made of love.

Join Tami, Hameed, and Henry to discover:

Why awakening is an endless process rather than a final arrival
The profound difference between thinking and heart-knowing
How to navigate the fear that arises at the threshold of ego dissolution
The role of trust, compassion, and basic trust in profound transformation
What happens when individual consciousness completely ceases
Why nothingness and being are inseparable faces of reality
How grief and catastrophic loss can become doorways to awakening
The Zen teaching of uni-locality—experiencing that one point is everything
Why love may be the most fundamental nature of reality itself

Cortland Dahl

Also By Author

Cortland Dahl, PhD: The Energizing Force of Compassion

You Might Also Enjoy

David Brooks: Perception Is an Act of Creation

Frank Ostaseki: “I’m Allergic to the Notion of a G...

A.H. Almaas and Henry Shukman: “The Many Faces of Aw...

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