Getting Untangled with Koshin Paley Ellison

Tricycle Talks

When Koshin Paley Ellison was just eight years old, he already knew that he wanted to become a Zen Buddhist monk. He began practicing meditation after a karate teacher insisted that he could never be free until he could be still with his pain. Now, Ellison serves as a Zen teacher, chaplaincy educator, and cofounder of the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, and in these roles, he helps others learn to be still with their pain. In his new book, "Untangled: Walking the Eightfold Path to Clarity, Courage, and Compassion," Ellison lays out how Buddhist practice can free us from our destructive patterns and help us access a greater sense of pleasure. In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Ellison to talk about the tangles that ensnare us, the power of learning to become intimate with our suffering, and how every aspect of our lives can become a place of practice.