In this podcast, Pamela Weiss and I discuss her recently published memoir A Bigger Sky: Awakening a Fierce Feminine Buddhism. Pamela is the first lay practitioner to receive full Dharma transmission in the Suzuki Roshi Soto Zen lineage. She is also authorized as a teacher in the Theravada tradition. In this lively, intimate, and heartfelt conversation, we discuss how her Buddhist practice—as a monastic and a layperson—calmed her internal storm of suffering to reveal an abiding and spacious sky of awareness. We also delve into experiences of kensho, what it means to be a lay transmitted teacher, and the wisdom of the feminine.
Pamela Weiss is also a guiding teacher at San Francisco Insight and a member of the Spirit Rock Teacher Council. She is a leadership coach, entrepreneur, and pioneer in bringing Buddhist principles and practices into the workplace. Pamela lives in San Francisco with her husband, Eugene, and little dog, Grover.
A Bigger Sky: Awakening a Fierce Feminine Buddhism