Teaching Peace is a podcast from Brooklyn Peace Center exploring the many paths to justice and reconciliation. Hosted by Rev. Dr. Jason Storbakken, the series features conversations with educators, theologians, organizers, artists, and spiritual leaders on the practices and pedagogies of peacebuilding.
Alongside longform interviews, the podcast includes shortform series like Dhammapada: A Sacred Path to Liberation and Sister Sister—offering meditations on sacred wisdom, global sisterhood, and liberating practice.
To learn more, visit www.brooklynpeace.center
Teaching is not a title—it’s a path of lived wisdom, earned through practice and compassion.
In this final chapter of the Dhammapada, we explore the reimagining of the term Brahmin—traditionally reserved for the priestly caste—as a spiritual teacher whose authority is earned not by birth, but by awakening. In this radical teaching, Gautama Buddha dismantles caste hierarchies and calls for a priesthood of liberation: a community of peacebuilders shaped by wisdom, not lineage.
Jason Storbakken reflects on:
How Buddhism redefines Brahmin as one who embodies peace, compassion, and nonviolence
The sramana movement’s roots in renunciation, forest-dwelling, and resistance to ritual domination
Parallels between Buddha and Jesus as anti-hierarchical teachers calling forth movements of the marginalized
The call to move beyond trauma and privilege—to choose the path of transformation (v. 384)
The teacher as one who “neither kills, nor is complicit in killing... but cultivates compassion for all beings” (v. 405)
Drawing from Buddhist teaching, Christian scripture (1 Peter 2:9), and the work of trauma specialist Emily Wanderer Cohen, this episode invites us to embody the role of teacher as healer, transformer, and builder of liberationist communities.
🎧 New episodes drop Mondays at 6 AM EST
🕊️ Support the journey: www.brooklynpeace.center (http://www.brooklynpeace.center)
#TeachingPeace #Dhammapada #Teacher #Brahmin #PeaceLeadership #Sramana #JesusAndBuddha #IntergenerationalHealing #Antiviolence #PriesthoodOfAllBelievers #TraumaAndPrivilege #LiberationCommunities
29 Sept 2025
Ch. 25: Student
Every path to wisdom begins with the courage to learn.
In this episode of Teaching Peace, we explore Chapter 25 of the Dhammapada, a chapter that marks a meaningful shift in the text’s arc. As the penultimate chapter—just before “Teacher”—Student reminds us that spiritual growth begins with humility, discipline, and the willingness to learn.
Jason Storbakken reflects on:
The symbolic progression from student to teacher within the Dhammapada
Gautama Buddha’s own journey as a student of meditation and ascetic practice
The role of the bhikku—the alms-dependent learner committed to wisdom and simplicity
How Buddha’s early companions became his first disciples after witnessing his transformation
Parallels between Buddhist and Christian discipleship movements, including Jesus and his young followers
The revolutionary role of students and youth in global movements—from the sangha to SNCC
As Buddha’s life shows us, the student path is not passive—it is deeply engaged, deeply transformative, and, at its best, deeply collective.
🎧 New episodes drop Mondays at 6 AM EST
🕊️ Support the journey: www.brooklynpeace.center (http://www.brooklynpeace.center)
#TeachingPeace #Dhammapada #Student #Bhikku #BuddhistDiscipleship #JesusAndBuddha #YouthMovements #SpiritualPractice #FourNobleTruths #SNCC #Sangha #LearningAsLiberation
22 Sept 2025
Ch. 24: Craving
What’s the difference between wanting something—and needing it so badly it consumes you?
In this episode of Teaching Peace, we explore Chapter 24 of the Dhammapada, where the Buddha names tanha—craving—as one of the deepest obstacles to liberation. While desire may be natural, craving is something else: a grasping that entangles us in suffering. In Buddhist cosmology, tanha is one of Mara’s children, sent to tempt Siddhartha beneath the Bodhi tree and pull him from the path to awakening.
Jason Storbakken reflects on:
The subtle but profound difference between desire and craving
Craving as addiction—and how Buddhist wisdom informs recovery and healing
The metaphor of the “thirty-six streams” and the six senses as a map of our entanglements
What it means to break the bonds of Mara through mindfulness, meditation, and insight
As Buddha teaches:
“If you are to break the bonds of Mara… slow down. Deepen in your practice. Dwell in meditation.” (v. 350)
Whether we’re navigating recovery, spiritual practice, or daily distractions, this chapter reminds us that freedom begins with seeing clearly—and letting go.
🎧 New episodes drop Mondays at 6 AM EST
🕊️ Support the journey: www.brooklynpeace.center (http://www.brooklynpeace.center)
#TeachingPeace #Dhammapada #Craving #Tanha #AddictionRecovery #BuddhismAndHealing #Mindfulness #RecoveryDharma #LiberationSpirituality #BuddhistPsychology #DesireVsCraving #BreakTheChains
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