From wrathful love to Buddha-nature, Noel Coakley and Victoria ‘Vee’ Wikler discuss the next generation of Buddhism and waking up the ‘sleepy Buddha’ in us all.

In this episode, Noel, Vee, and David explore:

• The creation of Noel’s book, Wake Up Sleepy Buddha

• The concept of ‘wrathful love’

• Inherent goodness and the Buddha-nature within us all

• Living with both relative and ultimate truth

• Taking a feminist perspective on Buddhism

• Looking to the next generation of Buddhas

• Direct practice as the real teacher

• Blending together psychology and Buddhism

• Therapy as an external mindfulness practice

“We all feel weird and alienated when we’re in this story of not realizing our Buddha nature…but we’re just hidden from our Buddha nature. I think about this in my psychotherapy. Anybody I meet with, the task is: can I see their already perfectness, their level of being where nothing needs to be improved or changed?”

About Noel Coakley

Noel is a mental health counselor (LMHC) with a Master’s degree in Counseling from Lesley University and Special Education from UMass Boston. He is also a certified yoga instructor, supporting a holistic, mind & body approach to wellness. His experience from years as a special education teacher benefits his ability to support differentiated learning styles and needs. Noel has been practicing meditation since 1996, beginning initially with the Indo-Tibetan traditions and then the Yundrung Bön tradition since 2013. Over the years, Noel has been fortunate to learn from over 100 teachers, including HH the Dalai Lama and HH the 34th Menri Trizin. Noel recently authored the book Wake Up Sleepy Buddha, which provides a 600+ page, fully illustrated guide to Buddhist practice beyond mindfulness. Noel’s book bridges ancient wisdom, modern psychology, and everyday life.

About Victoria 'Vee' Wickler

Victoria B. Wikler (Vee) is a mindfulness meditation teacher, peer counselor, doula, tattoo artist & Thai-American witch. She has over 10 years of training in Mindfulness and Zen meditation, 6+ years of Tarot consulting experience, and expertise in supporting altered state experiences. Check out Vee on Instagram.