David Nichtern, founder of Dharma Moon, is a senior Buddhist teacher who has been practicing and teaching meditation for over 40 years.
He was one of the initial American students of renowned meditation master Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and studied closely with him soon after his arrival in the United States in 1970. He is also a business consultant with companies creating a variety of offerings integrating meditation in a larger health and well-being context – including Goldman Sachs, Journey Meditation, Creative Live, True Nature Meditation (Tokyo), Balanced Athlete, The Center for Health & Healing, Om Births, and Kobre & Kim law firm among others.
He has been featured in The New York Times, FOX News, Netflix's The Midnight Gospel, Huffington Post, The Buddhist Geeks podcast, Duncan Trussell Family Hour Podcast, Pete Holmes' You Made it Weird Podcast, and many others. David is the author of the critically acclaimed Awakening From the Daydream: Reimagining The Buddha’s Wheel of Life and his recently released Creativity, Spirituality & Making a Buck. He mentors individual students both in person and online, and leads meditation teacher training programs around the world.
David is also a multiple Grammy-nominated and Emmy award-winning musician. He has recorded and played with Stevie Wonder, Christopher Guest, Jerry Garcia, Lana Del Rey, Maria Muldaur, Paul Simon and many others. Among his many credits in records, film and TV, David wrote the classic song “Midnight at the Oasis” and has produced multiple records for and periodically tours with Grammy-nominated kirtan artist Krishna Das.
Creativity Spirituality & Making A Buck with David Nichtern highlights creative people who share a passion for integrating their livelihood with their personal well-being and spiritual life. David hosts in-depth conversations with artists, musicians, comedians, authors, and thought leaders about life, creative pursuits, meditation, and how to build a sustainable business doing what you love.
Meditation teacher, Susan Piver, joins David Nichtern to share her profound and ever-evolving connection to The Heart Sutra.
Learn about the heart and mind of practice with David Nichtern and Krishna Das in an upcoming free online talk! Register HERE.
In this episode, David Nichtern and Susan Piver explore:
- The many variations of The Heart Sutra and why it deeply inspires Susan
- Focusing on the sound of the words in The Heart Sutra, not just the meaning of the words
- Considering how a sutra can transform an environment and how an environment can transform a sutra
- The inseparability of meaning, sound, and atmosphere within the Heart Sutra
- A reading of The Heart Sutra from Susan Piver
- Tying our daily lives back to some form of study or practice
- Emptiness as the main theme of The Heart Sutra, and of the Buddhist arena in general
- Why Buddhist emptiness is not nihilism but an expansive, liberating insight
- The transformative value of being around someone wise with skillful means
About Susan Piver:
Susan Piver has an international reputation as an exceptionally skillful meditation teacher. She teaches workshops and speaks on mindfulness, innovation, communication, relationships, and creativity. Susan has been a student of Buddhism since 1995, graduated from a Buddhist seminary in 2004, and was authorized to teach meditation in 2005. In 2012, she founded The Open Heart Project, the world’s largest online-only meditation center. Susan is also a New York Times bestselling author. Her most recent book, Inexplicable Joy: On the Heart Sutra, is now available. You can keep up with Susan on Instagram or on her website.
Join Susan for a 10-day Heart Sutra meditation retreat this August, 2025
“Emptiness sounds like everything’s dead, but empty doesn’t mean that. It means empty of separate existence. You are here due to causes and conditions. You did not get here in a space capsule. So, emptiness could be expressed more accurately as the great expanse, fullness, complete fullness.” – Susan Piver
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