A Buddhist Monk's Honest Advice On Letting Go & Finding Inner Peace

A Buddhist Monk's Honest Advice On Letting Go & Finding Inner Peace

From The Modern Buddhism Podcast by The Modern Buddhism Podcast

May 9, 2026 · 38 min · Season 2 · Episode 13

About this episode

Gen Kelsang Chökyong shares insights on letting go and finding inner peace through Buddhist teachings.

In today's episode, Gen Kelsang Chökyong - a Buddhist monk from Wales - shares the story of how he stumbled into a Dharma class while sheltering from the rain with a kebab, and never left. Drawing on nearly thirty years of practice and teaching within the New Kadampa Tradition, he explores why the mind - not external circumstances - is the true source of all our happiness and suffering. He explains the Buddhist concept of self-grasping ignorance and how this single delusion drives everything from daily irritation and relationship problems to the world's largest conflicts. Gen Chökyong highlights how meditation and compassion gradually erode this grasping, revealing a natural peace that was always there. He shares life-changing insights into the nature of feelings - pointing out that most of what torments us is just a feeling, and feelings always pass. He concludes with a very helpful approach to making mistakes. Instead of turning on ourself, we can realize that without making mistakes it’s unlikely that we’ll learn and improve. Warm, funny, and deeply practical, this episode is a masterclass in how Buddhist wisdom applies directly to modern anxiety, relationships, and the art of…

People in this episode

Guest: Gen Kelsang Chökyong

Topics covered

  • letting go
  • inner peace
  • Buddhism
  • self-grasping ignorance
  • meditation
  • compassion
  • modern anxiety

Keywords

  • Buddhist monk
  • Dharma
  • happiness
  • suffering
  • feelings
  • mistakes
  • relationships

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New Kadampa Tradition

Places: Wales

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