October 15, 2026
This Very Moment
Episode 13: You’re Not a Mess with Lodro Rinzler
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Show Notes
In this candid conversation, Ivan welcomes Lodro Rinzler, Buddhist author and teacher, to the podcast. Friends for more than two decades, they bring an easy warmth to an exchange that moves naturally between humor, personal history, and Buddhist practice.
Lodro reflects on growing up in a Buddhist household and the retreat experience that made meditation feel like a path of his own. He speaks about his father’s long illness and how practice helped him remain present through loss. Ivan and Lodro also revisit the early years of Lodro’s teaching and writing—including the publication of The Buddha Walks into a Bar . . .— and consider what it means for a book to make a difference in even one person’s life.
Turning to his newest book, You Are Good, You Are Enough, Lodro explores the teachings of basic goodness and how the view that we are fundamentally whole, even when we make mistakes, changes the way we may view our relationships in a culture that’s quick to judge both ourselves and others. Lodro also shares how fatherhood has changed his sense of identity and deepened his practice of paying attention.
The episode closes with Lodro sharing two simple daily practices: the importance of offering your full attention to the person in front of you and beginning the day with a moment of gratitude.
About the Interviewee
Lodro Rinzleris a Buddhist meditation teacher, author, and cofounder of MNDFL. He began meditating as a child, studied Tibetan Buddhism, and has taught meditation for more than two decades. He is the author of the international bestseller The Buddha Walks into a Bar. . . and several other books applying Buddhist wisdom to relationships, work, anxiety, and self-compassion. His 2026 book, You Are Good, You Are Enough, explores basic goodness, self-doubt, and practical meditation. He lives in New York’s Hudson Valley and teaches through retreats, online programs, private mentoring, and the Basic Goodness Collective. Learn more at https://www.lodrorinzler.com/.
Books and Courses by Lodro Rinzler
