In this episode of This Very Moment we are joined with Larry Mermelstein, a longtime student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and a founding member of the Nalanda Translation Committee.
Born in Pennsylvania and raised in Rochester, New York, Larry recalls growing up in a Jewish household with mixed religious observance. His father, raised Orthodox with a Hasidic grandfather, described himself as a “non-observant Orthodox Jew,” while his mother came from a Reform background. Larry attended Hebrew school reluctantly but found genuine engagement in the musicality of Jewish prayer during his study for bar mitzvah. However, as he grew older and began reading the English translations of Hebrew prayers, he found the meaning uninspiring, and his interest in Judaism faded.
As a teenager Larry found refuge in a spiritualist minister in New Jersey, who opened him up to the idea that this reality is not the only reality. He continued studying with him through his last two years in high school.
Watch this interview or read the rest of the episode show notes at shambhala.com/podcast.
Timestamps
00:00:00 — Introduction Larry Mermelstein on Buddhism, translation, and the early days of the Trungpa community
00:01:47 — Little Larry: Growing Up Jewish Childhood, family, faith, and early influences
00:05:59 — The First Spiritual Disillusionment Why Judaism stopped feeling alive—and what came next
00:18:57 — From Mysticism to Buddhism The path from spiritual seeking into the Dharma
00:30:12 — Meeting Trungpa Rinpoche The first encounter that changed everything
00:40:58 — Becoming a Translator How language and Dharma became a life's work
00:49:04 — Who Was Ugyen Shenpen? Remembering a pivotal figure behind the scenes of Tibetan Buddhism
00:58:39 — Building Naropa and the Early Community The pioneering years of Buddhist education in the West
01:04:53 — Why So Many Jews Found Buddhism Exploring one of the great demographic mysteries of Western Dharma
01:09:47 — Does Buddhism Have a Future Here? Translation, culture, music, and reaching new generations
01:17:48 — What Inspires You Now? Larry on legacy, younger practitioners, and what's alive today
01:19:38 — The Future of the Trungpa Lineage Tulku questions, succession, and Rinpoche's predictions
