What Kinds of Buddhist Teachings and Teachers Are Featured on Tricycle?

Updated

Tricycle: The Buddhist Review publishes teachings from a range of well-known Buddhist teachers and writers across multiple traditions, delivered as essays, dharma talks, meditation guidance, podcasts, and online courses. If you want to know whose work you'll find and what subjects it covers before you start reading or listening, the site's featured content gives a clear picture: contributors include figures such as Pema Chödrön, Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Joanna Macy, Stephen Batchelor, and Sensei José Shinzan Palma, and topics run from karma and mindfulness to right speech, death and dying, and social issues.

Who Teaches on Tricycle

The teachers and writers featured span Zen, Theravada, and other lineages rather than a single school. Named contributors visible on the site include:

  • Pema Chödrön — meditation guidance, such as "Eight Slogans to Transform Your Mind"
  • Thanissaro Bhikkhu — teachings on clinging and letting go
  • Joanna Macy — featured teachings on karma and the energy of will
  • Stephen Batchelor — ideas on transforming suffering into a way of living
  • Sensei José Shinzan Palma — dharma talks on practice in daily life
  • Khenpo Appey — teachings on breaking karmic links
  • Beth Robins Roth — teachings on right speech
  • Lama Aria Drolma — Daily Dharma reflections on living with intention

This mix means you can encounter several approaches to practice on one site, from classical Buddhist doctrine to contemporary reinterpretation.

What Kinds of Teachings You'll Find

Content is organized into recognizable formats, each suited to a different way of engaging:

Format What it offers Example from the site
Teachings & essays Written dharma exploration "Breaking Our Karmic Links" by Khenpo Appey
Meditation guidance Practical instruction "Eight Slogans to Transform Your Mind" by Pema Chödrön
Dharma talks Recorded or transcribed talks Sensei José Shinzan Palma on practice in "the real world"
Podcast Conversations and interviews "A Vision of Buddhist Democracy" with William Edelglass
Online courses Structured, guided study "How to Prepare for Death and Dying" with Sallie Jiko Tisdale
Daily Dharma Short daily reflections by email Reflections from teachers such as Lama Aria Drolma

The subject matter is broad: karma, mindfulness, right speech, suffering and its cessation, death and dying, and social and political questions viewed through a Buddhist lens.

How to Decide What to Read or Listen To

Because the site mixes traditions and formats, the fastest way to choose is to match your interest to a format:

  • If you want something short and reflective, start with Daily Dharma, which delivers a brief teaching to your inbox.
  • If you prefer listening, the podcast offers interviews and conversations with teachers and thinkers.
  • If you want structured study, the online courses provide guided sequences led by a single teacher.
  • If you're new to Buddhism, the site's "New to Buddhism?" section collects introductory resources.
  • If you want to sample widely, browse the featured teachings and essays, which rotate and cover different teachers and topics.

One practical note: some content, including the current issue, is marked "Subscribe to Read," while newsletters such as Daily Dharma are described as free to sign up for. Check each item's access before committing time to it.

What This Means for Your Reading

Tricycle functions less as a single teacher's archive and more as a curated cross-section of contemporary Western Buddhism. If you want exposure to multiple voices and traditions, it suits that goal well. If you're looking for a single lineage's systematic curriculum, you'll need to be more selective within the site—or combine it with tradition-specific resources.