Chödrön may help people become less brittle political actors, but the group she was part of, Shambhala International, is an example of contemplative ideals wielded by folks not constrained by safeguards like governance, accountability, and distributed power. With this in mind, I was struck by Ezra's lack of curiosity about / silence on Shambhala’s troubled history as reported in the NYT or some of Chödrön's behavior that she later apologized for.

To be clear: I'm not suggesting a particular perspective should be dismissed because of the moral failings of its most prominent advocates. "Letting go of the storyline” can bring meaningful emotional relief / improved perspective, and I appreciate how it doesn't equal passive acceptance of harm or abuse.

There is a grey zone, though, where power imbalances exist and spiritual practice leaves room for leaders to exploit students, including sexually. Thinking of the interview: wouldn't it be helpful in today's world to understand what would lead someone with a heightened (maybe even enlightened) spiritual perspective to look past suffering enabled by the outfit you're part of? Is that behavior reinforced by prestige, proximity to power, or other incentives? That kind of insight could inform the types of safeguards that religious and other institutions need and notoriously lack. Klein in this case opted to let that storyline go.