Dharma If You Dare

In this talk Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat explore the topic of 'Crazy Wisdom'. Also known as 'Divine Madness’, these are energetic and unpredictable teachings that help shake students’ fixed views about their reality. The stuck nature of our egos requires a breaking through of the status quo in order to access a place of open spaciousness of possibility. Doug and Catherine also explore the...

In this talk Doug and Catherine discuss the Buddha’s First Ennobling Truth: that life is always in some degree of struggle. They explore how preferences and anti-preferences contribute to our self image and how the degree to which we suffer is tied to the degree to which we cling or can surrender this limiting view of ourself.     Did you know that Planet Dharma also has a library of articles cove...

In this talk Doug and Catherine explore the process of spiritual awakening and its many benefits. They discuss how it leads to greater freedom and control in our lives, makes us less subject to old habits and conditioning, and allows us to bring all aspects of our self into consciousness.   If you find the teachings of Planet Dharma resonate and are wondering how to explore them further, we recomm...

In this talk, Doug and Catherine discuss the importance of bringing all aspects of ourselves into consciousness. Through integrating the shadow we can access greater and greater degrees of freedom and free up huge amounts of energy.   Today’s episode featured a recording from Riding the Dragon, an online course based on the ideas in Doug and Catherine's bestselling book, Wasteland to Pureland.   Y...

In this public talk Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat introduce the paramis, 6 aspects of consciousness that have been taught in the buddhadharma for more than two thousand years and allow practitioners to become their own inner and outer works of art. They are qualities that we can grow to feel internally grounded and to act from a positive, wholesome place in our relationships with others.   T...

In this talk from the online course Riding the Dragon, Doug and Catherine explore the concepts of Quantum Creativity and Adaptive Creativity. They discuss how imagination springs forth from spaciousness and how it is the remedy for habitual mind. Surrendering, or letting go, into this spaciousness allows us to move beyond simply running on instinct and tap into our fullest potential.      Here are...

In this talk Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat look at the pitfalls of our society’s tendency to value information over lived experience. They discuss ways to integrate knowledge and wisdom so we can live connected lives.   Today’s recording comes from Doug Duncan and Catherine’s Facebook Livestream series, Enlighten Up, a monthly talk given on contemporary topics of awakening.   To stay up to d...

Drawing on material from the first reflection in their book, Wasteland to Pureland, Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat explore the topic of personal vision and connect it to the concepts of absolute and relative truth. Today’s recording is a continuation of the material that you can hear in the Season 3 trailer entitled, Why Awaken?   To explore these ideas further, purchase Wasteland to Pureland...

This week is Doug Duncan‘s 70th birthday. We thought this was the perfect time to launch Season 3 of the podcast with its new title, Dharma If You Dare.  The first episode of the new season will drop any day now, so stay tuned. Make sure to subscribe wherever you get your Podcasts to receive new episodes directly on your device as soon as they are published. We look forward to sharing a season of...

Why Awaken? Today's episode explores the idea of personal vision and how it relates to spiritual unfoldment. It's part of our celebration for the upcoming release of more podcast episodes from Planet Dharma. Season 3 will begin in mid-July to celebrate Doug Sensei’s 70th birthday! The Season 3 launch will include a new podcast name, theme music and format. It will be all-new content, but will stil...

Join Deborah Price, founder of The Money Coaching Institute, in a conversation with dharma teachers Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat as they address the challenges of living a spiritual life in the modern world. Together they discuss community, time management and consumerism and how it impacts our ability to live a full life. This interview highlights the launch of Doug Duncan and Catherine Pa...

We all have boundaries that help us feel safe and comfortable. But what happens when we cling to the comfort?  In this episode, Duncan and Catherine explore the comfort zones of their students at Clear Sky Retreat Center. They encourage these students to step out of their comfort zones and discover the ultimate place of learning: their growth edges. This episode comes from a class given during Pla...

We’re all familiar with yoga in the studio, with an instructor guiding us on our mats. But did you know that there are other types of yoga that we can incorporate into our spiritual practice?  In this talk, Doug and Catherine introduce these other yogic paths and explain why karma yoga, the path of action, is built for the modern spiritual warrior. This episode comes from a class given during Plan...

We live in a distracted society. Keeping focused can be challenging, whether we’re engaging in conversation or trying to meet a deadline. Learn what it means to put ‘complete effort’ into things and the benefits we gain by being fully present in each moment. In this talk, Doug and Catherine explore the topic of Right Effort, from the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path. They explain that wholesome effor...

How do you find your purpose? Embrace compassion, explore, and ultimately, get over yourself so you can tap into something much, much deeper. In this talk, Doug and Catherine explain the need for a vision bigger than your lifetime and bigger than yourself. They look at the importance of letting the study of nature and consciousness inform your vision and career. This episode is an excerpt from Pla...

The paramis are Buddhist teachings that allow you to overcome bad habits and transform them into more wholesome ways of being. When applying these principles in our daily lives, unnecessary suffering cannot arise. In this talk, Doug and Catherine give an overview of the paramis and explain their power and practicality.  This episode is an excerpt from Planet Dharma’s 2017 online course, Right Effo...

There’s a sense of safety with feeling comfortable. But comfort often goes hand-in-hand with habit, routine and ultimately suffering. It’s time to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. In this talk, Doug and Catherine explore the low-grade angst that exists when we cling to comfort and explain how not seeking comfort is not the same as seeking discomfort. This episode is an excerpt from Planet...

"Lama Rinpoche, to you I supplicate." Even if you're fully awakened, you still say that. Why? To overcome pride, which is very subtle! http://www.planetdharma.com/

How do you live and move and recognize in your world? What are the patterns and structures of how the mind works, whether hunger/gatherer or food grower or living in the modern world? --- Doug Sensei gives an interview on an upcoming talk he will give on traditional wisdom in Australia in December 2013. http://www.planetdharma.com/

The spiritual teachings are focused on drawing your attention to the awakened/awakening consciousness. The real purpose of awakening is it puts you in a position where it's just much easier to learn without a lot of baggage. --- From an interview conducted in October 2013 with Doug Duncan Sensei...   Transcript: Well again, it's mapping, it's patterning. I won't go into those particularly, but pat...

The 'you' -- is an illusion...because 'you' aren't there. And if you knew that, the 'you' would disappear. It would evaporate like a fog. --- Transcript Student: The ego is hurt...somebody steps on you. Doug Sensei: "The definition of 'you' is 'hurt'. Be very clear about this. 'You' is 'separation'. Separation is, by definition, hurt. You don't want to know the cruel taskmaster who owns you -- the...

The first step in spiritual awakening is becoming aware of our ego structure -- actually perceiving the particular beliefs and images that we have identified with and taken to be true -- then dissolving that, letting go of that part of one's identity. --- Doug Sensei teaches on the enneagram, drawing from this source: Facets of Unity: The Enneagram of Holy Ideas by A.H. Almaas, 1998; Chapter 4, Ba...

Part 2: Paralyzed and Free! A quadriplegic man in the hospital for 25 years sees the spaciousness through which all manifestations can arise, including the mind. Was no longer obsessed with the arisings. --- Part two of the "Why Practice the Paramis?" podcast from Aug. 23, 2013. The "he" referred to at the beginning is "Gerry," who was laid up in the hospital for 8 weeks unable to move. This talk...

The paramis are qualities of character, or "perfections" of heart and mind that can be developed to support the path of awakening--practices which develop wholesome activity, growth and enlightenment. "It is so clear that the Teaching is the only refuge." --- What are the paramis? They are qualities of character, or "perfections" of heart and mind that can be developed to support the path of awake...

Bliss is present because there is no one trying to do anything. Be very clear about this: bliss arises when you no longer try to do anything. --- A one-minute excerpt from a talk by Doug Sensei on the Diamond Sutra held at Zofukuji Temple, Miki, Japan, on Jan. 4, 2013. You'll want to listen to this one over and over again. Transcript: "Bliss is present because there is no one trying to do anything...