Diggin' the Dharma

Send us Fan Mail Stream-entry, once returning, non-returning, and arahantship are the traditional four stages of progress along the Buddhist path. What do they mean? Are they historical? Are they necessary for us to know about? Jon and Doug dive into this topic, which always raises questions about the value and the pitfalls. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, o...

Send us Fan Mail The Buddha described humanity as tangled like string, knotted like a ball of thread.  This tangle is a result of not seeing clearly the dependent co-arising— paticca-samupadda-- of phenomena.   This is one of the most important of the early teachings.   It can be seen through the lens of individual dissatisfaction and of course, through social, political and cultural dissatisfacti...

Send us Fan Mail Equanimity- Upekkha has an important place in many of the key Buddhist teachings.  It's the fourth of the Divine Abodes, the seventh Factor of Awakening, the last step of the 16 Step teaching in the Mindfulness of Breathing and in the 10th of the Parami- the Perfections of the Heart.  Doug and Jon discuss the various facets of this important quality. Support the show Go to ou...

Send us Fan Mail How can we work with our thirst for clinging and identification that seems unquenchable? We will discuss various aspect of letting go related to desire and thirst. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links:   https://digginthedharma.com/

Send us Fan Mail We can't let go of letting go so we continue discussion from the prior episode. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links:   https://digginthedharma.com/

Send us Fan Mail What is Insight (Vipassana) practice? Doug and Jon discuss its origins and how it orients our approach to the dharma. They also discuss  some exciting potential developments with livestreaming the podcast. Book: Erik Braun, The Birth of Insight Our new YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8HnYof8CejuOkLsr86EjRQ Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, b...

Send us Fan Mail Right Livelihood is one of the factors of the Buddha's Eightfold Noble Path.  Of course, times have changed in the last 2500 years, so what does this mean today?  Doug and Jon look at the teaching and do some head-scratching over certain parts of it. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links:   https://digginthedhar...

Send us Fan Mail The refrain in the teaching on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness refers to contemplating internally, externally, and internally and externally.    Jon and Doug talk about how they receive that part of the teaching, which doesn't appear in any obvious way in other suttas but is actually a very important part of mindfulness.  Support the show Go to our website to leave a comm...

Send us Fan Mail What is free will? Do we have free will? What does it mean to be free, and what does this have to do with our ethical and karmic responsibility? Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links:   https://digginthedharma.com/

Send us Fan Mail Truthfulness is one of the Paramis or perfections of the heart.  In this episode we  dig into what it means to not only be factually true but how the truth finds expression in appropriate ways-- both in our external and internal speech. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links:   https://digginthedharma.com/

Send us Fan Mail Buddha Nature: what is it and how is it a controversial concept in some understandings? Jon and Doug discuss this as well as concepts and words generally. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links:   https://digginthedharma.com/

Send us Fan Mail The second noble points to the cause of dukkha—craving and clinging. It's also related to the uncertainty of life and the desire for it to be otherwise. Sometimes, the wisdom we gain, even after years of practice, seems to vanish when confronted with the inevitable change. Our discussion was sparked by Jon's pending move to Chicago and the dukkha this has manifested. Sup...

Send us Fan Mail Doug and Jon discuss the   "Golden Rule" (do unto others as we would have them do unto us) and its role in Buddhist practice and the precepts.  Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links:   https://digginthedharma.com/

Send us Fan Mail The recent death of Alexei Navalny sparked this discussion on courage.   Navalny is one example-- similar to people like Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Nelson Mandela.    We see acts of courage from many daily but don't necessarily consider them in the same way.   What is courage, and does it play a role in our practice?  Can meditation and the dharma, cultivate and stre...

Send us Fan Mail If one were to describe a word that illustrates the meaning of onomatopoetic,  papañca fits the bill.   There are a number of words in Pali that do this, but papañca which means mental proliferation, is one of the best.  In this episode, Doug and Jon look at this familiar pattern of the mind and how to work with it.   Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a...

Send us Fan Mail In our last few episodes, we've been discussing the Buddha's Noble Eight-Fold Path.  The last three factors of the path are about meditation.  It's always good to remind ourselves why we meditate and what meditation actually is.    What meditations are presented in the early Buddhist teachings, and why are they important?    Support the show Go to our website to lea...

Send us Fan Mail Right Effort --one of the factors of the Noble Eightfold Path is an important aspect of the practice of meditation, and the teachings related to this are worth looking into.  Jon and Doug discuss strategies and practices that may be useful for us to consider along the path. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links:   ht...

Send us Fan Mail The Rubin is an important institution in New York with a very significant collection and many special exhibitions of Tibetan and Himalayan art, specifically related to Buddhism and Buddhist culture in that part of the world.  We received the sad news recently that they are closing the New York space and basically becoming a virtual and traveling museum.    Jon and Doug discuss the...

Send us Fan Mail The Eightfold Path, the fourth of the Four Noble Truths, lays out a map to become free from suffering.    In our last episode, we explore the second fact  on the Right Intention. In this episode, we discuss Right View and how we generally hold views.  After all, if you don't have the right view, if you don't know where you're headed, you'll likely get lost alon...

Send us Fan Mail As we continue our wondering through the Noble Truths we discuss aspects of the Fourth Truth the 8-Fold Noble Path with a particular interesting Right Intention. This is the second factor, but who says we need to start with the first? Japanese Bowl, Poem by Peter Mayer VIdeo on the Art of Kantsugi Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see furth...

Send us Fan Mail The New Year is a good time to return to the core teachings.  And it's good to start with the Four Enobling Truths, from which much becomes clear.  In this episode, we spend most of the time talking about the first two, Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links:   https://digginthedharma.com/

Send us Fan Mail In this episode for the last day of 2023, we look at concepts of time from a Buddhist perspective in the relative and absolute sense.    It's a fun topic and seemed appropriate as we move into 2024-- at least in some calendars. George Carlin on TIme Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links:   https://digginthedharm...

Send us Fan Mail Perhaps this is a perennial question, but it's always worth asking.   What's so special about Buddhism and why have we chosen it as a guide for how we live?  We speak about our personal experience ask questions that might be helpful for you. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links:   https://digginthedharma.c...

Send us Fan Mail What is meant by re-birth?? Who is reborn and when? There are a number of interpretations and Doug and Jon explore some of them.   More important is how our understanding of rebirth and death impacts the way we live now.  Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links:   https://digginthedharma.com/

Send us Fan Mail Depending on your interpretation of what a miracle is, there are certainly times when miracles seem to happen due to our practice.  In fact, one of the most-read books on Buddhism and mindfulness is Thich Nhat Hanh's classic Miracle of Mindfulness.   Do you notice miracles happening?  What did the Buddha have to say about this? Support the show Go to our website to leave a co...