Diggin' the Dharma

Send us Fan Mail Jon and Doug discuss how living ethically in the context of the five precepts is a considerable mindfulness practice.  At first glance, the precepts seem rather obvious, but the more we look and the more we bring them into our moment-to-moment experience,  the more we realize how much deeper we can go. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see...

Send us Fan Mail Inspired by taking the side of peace,  Jon and Doug look at taking sides and the Buddha's teachings on clinging to views and opinions.  How does taking a side often exacerbate the problem of division and conflict? Is there another route?  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 do you have to be thankful for? How can a practice of gratitude impact your life for the better? Thanksgiving week is a good time to reflect upon such questions. 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 are some techniques we can use to develop a regular meditation practice? Doug and Jon's guest Bodhipaksa has taught a course on this and is in the process of writing a book about it. Lots of good advice in this 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 Doug and Jon have a spirited discussion with our guest,  writer and Buddhist meditation teacher, Bodhipaksa, on Fake Buddha Quotes. How important is it to get the Buddha right? What is a "Fake Buddha Quote" anyway? Bodhipaksa's Websites: https://www.wildmind.org/ https://fakebuddhaquotes.com/ Book: https://fakebuddhaquotes.com/buy-i-cant-believe-its-not-buddha/ Supp...

Send us Fan Mail Is there such a thing as collective karma? Doug and Jon will consider the picture of karma given in early Buddhism, and compare it to the idea of collective karma, or alternately to a notion of 'aggregate' karma. How does karma work among groups of people? Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links:   https://di...

Send us Fan Mail The world events of the past week,  added, perhaps to our own personal challenges, may bring up the question of how to respond.    Meditation is not meant as an escape from these challenges.  Rather, when integrated with the teachings of the Dharma, it can set the groundwork for an appropriate response to arise within any circumstance. This week, Doug and Jon explore how this work...

Send us Fan Mail Among the factors of the Eightfold Noble Path is Right Effort.  This is part of the meditation path, and for many, finding the right energy in our meditation practice is a big challenge. Doug and Jon discuss how they approach this and hopefully give some useful tips. Right Effort Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links...

Send us Fan Mail Many folks with western religious upbringings find discomfort when faced, at least in a practice context, with a Buddha Rupa (statue) or other images and of course even more so when bowing or offerings are encouraged.    In this episode we'll talk about Buddha images: their history, practices we might use with them, as well as discuss the show on display at the Metropolitan M...

Send us Fan Mail We decided this week to speak about the Two Truths-- the Relative and the Absolute, or the Mundane and the Ultimate.   Are they real or just another construct?  How did they find their way into the Buddhist teachings?  How can we practice with them today? Is there even something to practice? Doug's Videos on the Two Truths: The Buddhist Doctrine of Two Truths: Origins -- http...

Send us Fan Mail There are many ways of investigating experience, including the six elements of earth, water, fire, air (wind), space, and consciousness.   In this episode, we discuss how these practices can lead to a direct insight into the nature of self.    Playlist of Doug's Dharma videos on the elements: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0akoU_OszRhAhUt9nXmf4wfgkBdHRAfx Book Recomm...

Send us Fan Mail Exercise is important for our bodies and minds. How do we approach exercise as a meditation ? Can we exercise mindfully, and what would that look like?  In fact, any activity we do can be a meditation practice if we remember. 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 Being in the present moment also means acceptance of the present moment whether we like it or not.  This is a key to Buddhist practice and a key to freedom.  It's also a challenge, mainly when what is present is unacceptable.  In this episode, we discuss how we practice (or not) acceptance. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further...

Send us Fan Mail Dealing with wildfires associated with global warming turns our mind to one of the Buddha's most famous and trenchant suttas, his third discourse, the Fire Sermon. Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato: https://suttacentral.net/sn35.28/en/sujato Translation by Bhikkhu Bodhi: https://suttacentral.net/sn35.28/en/bodhi Doug's video: https://youtu.be/dhTULnK8BWo Support the show Go...

Send us Fan Mail Doug and Jon respond to three member questions on how to reconcile non-judgment in our practice with the role of ethics, as well as how we can best deal with personal criticism and even aggression from co-workers. 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 listener Q&A, Doug and Jon answer two questions: teachers' roles in guiding their students in the dharma, and how our past trauma might influence our journey.   We don't pretend to have specific answers, but these wonderful questions elicited a wonderful discussion. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes a...

Send us Fan Mail The time we are living through just now has been termed a poly-crisis.  A combination of existential crises happening all at once.  Whether it's climate change, the war in Ukraine, pandemics, worldwide hunger, refugees, civil strive. . . we are experiencing it all directly or indirectly.   How can our practice help?  Does it help? Doug and Jon reflect on their own experience...

Send us Fan Mail How do we negotiate the Buddha's teachings on craving and clinging with our deep love of family and friends?   What is the difference between true love and "attached love," and when does attached love lead to dukkha?   This is an ongoing question.  The Buddha did expect monastics to be celibate and to leave their families but he did not expect this of householders....

Send us Fan Mail Buddha Nature is a concept that arises primarily in the Mahayana Buddhist teachings, though without using that language, specifically,  could certainly be interpreted within the early teachings as well.   The most famous Koan on this is "Does a Dog of Buddha Nature?" Doug and Jon have a spirited and at times confusing discussion on this.  Join in with us! Support the sho...

Send us Fan Mail The present moment seems to come and go, but is that the case?  What is the present moment anyway?  This is a deep philosophical question and certainly a central point of Buddhist practice.   Doug and Jon look at the topic from a number of different points of view .  It's always a fun discussion! Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see f...

Send us Fan Mail In these days of divisiveness, it's easy to get into political arguments or, at the very least, think ill thoughts about some of our leaders.    The Buddha's words on wise speech can be a useful guide.   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 A recent comment on our website prompted a discussion about whether certain  Buddhist practices (Lovingkindness for instance)  involve magical thinking.    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 Doug and Jon discuss two natural abilities we have to skillfully maneuver through the world. The Buddha discussed them as "guardians of the world" (Iti. 42). 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 Pāli word Sati literally means "remember' but also has the meaning of Mindfulness.  The question of memory in mindfulness practices is the starting point of our discussion in this week's 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 Recently we discussed a kind of secularized Buddhist practice with Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. Today we discuss the topic of secular Buddhism. What do we mean by "secular" or "religious"?  How can such concepts (and they are just concepts)  be helpful or not? Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes an...