Silence and solitude are two forms of Buddhist practice of great depth, but also some difficulty for many. Jon and... more

Joy is an essential aspect of Buddhist practice. And boy do we need joy right now! Jon and Doug discuss... more

Jon has been on pilgrimage in India over the last few weeks. He reports in about all he's been experiencing... more

How do we perceive time, and what can we learn from Buddhist teachings about it? How do we frame the... more

Jon and Doug have a wide-ranging chat with the dharma teacher and peace activitist, Stephen Fulder, founder of Tovana, the... more

What is the role of community in our practice? The sangha is one of the traditional three refuges or jewels... more

Three key aspects of the seven enlightenment factors are investigation, energy, and joy. What are they, and how can we... more

The final aggregate in the set of five is consciousness. What is meant by consciousness/ As an aggregate of... more

In Buddhism the root of karmic action is in sankharas, a word with many uses in the dharma. As... more

Two days after the US Election, Doug and Jon discuss how they are handling the results. They also discuss how... more

Feeling tone, the pleasure or pain we take in experience, is a central part of dharma. As an aggregate,... more

Doug and Jon continue to explore the Five Aggregates of Clinging (to self) and this week explore Form. ... more

Jon and Doug discuss perception and how it's mediated by past experience and the stories we tell. How does it... more

How does our concept of ourselves and others create suffering? What would it be like to soften this "conceit... more

The Buddhist attitude of "nibbidā" or "disenchantment"/"disgust" is central to the early teaching. What is it and how can it... more

Doug and Jon discuss what forgiveness means in the contact of Buddhism. Is it Buddhist? It's a powerful... more

Doug has Covid, Jon has a bad microphone, but they're chatting about the Buddha and voting anyway, as well as... more

A recent podcast series at the Financial Times discussed serious problems several meditators have had at one popular ten-day Vipassana... more

With Jon's impending move to Chicago Jon and Doug discuss the beneficial practice of renunciation. What do we really need?... more

Silence is so important to Buddhist practice. Jon and Doug discuss how silence impacts practice as well as some of... more

How do we bring our Buddhist practice into our relationship with the arts and entertainment? The early Buddhist teachings,... more

The Bodhisattva ideal really blossomed in the Mahayana traditions but the idea of the Bodhisattva was certainly present in the... more

Stream-entry, once returning, non-returning, and arahantship are the traditional four stages of progress along the Buddhist path. What do they... more

The Buddha described humanity as tangled like string, knotted like a ball of thread. This tangle is a result... more

Equanimity- Upekkha has an important place in many of the key Buddhist teachings. It's the fourth of the Divine... more

How can we work with our thirst for clinging and identification that seems unquenchable? We will discuss various aspect of... more

We can't let go of letting go so we continue discussion from the prior episode. Support the... more

What is Insight (Vipassana) practice? Doug and Jon discuss its origins and how it orients our approach to the dharma.... more

Right Livelihood is one of the factors of the Buddha's Eightfold Noble Path. Of course, times have changed in... more

The refrain in the teaching on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness refers to contemplating internally, externally, and internally and externally.... more

What is free will? Do we have free will? What does it mean to be free, and what does this... more

Truthfulness is one of the Paramis or perfections of the heart. In this episode we dig into what... more

Buddha Nature: what is it and how is it a controversial concept in some understandings? Jon and Doug discuss this... more

The second noble points to the cause of dukkha—craving and clinging. It's also related to the uncertainty of life and... more

Doug and Jon discuss the "Golden Rule" (do unto others as we would have them do unto us)... more

The recent death of Alexei Navalny sparked this discussion on courage. Navalny is one example-- similar to people... more

If one were to describe a word that illustrates the meaning of onomatopoetic, papañca fits the bill. ... more

In our last few episodes, we've been discussing the Buddha's Noble Eight-Fold Path. The last three factors of the... more

Right Effort --one of the factors of the Noble Eightfold Path is an important aspect of the practice of meditation,... more

The Rubin is an important institution in New York with a very significant collection and many special exhibitions of Tibetan... more

The Eightfold Path, the fourth of the Four Noble Truths, lays out a map to become free from suffering. ... more

As we continue our wondering through the Noble Truths we discuss aspects of the Fourth Truth the 8-Fold Noble Path... more

The New Year is a good time to return to the core teachings. And it's good to start with... more

In this episode for the last day of 2023, we look at concepts of time from a Buddhist perspective in... more

Perhaps this is a perennial question, but it's always worth asking. What's so special about Buddhism and why... more

What is meant by re-birth?? Who is reborn and when? There are a number of interpretations and Doug and Jon... more

Depending on your interpretation of what a miracle is, there are certainly times when miracles seem to happen due to... more

Jon and Doug discuss how living ethically in the context of the five precepts is a considerable mindfulness practice. ... more

Inspired by taking the side of peace, Jon and Doug look at taking sides and the Buddha's teachings on... more

What do you have to be thankful for? How can a practice of gratitude impact your life for the better?... more

What are some techniques we can use to develop a regular meditation practice? Doug and Jon's guest Bodhipaksa has taught... more

Doug and Jon have a spirited discussion with our guest, writer and Buddhist meditation teacher, Bodhipaksa, on Fake Buddha... more

Is there such a thing as collective karma? Doug and Jon will consider the picture of karma given in early... more

The world events of the past week, added, perhaps to our own personal challenges, may bring up the question... more

Among the factors of the Eightfold Noble Path is Right Effort. This is part of the meditation path, and... more

Many folks with western religious upbringings find discomfort when faced, at least in a practice context, with a Buddha Rupa... more

We decided this week to speak about the Two Truths-- the Relative and the Absolute, or the Mundane and the... more

There are many ways of investigating experience, including the six elements of earth, water, fire, air (wind), space, and consciousness.... more

Exercise is important for our bodies and minds. How do we approach exercise as a meditation ? Can we exercise... more

Being in the present moment also means acceptance of the present moment whether we like it or not. This... more

Dealing with wildfires associated with global warming turns our mind to one of the Buddha's most famous and trenchant suttas,... more

Doug and Jon respond to three member questions on how to reconcile non-judgment in our practice with the role of... more

In this listener Q&A, Doug and Jon answer two questions: teachers' roles in guiding their students in the dharma, and... more

The time we are living through just now has been termed a poly-crisis. A combination of existential crises happening... more

How do we negotiate the Buddha's teachings on craving and clinging with our deep love of family and friends? ... more

Buddha Nature is a concept that arises primarily in the Mahayana Buddhist teachings, though without using that language, specifically, ... more

The present moment seems to come and go, but is that the case? What is the present moment anyway?... more

In these days of divisiveness, it's easy to get into political arguments or, at the very least, think ill thoughts... more

A recent comment on our website prompted a discussion about whether certain Buddhist practices (Lovingkindness for instance) involve... more

Doug and Jon discuss two natural abilities we have to skillfully maneuver through the world. The Buddha discussed them as... more

The Pāli word Sati literally means "remember' but also has the meaning of Mindfulness. The question of memory in... more

Recently we discussed a kind of secularized Buddhist practice with Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. Today we discuss the topic of... more

"Not mine, not I, not myself" is a phrase that appears in various suttas. It can be a useful... more

What is non-dualism all about? Is it a practice? Is it a way of looking at the world? ... more

The training called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn in the late '70s and could be credited with... more

What are the Buddha's views about views? How are the ways we hold opinions about politics, people, food,... more

The Seven Awakening Factors are a fundamental teaching in the early Buddhist Suttas. In an active form,... more

In Buddhist practice, direct experience is a key component of mindfulness and the development of wisdom. Can AI actually... more

With the hyper-driven developments in Artificial Intelligence, we wonder, is AI becoming sentient? What is sentience anyway? What... more

Metta--the quality of unconditional love is considered one of the boundless qualities of the heart. We often have... more

As Jon returns from his heart surgery and recovery, we discuss the practice of patience, which is considered one of... more

We'll discuss a fun early sutta where two ascetics, one practicing as a dog, the other as a cow, come... more

Some folks believe that Buddhism requires us to let go of all desires. This is actually a misinterpretation of... more

This episode will be aired the week Jon faces significant surgery. It seems like an appropriate time to look... more

One of the various lists of the Dharma is the 10 Fetters. In this episode, we discuss the first five... more

For our first episode of the 2023, we offer support just in case you've resolved to develop a daily... more

In our final podcast of 2022 we'll take another look at embodied meditation, following a retreat that Jon was just... more

Jon has just got back from a long retreat, so we discuss his experiences, as well as offering a few... more

Is our "Diggin' the Dharma" logo a problem? Doug and Jon react to some recent comments on a thread at... more

"Yet it is just within this fathom-long body, endowed with perception and cognition, that I declare that there is the... more

As we head out of the week of Thanksgiving we consider eating and food in the context of early Buddhist... more

For our listeners in the US, we are beginning Thanksgiving week. It's a perfect time to consider gratitude and how... more

Perception is one of the Five Aggregates of Clinging and critical to our understanding of self and the world we... more

With the upcoming election in the US we will look at politics and Buddhism. Should we allow our Buddhist ideals... more

As we record this episode, Elon Musk has recently purchased Twitter. His purchase raises all sorts of questions relevant to... more

The Buddha became a pretty famous guy, but what did fame mean to him? Did he even... more

Doug and Jon discuss the five hindrances that the Buddha had to overcome on the night of his enlightenment. We... more

The Five Reflections are a teaching which confronts us directly with the realities of life. These reflections are... more

Turning toward death through various meditation practices can be transformative and liberative. In this episode Doug and Jon... more

People often think of Buddhism as a very austere and all about renunciation. In this episode we discuss the... more

Buddhism was originally practiced in the forests and it was evolving at a time when much of society was seeing... more

Generosity is the first instruction the Buddha would give to laypeople, it's also one of the deepest and most helpful... more

This special episode Jon and Doug take questions from Sorrell, one of their generous member-donors over at Buy Me a... more

Is Buddhist practice only about attaining enlightenment, or are there other things it can help us with? If so, what... more

In this episode Doug and Jon exploring the practice of taking refuge. The Triple Gem refers to Buddha, Dharma... more

The Buddha taught that we don't hold to fixed views. Politics often finds its way into spiritual context... more

How do we deal with war If we are practicing the precept of non-harming (non-killing)? What are we supposed to... more

In this episode we continue our discussion with Upayadhi on a recent conference she attended, where one topic involved the... more

Our guest Upayadhi recently spent time at a fascinating conference on the topic of "the future of American Buddhism". We... more

The Third Noble Truth says there is freedom from Dukkha. We have experiences of this freedom often but don’t... more

While it can be hard to believe, there is no limit to the amount of joy in the world. ... more

Compassion is one of the Divine Abodes. Doug and Jon discuss whether this is an innate quality... more

Desire can be the source of great Dukkha whether fulfilled or not. Some desires, however are wholesome and... more

Unlike the 10 Commandments in the Judeo-Christian traditions which tell you what not to do, The Buddhist Precepts are actually... more

We both manage to make a living teaching dharma and meditation. How do we balance the ideal... more

The first of the Four Divine Abodes (Brahmaviharas) is Unconditional Friendliness (Metta) and for many this is a very challenging... more

We'll discuss a recent example of self-immolation, as well as difficulties some of the Buddha's senior disciples had with serious... more

In the Seven Factors of Awakening- one of the maps in the early teachings- Investigation is the second factor after... more

In the early Buddhist teachings there are many, many lists! Quite a few of these provide different ways of... more

We'll discuss how the practice and realization of non-self in Buddhism helps us see through We don’t know about you,... more

Doug and Jon start a conversation on one of the most misunderstood and yet probably the most important of the... more

Dukkha: unsatisfactoriness, suffering, or just untranslated it's the difficulty that we find in our lives. We'll discuss how it's understood... more

In this episode we'll discuss anicca or change and impermanence, how it effects our lives. Doug's recent experience with a... more

The last of the three poisons and the root of all dukkha. What is ignorance in... more

Anger, ill-will, hatred. What does the Buddha teach us about this and how does it change the way we... more

How does greed-- or desire-- arising in our lives? It's subtler than we think. What is greed, what are... more

What have we discovered as mindfulness and meditation have been integrated into our lives? We share lots of tips!... more

These days with the overuse of the word "mindfulness" we look at what the early teachings tell us about this... more

It's a good question, why do we meditate anyway? In this episode we discuss the technicalities of meditation and... more

We discuss our own meditation practices. What do we do? For how long? What are our default practices? ... more

With the passing of Thich Nhat Hanh we reflect upon his importance in Buddhism as well as his focus on... more

What is it about Buddhism that we like? How has it helped us and how has it changed us?... more