Diggin' the Dharma
Diggin' the Dharma with Jon Aaron and Doug Smith is a relaxed discussion of the Buddhist dharma between friends. Jon's interest centers around practice, while Doug's centers around scholarship of the early material, so their approaches balance practice with study. Their discussions will be approachable to a broad audience of Buddhists and those curious about Buddhism, and they welcome questions and comments. Jon is a teacher at Space2Meditate and NY Insight Meditation Center and a well known teacher and trainer of teachers of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. Doug has a PhD in Philosophy and runs Doug's Dharma on YouTube and the Online Dharma Institute, where he gives courses on early Buddhism. Find them at: https://digginthedharma.com/
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 27 minutes
- Episodes
- 143
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
Talkin' 'bout feeling (Vedana)
Feeling tone, the pleasure or pain we take in experience, is a central part of dharma. As an aggregate, a foundation of mindfulness, a link in the chain of dependent origination, appreciating, unde…
The Aggregate of Form: Body and World
Doug and Jon continue to explore the Five Aggregates of Clinging (to self) and this week explore Form. How do we cling to form and at what point, does this clinging become suffering? Are doesn't …
"Things Aren't as the Seem , Nor are they Otherwise*"-- Perception and Mis-Perception
Jon and Doug discuss perception and how it's mediated by past experience and the stories we tell. How does it become misperception? How can we work with our perception to live more skillfully and ful…
The Fetter of Conceit
How does our concept of ourselves and others create suffering? What would it be like to soften this "conceit of self". Understanding and seeing through this conceit, is the last of the higher fette…
Disenchantment: It's not really what it sounds like, or is it?
The Buddhist attitude of "nibbidā" or "disenchantment"/"disgust" is central to the early teaching. What is it and how can it help us navigate our lives? Jon and Doug discuss.
Go to our…
A Buddhist View on Forgiveness
Doug and Jon discuss what forgiveness means in the contact of Buddhism. Is it Buddhist? It's a powerful and important practice but it doesn't seem to appear anywhere in the teachings.
Information on…
The Buddha in the Voting Booth 2024
Doug has Covid, Jon has a bad microphone, but they're chatting about the Buddha and voting anyway, as well as Buddhist practice and voting. What does 2024 bring for us in the voting booth, and how sh…
Is Meditation Dangerous?
A recent podcast series at the Financial Times discussed serious problems several meditators have had at one popular ten-day Vipassana retreat system. Jon and Doug discuss this and some important wor…
Renunciation
With Jon's impending move to Chicago Jon and Doug discuss the beneficial practice of renunciation. What do we really need?
Video: George Carlin talks about "stuff" -- https://youtu.be/MvgN5gCuLac
The Value of Silence
Silence is so important to Buddhist practice. Jon and Doug discuss how silence impacts practice as well as some of the early tradition around silence.
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Experiencing Art and Entertainment in the Context of the Dharma
How do we bring our Buddhist practice into our relationship with the arts and entertainment? The early Buddhist teachings, in particular, seem to look askance at this area of life. Doug and Jon dis…
The Bodhisattva Ideal
The Bodhisattva ideal really blossomed in the Mahayana traditions but the idea of the Bodhisattva was certainly present in the earlier traditions. Perhaps not in name but certainly in expression. W…
Steps Along the Path: The Four Stages of Progress
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 …
How We Become a Self
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 …
The Heart Quality Equanimity
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 …
Letting Go Again: The Unquenchable Thirst
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.
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More on Letting Go
We can't let go of letting go so we continue discussion from the prior episode.
Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthe…
Insights into Insight , and a New Platform
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 po…
Is Your Livelihood Right Livelihood?
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 an…
The Question of Internal, External and Both.
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…