Diggin' the Dharma

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.

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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"?  Ho…

"Not mine, not I, not myself" is a phrase that appears in various suttas.  It can be a useful reminder to let go.  We cling to material things, people, and of course ourselves. When we lose something…

What is non-dualism all about?  Is it a practice? Is it a way of looking at the world?  Or is it just words?  Yes and. . . 

We'll discuss the dharma and practice of non-dualism. Was it found in the ea…

The training called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn in the late '70s and could be credited with the concept of "secular mindfulness."  It is taught worldwide by hun…

What are the Buddha's views about views?   How are the ways we hold opinions about politics, people, food, etc, different from clinging to spiritual views?   The Buddha had a lot to say about this bu…

The Seven Awakening Factors are a fundamental teaching in the early Buddhist Suttas.    In an active form, these factors can be a valuable antidote to any of the Five Hindrances.    In a passive way,…

In Buddhist practice, direct experience is a key component of mindfulness and the development of wisdom.  Can AI actually have direct experience?   And if so, does it actually develop true wisdom?  

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With the hyper-driven developments in Artificial Intelligence, we wonder, is AI becoming sentient?  What is sentience anyway?  What are the determining factors? How do we hold these developments in t…

Metta--the quality of unconditional love is considered one of the boundless qualities of the heart.   We often have beings in our lives who embody this quality and have been there for us regardless o…

As Jon returns from his heart surgery and recovery, we discuss the practice of patience, which is considered one of the Perfections of the Heart (Parami).    While heart surgery itself is miraculous,…

We'll discuss a fun early sutta where two ascetics, one practicing as a dog, the other as a cow, come up to the Buddha to ask for his opinion about the merit of their practices.  What does this show …

Some folks believe that Buddhism requires us to let go of all desires.  This is actually a misinterpretation of the teachings.  There are undoubtedly healthy and unhealthy desires, and if one desire …

This episode will be aired the week Jon faces significant surgery.  It seems like an appropriate time to look into fear and how to work with it. 

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One of the various lists of the Dharma is the 10 Fetters. In this episode, we discuss the first five of these and none of them will be a surprise because they are so common.  Despite being common tha…

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

Maintaining a daily practice is difficult, so we hope these tips might help th…

In our final podcast of 2022 we'll take another look at embodied meditation, following a retreat that Jon was just on.  As a special gift, Jon will lead us on a wonderful guided meditation illustrati…

Jon has just got back from a long retreat, so we discuss his experiences, as well as offering a few book recommendations for the holidays and New Year. Go to our website for titles and some links!

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Is our "Diggin' the Dharma" logo a problem? Doug and Jon react to some recent comments on a thread at Doug's YouTube channel that expressed the concern that the logo was offensive in depicting the Bu…

"Yet it is just within this fathom-long body, endowed with perception and cognition, that I declare that there is the world, the origination of the world, the cessation of the world, and the path of …