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 that doesn't make them easy break away. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
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 the process. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
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 illustrating how seeing this embodiment can work in our practice. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/...
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! Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
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 Buddha with a shovel. It's an opportunity to look at the teachings of "rites and rituals" as well as the concept of spiritual materialism. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/...
"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 practice leading to the cessation of the world.” In this quote from the Rohitassa sutta the Buddha addresses the knowing body. All that we know and experience is in this body. So embodied practice is not the practice of cognitive understanding (though this is important) but rather a result of our dir...
As we head out of the week of Thanksgiving we consider eating and food in the context of early Buddhist practices. For those of who are used to eating three meals a day--a very western European way-- the notion of eating on the early Buddhist monastic schedule of one basic meal a day before noon would seem rather strange if not impossible to hold to. Of course, we don't go out for alms rounds to obtain our food and our daily schedules are quite different. There is also the question of our attitu...
For our listeners in the US, we are beginning Thanksgiving week. It's a perfect time to consider gratitude and how it integrates into our lives. And if you're not in the US it's still a good time! As always, thank you all for listening, and for your continued support! Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/...
Perception is one of the Five Aggregates of Clinging and critical to our understanding of self and the world we live in. It is through mindfulness and our meditation practice that we start to see through the trap of our own perceptions. We don't see things as they are, we things as we are" (attributed to Anais Nin). Bhante Gunaratana's book is: Meditation on Perception. Sutta: https://suttacentral.net/an10.60/en/sujato Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or se...
With the upcoming election in the US we will look at politics and Buddhism. Should we allow our Buddhist ideals to influence our voting? What would the Buddha himself have said in the midst of so much partisanship and how do the teachings on "holding to fixed views" fit into our own political dialogues? Jon and Doug have an animated discussion on this important topic without implying how you should vote. But you should vote! Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee,...
As we record this episode, Elon Musk has recently purchased Twitter. His purchase raises all sorts of questions relevant to Buddhist practice, perhaps most importantly of Right Speech. What should be allowed online? How should we practice on Twitter or other social media platforms? Does our written communication actually inline with our intent and do we have a sense of how it might land with others? This is where our mindfulness practice truly makes a difference. Someone is wrong on the Internet...
The Buddha became a pretty famous guy, but what did fame mean to him? Did he even think about it? Fame was not something he sought. He just taught and became well known through his teachings. If he had access to social media would he have used it? Fame and renown is certainly not the secret to happiness but so many strive for it. Join us as we discuss this interesting topic and what it means to us. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and l...
Doug and Jon discuss the five hindrances that the Buddha had to overcome on the night of his enlightenment. We find them not only cropping up in our formal meditation practice, but in our everyday lives as well. How should we deal with them? We have lots of tips. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/...
The Five Reflections are a teaching which confronts us directly with the realities of life. These reflections are the great equalizer-- no matter your status in life, your income, your age, your race, your sex, or any of your identities, these Five Reflections are a reminder of what's really true. This podcast is a perfect follow-up to Dying before you Dye! A link to the sutta in which the reflections occur: https://suttacentral.net/an5.57/en/sujato Support the show Go to our website to leave a ...
Turning toward death through various meditation practices can be transformative and liberative. In this episode Doug and Jon discuss how they practice with this and the impact it has had on their lives. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
People often think of Buddhism as a very austere and all about renunciation. In this episode we discuss the difference between worldly and unworldly pleasures and perhaps can dispel some of these mis-understandings. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Buddhism was originally practiced in the forests and it was evolving at a time when much of society was seeing itself as a separate from nature by trying to control it. The Buddha, it is written, always went into the forest when he took leave from his sangha for retreat. In this episode, Doug and Jon explore the importance of reconnecting with the natural world as part of our practice. What do we learn about ourselves and how the core teachings, particularly around 'non-self' are illuminated thr...
Generosity is the first instruction the Buddha would give to laypeople, it's also one of the deepest and most helpful teachings in Buddhism. We will consider generosity, and how it can be manifest in our lives. Buddhist Global Relief website: https://www.buddhistglobalrelief.org Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/...
This special episode Jon and Doug take questions from Sorrell, one of their generous member-donors over at Buy Me a Coffee. They discuss having children in a Buddhist context, how thorough non-attachment can be in lay life, as well as Sorrell's experiences on deployment in the navy. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/...
Is Buddhist practice only about attaining enlightenment, or are there other things it can help us with? If so, what would they be? Is it OK to focus on something less than the ultimate goal? We'll look at these questions and more. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
In this episode Doug and Jon exploring the practice of taking refuge. The Triple Gem refers to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. This is considered a True Refuge. A refuge that doesn't fade that is always there. It is both a practice and a commitment and a very important part of Buddhism. We explore the different ways to interpret these gems as well as understanding the difference between this True Refuge and the false refuges we often seek. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us...
The Buddha taught that we don't hold to fixed views. Politics often finds its way into spiritual context and can be a slippery slope. Some of us may assume that all Buddhist have the same stance on particular issues but this is rarely the case. Some political situations are important to bring up in a Buddhist context and a definitely place of investigation. How do we work with our own fixed views and the fixed views of others. Our practice, may bring us to a place of softening such views which t...
How do we deal with war If we are practicing the precept of non-harming (non-killing)? What are we supposed to do, and how are we supposed to feel about the situation in Ukraine? Eminent monastic scholar and practitioner Bhikkhu Bodhi has a recent article where he discusses this issue, with particular emphasis on the war in Ukraine. We discuss the article and the idea of warfare in Buddhism. Link to the article: https://www.lionsroar.com/buddhism-nonviolence-and-the-moral-quandary-of-ukraine/ Su...
In this episode we continue our discussion with Upayadhi on a recent conference she attended, where one topic involved the influence of the digital world on Buddhist dharma. We discuss its current pluses and minuses and what the future holds. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/...
Our guest Upayadhi recently spent time at a fascinating conference on the topic of "the future of American Buddhism". We discuss the conference and some of her reactions to it. What's the future look like? Who's involved? Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
The Third Noble Truth says there is freedom from Dukkha. We have experiences of this freedom often but don’t often recognize them for what they are. It’s been said that “enlightenment is an accident and meditation makes us more accident prone”. There is certainly some truth in this. In this episode we look at Enlightenment from some different perspectives. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/...
While it can be hard to believe, there is no limit to the amount of joy in the world. Yet, at times it certainly feels that way. Sympathetic Joy, or Resonant Joy is the third of the Divine Abodes and like the quality of compassion it has the capacity to weaken the boundary between self and other. Doug and Jon discuss the role of the quality in their own lives. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/...
Compassion is one of the Divine Abodes. Doug and Jon discuss whether this is an innate quality or one that needs to be learned. How do we cultivate that quality and perhaps uncover what is already here. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Desire can be the source of great Dukkha whether fulfilled or not. Some desires, however are wholesome and these should be pursued, but even these can be a source of Dukkha. Working with desires is an important part of practice. Doug and Jon discuss their different approaches. Books mentioned: Anālayo, Compassion and Emptiness Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/...
Unlike the 10 Commandments in the Judeo-Christian traditions which tell you what not to do, The Buddhist Precepts are actually practices and while they can be read like commandments, that is really not the point. Doug and Jon speak to how they work with Five Practice Precepts in the early Buddhist teachings. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/...
