Explore every episode of the podcast Diggin' the Dharma
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practicing for Wisdom | 03 May 2026 | 00:34:07 | |
The first two factors of the Noble Eightfold Path are the wisdom factors of Right View and Right Intention. As we practice meditation and bring our practice to life, we gain “wisdom” which refines our view. But what is wisdom really and do we know when we have it? Jon and Doug have a lively and mostly wise discussion Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Mothers and the Dharma | 10 May 2026 | 00:31:55 | |
This episode will be out on Mother's Day, so Jon and Doug discuss the complex role of mothers in the dharma, particularly the early dharma. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| The Space Element | 17 May 2026 | 00:28:49 | |
Jon and Doug discuss the element of space in Buddhist dharma, and how we can practice with it. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| The Path of Practice | 24 May 2026 | 00:31:58 | |
Jon and Doug discuss the Buddhist Path, and how we can bring it into our lives. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Practicing With Language, Languaging Practice | 01 Mar 2026 | 00:27:56 | |
Jon and Doug discuss how language can both help and hinder our practice. Doug's Dharma Video: A Poem That Isn’t: Buddhist Mindfulness and Rumi's "Guest House" -- https://youtu.be/1E79pU6GzNs Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Finding Humor in Our Practice and the Teachings | 22 Feb 2026 | 00:25:08 | |
Sometimes we take ourselves (particularly our minds) too seriously. Jon is taking stand-up comedy classes in Chicago, so he and Doug discuss the role of humor in our practice. Doug's Dharma video: Playfulness on the Path: The Buddha and Humor -- https://youtu.be/toZ-U26iCbc The Late Wes 'Scoo' Nisker's - Crazy Wisdom Saves the World (again) Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| The Secular-Traditional Divide Examined: Four Guys Talk Dhamma | Roundtable with Clear Mountain Monastery | 09 Nov 2025 | 01:01:02 | |
This week is a special episode, recorded thanks to Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho at Clear Mountain Monastery. Our conversation touched on themes Secular Buddhism vs Traditional Buddhism, the sacred, belief in rebirth, saddhā (faith), Mundane Right View vs Transcendent Right View, attachment to views, and much more! Clear Mountain Monastery will release a video of this discussion on their YouTube channel in December. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Signposts Along the Way | 26 Mar 2023 | 00:26:26 | |
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, as we meditate, they can act as signposts informing us both where we are and what is needed at any given moment. Throughout our day, they can work in the same way. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Does Artificial Intelligence have Direct Experience? | 19 Mar 2023 | 00:24:59 | |
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? Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Is AI Sentient? | 12 Mar 2023 | 00:29:38 | |
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 the Buddhist context of Anatta, not self? Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| The Benefactors in Our Lives | 05 Mar 2023 | 00:26:13 | |
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 of how we are, or what we have done. These beings could be grandparents, an aunt or uncle, perhaps our parents (though most parents knowingly or not have conditions to their love), our 1st-grade teacher, or even a family dog. Recalling these benefactors is of great help if we have trouble connecting with the kind of love. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Patience and the Patient | 19 Feb 2023 | 00:25:29 | |
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, perfecting the heart by cultivating this quality of patience (among others) is no less so. We look at ways to develop patience throughout our day. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Some Strange (and not recommended) Ways to Practice | 05 Feb 2023 | 00:24:09 | |
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 us about our own attitude to practice? Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Where is the Line Between Healthy Desire and Greed? | 29 Jan 2023 | 00:29:54 | |
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 turns into greed, we have crossed the line. That line is only sometimes as apparent as we might think. In this episode, we discuss what the Buddha says about this and how what we have to learn from these teachings. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Can Our Mindfulness Practice Help Alleviate Fear? | 22 Jan 2023 | 00:26:27 | |
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. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| The Fetters that Keep Us from Being Free | 15 Jan 2023 | 00:27:35 | |
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. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Support for Your New Year's Resolution to Meditate Daily | 08 Jan 2023 | 00:28:33 | |
For our first episode of the 2023, we offer support just in case you've resolved to develop a daily meditation practice. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Devas, Nagas, Yakkhas, a Halloween Episode | 02 Nov 2025 | 00:26:39 | |
It's Halloween as Jon and Doug record their episode, so the discussion is about the supernatural beings in Buddhism, their history, how they reflect our own inner and outer states, and how we can practice with them. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Embodied Meditation and a Guided Meditation | 25 Dec 2022 | 00:28:09 | |
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. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Holiday Book Recommendations and a Retreat | 18 Dec 2022 | 00:28:34 | |
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! Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| What's Up With Our Logo? | 11 Dec 2022 | 00:23:46 | |
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. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| This Fathom Long Body | 04 Dec 2022 | 00:25:07 | |
"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. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Post-Thanksgiving Edition- Buddhist Practice and Food | 27 Nov 2022 | 00:29:43 | |
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 attitude toward food and eating. In this episode Doug and Jon explore eating as a practice and how meditation and Buddhism impacts (or not!) their food habits. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Pre-Thanksgiving Episode: Practicing Gratitude | 20 Nov 2022 | 00:26:14 | |
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! Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Things are Not as they Seem. . . Working with Perception | 13 Nov 2022 | 00:25:23 | |
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). Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| The Buddha Walks into a Voting Booth. . . | 06 Nov 2022 | 00:30:17 | |
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! Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Musk, Twitter, and Right Speech | 30 Oct 2022 | 00:29:07 | |
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. By Danusha Laméris I’ve been thinking about the way, when you walk Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Is Fame a Route to Happiness or Suffering? | 23 Oct 2022 | 00:28:48 | |
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. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Getting Lost in Our Stories | 26 Oct 2025 | 00:28:29 | |
Mental proliferation or "papañca" is one key way the mind works overtime to keep us agitated and stressed out. Jon and Doug discuss how we get lost in our stories, and how sometimes it's good to spend time figuring them out, and other times it's best to figure out how to let them go. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| The Usual Suspects-- the Five Hindrances | 16 Oct 2022 | 00:27:05 | |
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. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| The Great Equalizer--the Buddha's Five Reflections | 09 Oct 2022 | 00:27:03 | |
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. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Dying Before You Die | 02 Oct 2022 | 00:29:04 | |
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. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| All of the Pleasure, None of the Clinging | 25 Sep 2022 | 00:30:08 | |
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. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Buddhism in the Natural World | 18 Sep 2022 | 00:25:39 | |
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 through re-connecting with the natural world. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Generosity- it's more than just giving | 11 Sep 2022 | 00:26:09 | |
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. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Q&A with a Listener and Member: Children, Non-attachment, and the Military | 04 Sep 2022 | 00:38:47 | |
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. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| What Are the Goals of Practice? | 28 Aug 2022 | 00:24:49 | |
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. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| The Triple Gem and the Refuge it Provides | 21 Aug 2022 | 00:28:58 | |
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. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Dealing with Politics in the Buddhist Context | 14 Aug 2022 | 00:28:15 | |
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 then might create a place of common ground. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Knowing Equanimity Without Falling Into Indifference | 28 Sep 2025 | 00:27:42 | |
In many respects our practice aims towards equanimity. But if we force it, we may end up in indifference instead. Jon and Doug discuss these very different states and how our practice can help us navigate through them. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Bhikkhu Bodhi and the War in Ukraine: Lessons for Buddhists? | 07 Aug 2022 | 00:27:57 | |
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. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| "Digital Dharma" one of the topic from The Future Of American Buddhism with Special Guest Upayadhi | 17 Jul 2022 | 00:29:16 | |
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. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| The Future of American Buddhism? With Special Guest Upayadhi | 10 Jul 2022 | 00:31:28 | |
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? Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| What is Enlightenment Anyway? | 03 Jul 2022 | 00:29:21 | |
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. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Finding Joy in the Joy of Others! | 26 Jun 2022 | 00:27:41 | |
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. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Compassion-- Is it a quality we are born with? | 19 Jun 2022 | 00:26:05 | |
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. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Working with Desires -- the wholesome and the unwholesome | 12 Jun 2022 | 00:29:34 | |
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. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| The Non-Commandments-- the Buddha's teachings on Ethics | 05 Jun 2022 | 00:27:52 | |
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. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| The Meditation Industrial Complex- Part 1-- Making a living teaching meditation and dharma | 29 May 2022 | 00:26:25 | |
We both manage to make a living teaching dharma and meditation. How do we balance the ideal of "dana" - the practice of generosity -- with the reality of a western capitalist economic system. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||
| Unconditional Friendliness?- It's a big Ask | 22 May 2022 | 00:27:55 | |
The first of the Four Divine Abodes (Brahmaviharas) is Unconditional Friendliness (Metta) and for many this is a very challenging practice. In this episode Doug and Jon explore how this has impacted their own practice, various ways the practice can be done and how it becomes integrated into everything we do. Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/ | |||