Secular Buddhism

A key Buddhist principle is a recognition that things are always changing. Life is transient. When we have the feeling of wanting things to return back to normal, we need to remember that normal was always relative, there is no going back. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Good concepts are like a gold chain, bad concepts are like an iron chain, they all equally bind you in the end." The concept we have about who we are is binding. What if instead of trying to become somebody, we practiced becoming nobody. In this podcast episode, I will discuss the idea of becoming nobody. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do we experience more peace in the midst of chaos? In this podcast episode, I will discuss the koan of the waiving mind and also discuss the idea of expanding our perspective to experience more peace amidst the chaos. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In light of the ongoing spread of COVID-19, I wanted to share some thoughts about skillful action. In this episode, I will also share my thoughts about the koan "There is Nothing I Dislike". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We all deal with people or situations we dislike from time to time. In this podcast episode, I will talk about dealing with people we dislike. For me, the recognition of disliking someone is always an invitation to look inward and to learn something about myself. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast episode, I will discuss my thoughts on the idea of the art of diving in. Life is a lot like a pool and we are learning to dive in, we dive into new relationships, jobs, and countless other experiences but how do we do the actual diving in? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the problem with suffering is the idea we have that we shouldn't suffer? Suffering is a word that has become synonymous with the core Buddhist teachings of the 4 Noble Truths. What if our understanding of those teachings has been tainted because of our views of what it means to suffer? In this episode, I will talk about suffering and unsatisfactoriness and how the latter makes more sense to me in terms of Buddhist practice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sometimes we know something but we haven't mastered it. We only know just enough to be dangerous with what we know. This applies to many aspects of life but also applies to our process of learning to live more mindfully. The key to mastering something is to practice it for a very long time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We normally think of joy as a reaction. Something happens and it causes joy to arise. That type of joy is conditioned. In Buddhism, unconditional joy is always there, covered or hidden by our conditioned mind (ideas and beliefs). We can uncover it through practicing awareness and asking ourselves, what did it take for this moment to arise? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we approach the end of one year and the beginning of a new year, I thought I would share some thoughts regarding endings and beginnings from a Buddhist perspective and how these teachings can minimize our fear of pain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Buddha said, "I will teach you the Dhamma compared to a raft, for the purpose of crossing over, not for the purpose of holding onto." Everything in Buddhism, including Buddhism itself is a tool, a means to an end, but not the end itself. In this episode, I will revisit the parable of the raft and share my thoughts about what this teaching means to me. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Noble Silence is a term attributed to the Buddha for his response to certain questions about reality. When it came to the big unanswerable questions, the Buddha was notably silent. In this podcast episode, I will discuss what Noble Silence is, how we can practice it, and what benefits we may see from such a practice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We all have the tendency to make a picture of reality and of other people. It's like we paint a portrait and then believe that this portrait is a 100% accurate depiction of the real person we painted and we don't realize that they are not the same. In this episode, I will talk about the idea of people who don't exist (the portraits in our minds). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What are the things that hook us? In our quest to understand ourselves and to become a better whatever we already are, it’s extremely beneficial to be capable of recognizing our attachments and knowing what it is that hooks us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast episode, I will discuss the idea of attachment in relation to the Buddhist notion of groundlessness. I will discuss how our strong attachment to things can often cause more discomfort than the comfort we thought we were getting from the thing in the first place. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How can we communicate more skillfully? In this podcast episode, I will discuss "right speech", one of the points on the eightfold path. I will discuss three different communication styles: passive, aggressive, and assertive and share a communication formula that has helped me to communicate more skillfully with my loved ones. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast episode, I will discuss the Buddhist teaching of "taking refuge" and talk about the teaching of the three jewels. I will discuss in greater detail how I hope to build an online community where we can practice together and continue our discussions about each podcast episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast episode, I will discuss the Zen Koan titled "The Real Miracle". I will also share the story/teaching of Milarepa and the Demons he resisted in his cave and how that story can help us with our own demons. I also share a new Zen koan at the end of the episode for you to work with this week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Often we find ourselves unhappily headed towards happiness. Thinking that once we arrive, we will suddenly not be how we've been all along. In this podcast episode, I will talk about Bodhidharma's beard and the koan that invites us to look closer at ourselves and others. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when we break through the conceptual fog that often blinds us from seeing ourselves as we really are? In this podcast episode, I will talk about the idea of finding your true self. I will also discuss a few more zen koans including "MU" and "Temper". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.