Diggin' the Dharma

Jon Aaron and Doug Smith

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/

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161 episodes
Updated May 24

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Episodes161

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Oct 20, 2024 · 28 min
"Things Aren't as the Seem , Nor are they Otherwise*"-- Perception and Mis-Perception
Send us Fan Mail 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 fully? *this quote is attributed to the Roman poet Phaedrus but it is often used by various Zen teachers Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Oct 6, 2024 · 30 min
The Fetter of Conceit
Send us Fan Mail 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 fetters, which needs to the released before awakening. Jon and Doug discuss how this comes up in 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/
Sep 29, 2024 · 24 min
Disenchantment: It's not really what it sounds like, or is it?
Send us Fan Mail 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. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Sep 22, 2024 · 28 min
A Buddhist View on Forgiveness
Send us Fan Mail 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 Class offered by Jon: Watering the Seeds of Forgiveness Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Sep 15, 2024 · 28 min
The Buddha in the Voting Booth 2024
Send us Fan Mail 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 should we frame our political choices? To register to vote, and check voter registration in the US: https://vote.gov/ Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Sep 8, 2024 · 26 min
Is Meditation Dangerous?
Send us Fan Mail 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 work by Brown psychology professor Dr. Willoughby Britton. Links: The Retreat — an investigative podcast into the perils of meditation [Financial Times] -- https://www.ft.com/content/b3ec8e57-5cf9-4f96-9267-56c3bcd9c102 The Hidden Risks of Meditation — Dr. Willoughby Britton | The Tim Ferriss Show — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdmvoX1RZWA Cheetah House: Help for Meditators In Distress -- https://www.cheetahhouse.org/ Book: Trauma Sensitive MIndfulness, David Treleaven Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Aug 18, 2024 · 23 min
Renunciation
Send us Fan Mail 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 Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Aug 9, 2024 · 30 min
The Value of Silence
Send us Fan Mail 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. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Aug 4, 2024 · 27 min
Experiencing Art and Entertainment in the Context of the Dharma
Send us Fan Mail 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 discuss this interesting topic and how they integrate practice into their own interests in the arts. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Jul 28, 2024 · 27 min
The Bodhisattva Ideal
Send us Fan Mail 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. When the Buddha spoke about himself before his Enlightenment, he referred to himself as a Bodhisattva. And, of course, the fact that he taught for 40 years after his Awakening points to his desire to awaken all beings. But how is the ideal expressed in us? Two papers: Bhikkhu Anālayo, Genesis of the Bodhisattva Ideal — https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/5-personen/analayo/genesis-bodhisattva.pdf Bhikkhu Bodhi, “Arahants, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas” — https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/arahantsbodhisattvas.html Videos from Doug's Dharma: What is a Bodhisattva? -- https://youtu.be/bs1XtNrNXpM The Early History of the Bodhisattva Ideal -- https://youtu.be/ECI_3ytgxcQ Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Jul 21, 2024 · 29 min
Steps Along the Path: The Four Stages of Progress
Send us Fan Mail 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 know about? Jon and Doug dive into this topic, which always raises questions about the value and the pitfalls. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Jul 14, 2024 · 24 min
How We Become a Self
Send us Fan Mail 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 is one of the most important of the early teachings. It can be seen through the lens of individual dissatisfaction and of course, through social, political and cultural dissatisfaction. Doug and Jon explore the teaching and how we bring it into our practice. Dhivan Thomas Jones's book: This Being, That Becomes Videos: Playlist on dependent origination at Doug's Dharma: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0akoU_OszRjcEvO6Gt2MSKF-u7Y8XaNc Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Jul 7, 2024 · 29 min
The Heart Quality Equanimity
Send us Fan Mail 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 Mindfulness of Breathing and in the 10th of the Parami- the Perfections of the Heart. Doug and Jon discuss the various facets of this important quality. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Jun 30, 2024 · 24 min
Letting Go Again: The Unquenchable Thirst
Send us Fan Mail 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. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Jun 23, 2024 · 23 min
More on Letting Go
Send us Fan Mail We can't let go of letting go so we continue discussion from the prior episode. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
May 26, 2024 · 28 min
Insights into Insight , and a New Platform
Send us Fan Mail 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 podcast. Book: Erik Braun, The Birth of Insight Our new YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8HnYof8CejuOkLsr86EjRQ Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
May 19, 2024 · 26 min
Is Your Livelihood Right Livelihood?
Send us Fan Mail 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 and do some head-scratching over certain parts of it. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
May 12, 2024 · 27 min
The Question of Internal, External and Both.
Send us Fan Mail 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 of the teaching, which doesn't appear in any obvious way in other suttas but is actually a very important part of mindfulness. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Apr 28, 2024 · 26 min
Freedom and Free Will
Send us Fan Mail What is free will? Do we have free will? What does it mean to be free, and what does this have to do with our ethical and karmic responsibility? Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Apr 21, 2024 · 26 min
Truthfulness and Authenticity
Send us Fan Mail Truthfulness is one of the Paramis or perfections of the heart. In this episode we dig into what it means to not only be factually true but how the truth finds expression in appropriate ways-- both in our external and internal speech. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/