Pragmatic Buddhism

Welcome to Pragmatic Buddhism, a podcast offering down-to-earth Dharma talks, mindful reflections, and unscripted conversations for curious minds. We explore the intersection of ancient insight and modern life, weaving together Buddhist teachings, psychology, neuroscience, and lived experience.

Whether you're new to meditation or a longtime practitioner, this podcast invites you into a path of authentic awareness, compassionate acceptance, and wise action without dogma, jargon, or perfectionism.

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48 episodes
Updated Friday

Episodes48

Newest first

February 20 · 16 min
What is Zazen, Really?
What if meditation wasn’t about clearing your mind, but opening to your life just as it is? In this episode, Glenn from the Columbus sangha introduces zazen as a gentle practice of open awareness, free from pressure to fix or achieve anything.
February 6 · 49 min
Using Difficulty as Practice
What do we do when life feels hard or overwhelming? In this episode, Danielle and the St Louis sangha explore how Buddhist practice helps us pause, notice, and choose how we respond.
January 30 · 13 min
Meaning with a Capital M
In this talk, Joe from the Columbus sangha explores what we mean when we talk about “meaning” — and how Buddhism invites us to relate to meaning without turning it into something fixed or absolute.
January 24 · 44 min
Mind Training for a Reactive World
What if life’s difficulties weren’t obstacles to practice, but the practice itself? With the St Louis sangha, Danielle explores Lojong slogans as cognitive and embodied tools for transforming reactivity, cultivating awareness, and engaging the world with greater clarity and care.
January 16 · 5 min
Sympathetic Joy: Joy Without Comparison
In this Dharma talk from Curtis from the Columbus sangha explores sympathetic joy, the practice of rejoicing in the happiness and success of others. Rather than denying envy or comparison, Curtis looks at how awareness and practice can help us loosen those habits and rediscover joy as something shared, not scarce.
January 9 · 46 min
Why Sangha Matters: The Forgotten Jewel
Buddhist practice isn’t meant to happen in isolation. In this conversation, Danielle invites the St. Louis Sangha to reflect on what it means to find refuge in one another — to learn, practice, and grow in community. Through personal stories and shared insight, the talk reveals how Sangha helps us see beyond our delusions, sustain our practice, and remember that none of us awakens alone.
Dec 31, 2025 · 45 min
Before the New Year, Pause
What if happiness isn’t found in getting what we want, but in loosening our grip on craving, aversion, and delusion? In this year-end discussion, the Danielle and the St Louis sangha reflect on the past year’s choices, identifying which actions led to genuine joy and which deepened suffering. Together, they explore how awareness and boundaries can help shape a wiser year ahead.
Dec 26, 2025 · 9 min
The Wisdom of Not Knowing
We often move through life thinking we know what we’re seeing—our surroundings, other people, even ourselves. Joe from the Columbus sangha explores how this habit limits perception, connection, and compassion. Drawing from the Heart Sutra and Zen practice, he shows how “not knowing” can become a doorway to presence and wonder.
Dec 19, 2025 · 48 min
Maybe It’s Just a Thought (Or Something Else)
Who are you, really? In this Dharma talk, Danielle unpacks the Buddha’s teaching of the Five Aggregates, showing how our sense of “self” is built from changing parts: body, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness. With warmth and humor, she reminds us that sometimes the thoughts we take so seriously are just… thoughts.
Dec 12, 2025 · 7 min
Kindness as a Way of Seeing
In this episode of Pragmatic Buddhism, Curtis from the Columbus sangha gives his first dharma talk exploring Loving-Kindness (Metta). Not as a feeling we wait for, but as a practice we cultivate. Through reflection and meditation, we learn how to extend compassion to ourselves, to those we love, and even to those we find difficult, creating ripples of peace that reach far beyond our own hearts.
Dec 5, 2025 · 42 min
The Buddha Said, Don’t Take My Word for It
When the Buddha told the Kalamas not to believe something just because it’s written, taught, or widely accepted, he was teaching more than skepticism — he was teaching discernment. In this episode, Danielle from the St Louis sangha unpacks how the Kalama Sutta invites us to question wisely, test truth through experience, and embody a mindful confidence rooted in understanding, not belief.
Nov 28, 2025 · 7 min
Right Here, Right Now
Every moment is a gate to awakening but most of us rush past it. In this talk, Glenn from the Columbus sangha considers how a single moment of presence can reveal the nature of awareness itself. Through simplicity and attention, we rediscover what it means to truly be here.
Nov 21, 2025 · 46 min
Pragmatism: Philosophy You Can Use
How do you know if a teaching is true? Try it and see if it works. In this episode, Danielle introduces pragmatism, the philosophy that shapes Pragmatic Buddhism. With the St Louis sangha, we explore how to test Buddhist ideas through lived experience, why daily rituals matter, and how even brushing your teeth can become a practice in presence.
Nov 14, 2025 · 9 min
Improvising the Dharma: Lessons from Jazz
Like jazz, the Dharma is an art of listening, responding, and letting go. In this episode of Pragmatic Buddhism, Joe from the Columbus sangha reflects on what Buddhist practice shares with musical improvisation: trust, awareness, and the courage to meet each moment as it unfolds.
Nov 7, 2025 · 50 min
Causality: Seeing the Patterns That Shape Us
Why do things happen the way they do? In this talk by Josh from the St Louis sangha, we explore causality, one of Buddhism’s most essential insights. Everything is connected: our suffering, our joy, our choices, and their outcomes. By seeing how cause and effect weave through our lives, we can act more skillfully and respond to the world with clarity and care.
Oct 31, 2025 · 9 min
You Are Perfect in This Moment (And Can Always Get Better)
Why is it so hard to show ourselves the same compassion we freely offer others? In this talk, Glenn from the Columbus sangha reflects on the “mirror of rigorous self-honesty” and how it can open the door to self-compassion. Drawing on Suzuki Roshi’s phrase, “Everything is perfect, and it could always get better,” Glenn reflects on how to see ourselves clearly, accept the present moment fully, and embody the Pragmatic Buddhist ethic of awareness, acceptance, and action.
Oct 24, 2025 · 35 min
Craving, Aversion, and the Trouble With Control
Why do we suffer even when we’re doing everything “right”? In this conversation, Danielle and the St. Louis sangha reflect on craving, aversion, and delusion — and why they keep us stuck in cycles of dissatisfaction. From the middle way to Buddhism’s love of lists, we explore how practice helps us feel more content by accepting life as it is.
Oct 17, 2025 · 46 min
Craving, Addiction, and the Search for Contentment
We started talking about the Four Ennobling Realities but this episode emerged as an honest conversation about craving and addiction. From grief to donuts to dating apps, Danielle and the St. Louis sangha explore how craving shapes our lives, why avoidance often makes things worse, and how Buddhist practice can open a path toward freedom and contentment.
Oct 10, 2025 · 33 min
Words Shape the Path: From Noble Truths to Ennobling Realities
What’s the difference between a “truth” and a “reality”? In this episode on the Four Ennobling Realities, Danielle explains why Pragmatic Buddhism shifts the language of the Four Noble Truths. Together, the St Louis sangha reflects on suffering, practice, and the power of words to open or close us to insight.
Oct 3, 2025 · 10 min
The Parable of the Arrow of Suffering
The Buddha said that being human means being shot with arrows of suffering. But too often, we keep stabbing ourselves with the same arrow. In this short talk, Joe from the Columbus sangha shares a candid reflection on how we relate to our pain, sometimes using it for attention, sometimes burying it, sometimes replaying it over and over. Through Buddhist practice, we can learn another way: compassion, presence, and release.