The backwards law proposes that the more we chase after something, the more difficult it becomes to catch it and the more disappointed we feel. In other words, the harder we try, the less likely we are to succeed.

Secular Buddhism

161 - The Backwards Law

In a culture that tends to feel gratitude for only the pleasant things in our life, the Buddhist approach is to feel gratitude for all things, even the unpleasant ones. Gratitude develops patience and patience is an antidote to the poison of greed.

160 - Gratitude And Patience

The nature of reality is that things come together and things fall apart and then things come together and things fall apart and that cycle goes on and on. Instead of running from the difficulties and the pain, the Buddhist approach is to move toward the painful situations and become intimate with them.

159 - When Things Fall Apart

Mara is "the personification of the forces antagonistic to enlightenment." Mara wants to be feared. We tend to run from the things that we fear, but what happens when we stop running and we look at Mara and say "I see you, Mara!" In this episode, I will share my thoughts about the interaction between the Buddha and Mara.

158 - I See You Mara

Dependent Origination is a Buddhist notion that is common among all schools of Buddhism. It's the doctrine that states that all phenomena arise in dependence upon other phenomena. In other words, "this is because that is and this is not because that is not". In this episode, I will share my thoughts about how this concept can be beneficial in our day-to-day lives.

157 - This Is Because That Is

Within any given discipline, we all have a circle of skills. In order to grow the circle of skills, we need to do things that are just outside the circle and once we master a new skill, that circle grows. The key to safely growing the circle is to go slowly and not attempt skills that are too far outside the current circle we have. I believe this is also the case with how we can approach Mindfulness practice.

156 - Circle Of Skills

In this episode, I will talk about "The First Meditation" a story about an experience that Siddhartha (the Buddha) had when he was 9 years old. I believe this experience shaped his understanding of the importance of experiential vs intellectual understanding and I believe there are some good lessons to be learned by us as we hear this story.

155 - The First Meditation

It can be easy to get caught up "in the thick of thin things" when our perspective is too narrow or zoomed in. When we take the long view, we learn to zoom out and see things from a different perspective. In this podcast episode, I will talk about taking the long view and also discuss the parable of the lute and the analogy of tuning the strings of an instrument.

154 - Taking The Long View

Zen Master Seung Sahn said "I do not teach Buddhism. I only teach don't know." The beauty of not knowing arises when we understand that reality is unknowable as a complete picture. First, because it's always changing, and second, we are limited in our perspective in terms of space and time.

153 - The Beauty Of Not Knowing

Liberation is not a destination we strive to reach, it's a state of mind that is available to us right here and right now. When we fully understand the reality of emptiness, signlessness, and aimlessness, we become liberated from the type of thinking that has us trapped in the prison of our own mind.

152 - A Liberated State Of Mind

Observation in Buddhist practice is an active thing, it's not passive and it's not a form of resignation. The skilled observer, observes precisely in order to be able to act more skillfully.

151 - Observation and Action

In this podcast episode, I share my thoughts about "Buddha nature" and what it means to me. I also share the story of the little rock in my backyard that had a Buddha painted on the rock. When the paint started to fade, I was able to see the buddha nature of that rock.

150 - Buddha Nature

Every moment that arises is simultaneously the first time and last time that moment exists. I used to value moments based on their pleasantness or unpleasantness but now I see the beauty of the uniqueness of each moment. In this episode, I will be vulnerable and share my thoughts as I process the recent loss of a loved one.

149 - Firsts And Lasts

I love thinking about life as a great song, with high notes and low notes and quiet pauses in between each note. I like to think of my relationship to this song as the dance of life. In this episode, I will share my thoughts about going through life as if it were a dance instead of a fight.

148 - The Dance Of Life

Life has a funny way of teaching us lessons even amidst circumstances or events that we don't particularly find to be pleasant. In this episode, I will share the story of how we ended up with a 3-legged cat as a pet.

147 - Dharma Cat

A podcast for secular-minded people interested in learning about Buddhist philosophy and teachings.

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Secular Buddhism

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