Podcasts about buddha dharma

Daily LIfe is the Practice of Buddha-Dharma by Ven. Ohun Lee

In this episode, we explore how we can learn to be present with our own pain.Thoughts or questions you'd like to share? Email me anytime at dailydharmapodcast@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you.

In diesem Teisho weist Christoph Rei Ho Hatlapa darauf hin, dass gerade unsere Alltagswelt am besten geeignet ist, uns mit unserer Buddha-Natur in Verbindung zu bringen. In den Vorträgen des Rinzai Roku, Abschnitt XII, heißt es dazu: »Für den Buddha-Dharma ist keine Mühe nötig. Ihr müsst nur normal sein und nichts tun. Seid Meister jeglicher Situation, und wo immer ihr steht, ist der rechte Ort. Obwohl ihr noch Überreste vergangener Verblendungen und Karmas mit euch tragt, so werden doch diese selbst zum Meer der Befreiung.« Rinzai lädt uns in diesem Abschnitt dazu ein, uns selbst zu vertrauen und im positiven Samadhi zu leben. Die Umstände formen uns, aber wir haben die Fähigkeit, meisterlich damit umzugehen, wenn wir die Verantwortung dafür übernehmen. Handeln wir entsprechend, begreifen wir das Universum zunehmend als den wahren Körper der Wirklichkeit. Ohne Anfang und ohne Ende ist es eine leuchtende Perle. Mitten im Alltag sind wir geborgen im ewigen Feld des Stirb und Werde. Wenn wir uns selbst eine Insel bleiben, stehen wir staunend im grenzenlosen Meer der Wirklichkeit, die uns aus tausend Augen anschaut. Um für junge Erwachsene den Aufenthalt im ToGenJi zu ermöglichen, bitten wir um eine Spende: Sie finden die Kontodaten/Paypal auf unserer Website https://choka-sangha.de/spenden/ Herzlichen Dank

Welcome to a new episode of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. In this installment, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino are joined by Zen Buddhist nun Sister True Dedication to celebrate the legacy of Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay)'s teachings, and how they have impacted both them and the broader community.  This milestone instalment of the podcast – the 100th episode! – coincides with the centenary of Thich Nhat Hanh's birth. As well as discussing the purpose of the podcast series, the contributors reflect upon Thay’s compassion, and commitment to relieving suffering – and the monastic tradition's importance to the preservation and transmission of these teachings. The discussion also takes in topics such as the evolution of Plum Village; the development of an online monastery, to make Plum Village’s teachings more accessible; and the need for ethical values and mindful living in the face of global crises, and Plum Village's aim to be a community of resistance, embodying a way of life that is in harmony with the Earth and with each other. All this and: how has the podcast transformed the lives of its hosts? Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/ And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resources Course: Zen and the Art of Saving the Planethttps://plumvillage.org/courses/zen-and-the-art-of-saving-the-planet Interbeinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing Plum Village Traditionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum_Village_Tradition Linjihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linji_school Sister True Dedicationhttps://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sister-hien-nghiem Bodhicittahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhicitta ‘The Five Mindfulness Trainings'https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-5-mindfulness-trainings‘The 14 Mindfulness Trainings'https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-14-mindfulness-trainingsDharma Talk: ‘Redefining the Four Noble Truths' https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/redefining-the-four-noble-truths Zen and the Art of Saving the Planethttps://www.parallax.org/product/zen-and-the-art-of-saving-the-planet/ How To: ‘Begin Anew'https://plumvillage.org/articles/begin-anew Living Gemshttps://plumvillage.org/gems/ Stephen Batchelorhttps://stephenbatchelor.org/ Being with Busyness: Zen Ways to Transform Overwhelm and Burnouthttps://www.parallax.org/product/being-with-busyness/ Calm in the Storm: Zen Ways to Cultivate Stability in an Anxious Worldhttps://www.parallax.org/product/calm-in-the-storm/ Quotes “What you [the hosts] give voice and humanity and friendship to is what a spiritual life being lived feels like, sounds like, looks like. You’re both wonderfully descriptive in how you talk about both your own spiritual lives, and seeking, and your own experiences – and those of the people around us, here, in the community.” “Thay’s bodhicitta really sets him apart from many other leading spiritual figures, perhaps in that he was relentless in his creativity and his determination to relieve suffering and to find universal paths out of it. And something else that set him apart was that he didn’t offer the Buddha Dharma for Buddha Dharma’s sake: he wasn’t interested in the success of Buddhism per se; he wanted humanity to be a better species and he wanted human actions to not bring so much suffering to humans and to the planet.” “Thay transcended even Zen and Buddhism. He was an extraordinary human who wanted to share and develop practices and ways of being in the world, through mindfulness, through the Five Mindfulness Trainings and the 14 Mindfulness Trainings: concrete ways that we can cultivate ourselves to be better humans – an unusual legacy for a Zen master.” “Thay wanted every moment of his presence to manifest right action in the world. He wasn’t interested in small talk.” “A monastic only retires when he transforms and lets go.” “This is it. Stop searching, stop running.” “A lotus will be a lotus. And a rose will be a rose. And a magnolia will be a magnolia. But if we try to be everything, then we’re going to be nothing. And then we don’t know how to nurture the lotus, because the lotus is very particular; it needs mud. A rose is very particular, too; it needs a different setting.” “This is not an era of change, it’s a change of era.” “The primary direction that Thay gave us was to be a community of simplicity, of peace, of awareness, and of embracing suffering. Be that community. Which, by the way, is a really tall order.” “One of our first missions as monastics is to embody a way of living that is happy, harmonious, and different. And then to hold that light for future generations, outside of the rat race. A lot of monastic communities throughout history have emerged from this kind of intention: to not follow the path of getting a job, getting a mortgage, becoming householders, getting a pension, and being part of the machine. We step outside of that in order to cultivate different qualities.” “The algorithms, the screens, the politics, the lobbies, the economics are all taking us towards the worst of human nature. So we have to be able to say, ‘Well, we’re going to stand for the better parts of human nature.' And that’s going to be important: for us to lift up in the world, and to know that we have had ancestors, over the millennia, who were interested in cultivating non-violence, compassion, tolerance, inclusiveness, generosity, well-being, health. And we have to take our society in that direction and not give up on it. Because otherwise it becomes a dog-eat-dog world where we’re all scrambling over each other in a race to the bottom of the brainstem. So, one of our roles in Plum Village is to help people not give up on the ethical values that are needed now more than ever.” “When people leave Plum Village, they don’t leave with nothing. They leave with the world. They leave for the path. And we’re there to support that through the sanghas, through all our online offerings. And here is a community that's navigating this, evolving this, updating it, exploring it. The world passes through Plum Village, and, from that, we grow so much.” “We’re a light in the world. So wherever there’s darkness, light is there. We just have to search for it, or stop, pause, and know that that light is there.”

In this episode, we focus on anger - why we often find our anger unmanageable and how to slowly use it as a way to grow into wiser, more capable people.Thoughts or questions you'd like to share? Email me anytime at dailydharmapodcast@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you.

In this episode, we talk about why compassion rather than frustration, is the best foundation for true inner change.Thoughts or questions you would like to share? Email me anytime at dailydharmapodcast@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you.

In this episode, we talk about how we can face being mindful of the world - its good and particularly its bad, when searching for peace in our lives through mindfulness.Questions or thoughts you would like to share? Email me anytime at dailydharmapodcast@gmail.com - I would love to hear from you.

In this episode, we talk about how we can keep our hope for ourselves and for humanity alive even when things feel dire.Email me anytime at dailydharmapodcast@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you.

Even though we feel that the truth is very far from us, it can be found in the ordinary, everyday moments of our normal lives. This is where the real growth happens.Thoughts or questions you would like to share? Email me at dailydharmapodcast@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you.

Der Budhhismus nennt es die "Drei Juwelen". Der Lehrer, die Lehre/Lehrtradition, die Gemeinschaft. Warum diese nicht nur für Buddhisten, sondern für alle Menschen wichtig sind und was sie mit dem inneren Weg zu tun haben, darum soll es hier gehen...

In this episode, we talk about the different ways in which we try to run away from ourselves and why ultimately, the path to deeper growth and peace, always begins by being right here.Thoughts or questions you'd like to share? Email me at dailydharmapodcast@gmail.com. I'd love to hear from you.

In this episode, we reflect on what it means to be living through chaos and how we can approach the experience of chaos with mindfulness.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 01/04/2026 - With a new year upon us we all have the chance to start fresh. This is always true because nothing is fixed, everything is subject to change, a truth of the dharma which we can verify for ourselves. We have accumulated experiences, memories, expectations, but those are not fixed either. In this perspective, the new year is auspicious because it is full of possibilities, revealing its potential as we take up life fully, with integrity, commitment and kindness. - From Master Dogen's 300 Koan Shobogenzo (The True Dharma Eye), Case 39 - Jingqing's "Buddhadharma at the New Year"

In this episode, we talk about how we can learn to face failure and process it in a way that is kind and gentle to ourselves.Questions or thoughts you'd like to share? Email me anytime at dailydharmapodcast@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you.

In this episode, we talk about the different pathways that lead us to feeling worthless and how we can learn to feel worthful instead.

In this episode, we reflect on what it means to have rituals of grieving and how they help us to live our daily lives more fully.Thoughts or questions? Email me at dailydharmapodcast@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you.

Reviewing from the second chapter, the ten powers, Dharmakirti’s syllogisms proving the Buddha as a reliable guide, and the epithets in the prayer, Homage to Buddha Shakyamuni.

In today's episode, we reflect on why we need to begin exactly where we are - not the person we want to be or the person we used to be.

In this episode, we reflect on how brief life really is and how this realization can make us truly appreciate and immerse ourselves in the present moment.Thoughts or questions? Email me at dailydharmapodcast@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you.

Ron Hogen Green, Sensei - ZMM - 10/20/25 - The moment when each person decides to step into the unknown, to an authentic life where our karma does not determine our choices, is a turning point. Hogen Sensei picks up the opening line from Genjokoan, ”When all dharmas are Buddhadharma…” as that moment when everything has the great potential to change.

Sometimes, everything feels like too much. We feel empty, tired and exhausted. We reflect on how we can accept our disillusionment and how to heal it.Questions or thoughts? Email me anytime at dailydharmapodcast@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you.

In this episode, we talk about how we can cultivate greater peace within ourselves when faced with deep inner pain.

In this episode, we talk about the importance of being present and open to the little moments of beauty, ever-present around us.

Lawrence Pintak has spent his life grounded in facts while fascinated by the ethereal. An award-winning former CBS News Middle East correspondent with a PhD in Islamic Studies, Pintak has been a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism for three decades and is an avid student of the perennial truths at the core of the world's religions. The author of seven books at the intersection of religion, media, and policy, his reporting and analysis on religion and international affairs has been published by The New York Times, Foreign Policy, the Washington Post, and many of the world's leading media organizations. He also wrote about Buddhism and Eastern traditions for Shambhala Sun/Lion's Roar, Buddhadharma, Beliefnet.com and others before 9/11 drew his focus back to the Middle East. Pintak's most recent nonfiction book, America & Islam, was a finalist for the 2020 Religion News Association award for Religion Reporting Excellence. Books: Lessons from the Mountaintop: Ten Modern Mystics and Their Extraordinary Lives America & Islam: Soundbites, Suicide Bombs and the Road to Donald Trump Website: pintak.com Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group. Interview recorded October 4, 2025

In this episode, we reflect on where we can find seeds of peace and cultivate them, no matter where we are in our lives.

In this episode, we talk about how the process of facing and understanding change, helps us to become more resilient when dealing with life's challenges.Thoughts, reflections or feelings you'd like to share? Email me at dailydharmapodcast@gmail.com

In this episode, we reflect on what it means to be profoundly lost, and how we can find ourselves again, when this happens.

In this episode, we reflect on what an immovable mind is and how we can learn to cultivate it, step-by-step.

In this episode, we reflect on stillness - why it's so hard to find in daily life and yet, why it's deeply worth pursuing and developing on our path.

In this episode, we talk about what it means to really appreciate today and why, we should never forget, that life is truly unpredictable.Have thoughts you would like to share? Email me at dailydharmapodcast@gmail.com - I would love to hear your feedback, your stories and your recommendations on books for the podcast.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 9/7/25 - Becoming aware of our sense of self is central to understanding the True Self—the self of no-self. And with practice, we come to realize that the ten thousand things are none other than what we call “self.” In this talk, Shugen Roshi introduces Genjokoan, a fascicle of Dogen, which brings us face to face with the everyday reality of our lives. Our most important question then becomes: How do we live freely within this great truth, when all dharmas are Buddhadharma and nothing is left outside?

This segment is excerpted from the introduction to a yet-to-be-published manuscript of selected podcasts from 2020 forward. The working title is "Speaking with One (Zen) Voice," the "Zen" in parentheses, subtitled "25 Centuries of Buddha-Dharma; 3Countries of Origin; 9 Dharma Masters; 2 Dozen Teachings; with Commentary by an American Zen Elder." Selections from the text are posted monthly as our new Substack column, along with my paraphrases of traditional teachings, beginning with Buddha's "First Sermon," otherwise known as "Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Law," or, more simply, "The Four Noble Truths." Check it out. This volume represents an attempt to present Buddhist teachings selected from the vast canon of sutras (indicating direct testimony) and shastras (connoting indirect commentary) spanning some 2500 years, a quarter of a millennium, from three of Buddhism's countries and cultures of origin — India, China, and Japan. According to scholars, the early talks delivered by Buddha himself to his followers were not written down until several centuries after his death, but were preserved through the oral tradition of chanting and memorizing his spoken teachings. But the accuracy of that transmission is not considered inferior to the later written records, for one reason that it is more difficult to change the content of an oral tradition than it is to modify written documents, either intentionally, by accident, or the ravages of time. Another reason is that the truths of Buddhism and Zen are to be discovered in one's own experience, primarily via the practice of the same meditation process that led to Buddha's insight. Buddhism is, perhaps, unique amongst the Major Religions of the world, in this, its tradition of “face-to-face transmission.” Each of Buddha's Dharma heirs — from those who were exposed to his live dialogs in India, to those who propagated Zen practice and teachings in foreign lands, and the ancestors of those countries — were themselves beneficiaries of direct insight. Of course, the further we go back in time, the provenance or historicity of the canon is less certain, the record from China is more documented than that of India, and that of Japan even more so, as we approach modern times. Most of the selected pieces from these later periods of the evolution of the canon are derived from the liturgy of Soto Zen, verses that are recited in monasteries and temples of today. Speaking with one voiceThe point in surveying this collection, which is merely the tip of a massive iceberg — the Pali canon, Tripitaka, or “three baskets” alone is said to comprise some 84,000 teachings — is that these great Zen forefathers were all speaking with one voice. The written texts selected by Zen's ancestors in China and Japan to be recited on a daily basis as liturgy were obviously not casual or arbitrary choices. They come at the central truth of Buddha's message from differing cultural and linguistic contexts, of course, but if we read between the lines, we might get a glimmer of the existential and experiential reality to which they refer, as so many fingers to the same moon. Let us first consider some of the underlying premises of the teachings of the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni (“sage of the Shakya clan”), which differentiate his from other teachings of a philosophical or religious nature. Let it be understood from the beginning, however, that the worldview of Buddhism — and Zen in particular — places emphasis on overarching sameness, rather than petty differences, between people, and sentient beings in general. This inclusive attitude also applies to the other worldviews, belief systems, philosophies, and religions propounded by humankind. We who follow Buddha's Way are not interested in proselytizing or converting, debating, or winning anyone over to our point of view by argument, nor in discrediting another's viewpoint. As to any perceived difference between Zen and Buddhism, you are free to substitute one term for the other where mentioned in the following. Three key distinctions where the Buddha's teaching, usually referred to as “buddha-dharma,” or more simply, “Dharma,” differs substantively: One: It is human-centered. Unlike other spiritual founders, the Buddha claimed no mandate from a god, a deity, or power outside himself; no “Wizard of Oz” behind the curtain preaching his message, other than his teachers in past lives, the so-called “prehistoric” Buddhas. Zen is all about humanity, and our place in the universe. And, for that matter, the place of all sentient beings, on the path to awakening. According to mythical tradition, the newborn baby Buddha declared: “Above the heavens and below the heavens, I alone am the most honored one!” as he sprung forth, fully formed, from his mother's womb. This expression, while clearly legendary, capsulizes Buddha's view of humanity's unique position in the scheme of things, as represented by his human birth. In today's societal context, this might be interpreted as a form of “secular humanism,” a limited, egocentric, or anthropocentric, perspective. On the other hand, to claim exclusive divine guidance, when the audience consists of other human beings like yourself would seem the more egocentric, closer to the height of arrogance. Think of all the things this leads to. Those claiming a direct mandate from God feel compelled to proselytize, to save all other beings, which is, ironically, the Bodhisattva Vow of Buddhism. But if the unsaved do not seek out the message themselves, the apostles bringing the gospel appear to disrespect and demean the innate spirituality of those they would save. Claiming to be already blessed, or saved themselves, they feel uniquely qualified to save others. One stunning difference here is Buddha's decision to attempt to teach his great discovery to others, based only on his own experience. This must have required great confidence and resolve, in that his authority to teach was not based on an established lineage, outside intervention of some “greater being,” nor on a previously existing canon or belief system. There was no directive from on high to go forth and spread the good news. So why do it? The urge to share the “compassionate teachings” stems from “suffering with” — the very definition of compassion. No one, not even Buddha, can save another. Zen's message and method of meditation offers a way to release oneself from one's own ignorance. Two: It is self-reliant. Buddha's teaching emphasizes self-reliance, individual responsibility and initiative. It is the ultimate in do-it-yourself. He teaches no-reliance on anything outside the self. We cannot rely on scripture, on beliefs, on somebody else to do this for us. This is where what is called “Great Doubt” arises. If we can't rely on anything outside ourselves, everything we've always relied upon is now called into question. If we begin to doubt everything that we've always felt to be dependable and sure, we come to an experience akin to that which people in earthquake or mudslide zones are said to undergo. Suddenly one day, the earth trembles, falls apart, opens up fissures and nearly swallows them up. What they always depended upon as “terra firma,” solid earth, turns extremely fluid, not at all stable.. Similarly, what Buddha points to can be as unnerving, but on a spiritual level, sometimes described as something like the earth “trembling in six dimensions,” meaning the Six Senses. When doubt — including doubt in the dharma — becomes such that we feel as if we are “perched atop a 100-foot pole,” and we step off. It is like vertigo on steroids. “No toe-hold”— nothing to hold on to, nothing to cling to. With his emphasis on self-reliance, individual responsibility, and initiative, taking this on for ourselves, by his own example, Buddha established the tradition of awakening without a teacher. We can learn from living, true teachers, those who have personal insight, yes, we can rely on them not to mislead us but after their death, we have only the teachings, which we can rely on, because they hold true, anywhere and anywhen in spacetime. Three: It has nothing hidden.In Buddha's teaching there is nothing hidden, nothing held back — no inner secret, something the teacher has up his or her sleeve, that the student has to try to get. Dharma is ubiquitous, and self-apparent. As Master Dogen said, “Now when you trace the source of the Way, you find that it is universal and absolute.” There isn't anywhere or any time that Dharma is not present. In the most ordinary, common, everyday thing that you go through, this teaching is manifest in that activity and in that experience. All things are manifesting buddha-dharma "without ceasing for a moment," another trope from Dogen. Recapping these three aspects: First, Buddha-dharma is humancentric, based on our consciousness, on our human birth and being. We are able to have this awakening experience without reliance on a savior, without reliance on a god. Buddha never positioned himself as a savior, never claimed a mandate from an outside force or God. To that degree Zen is a secular religion, so to say. Second, Dharma is do-it-yourself. An attitude of absolute respect, honoring the innate buddha-nature of ourselves and others. We all have the capability of doing exactly what Buddha did, waking up completely. This is one meaning of the buddhist bow. When we bow to each other palm-to-palm, it expresses a recognition of our innate spirituality: “I recognize your Buddha-nature, same as mine.” Third, Dharma has nothing hidden in it. It is openly available and accessible to everybody. These teachings are not for the “inner circle.” There is no “us and them” in the Buddhist community, or Sangha. These three things are distinguishing hallmarks of the Buddha's Dharma. Buddha's original teachings must have been influenced to some extent by his cultural context. The caste system, and presumably a proto-Hindu religion, of India of that time, as well as the contemporaneous state of the art of science, surely shaped the syntax as well as his referential vocabulary. Shakyamuni had to teach within his milieu, and his teaching went against the grain of entrenched conventional belief systems. He knew that his message would be unpopular, swimming upstream, against the prevalent cultural currents and current beliefs. Similar for our times Recognizing that no teacher taught “Buddhism” to Siddhartha Gotama — he alone started all the trouble, as someone once said — we hold him in great reverence. He is not a figure of worship, and not regarded as a personal savior, in the sense that Christians regard Jesus Christ. Buddha was not a Buddhist, after all, any more than Christ was a Christian. But he is more than a “saint” of Buddhism, of which Zen has many, its lineage Ancestors. He is the Founder of Zen, its progenitor. We all have to reinvent Zen. Its teachings, or Dharma, cannot simply be layered over the everyday dilemmas of living in this day and age. They must instead be understood, so that in adapting them to our own lives, we may integrate them fully. This does not mean that we need to modify Zen, however. Zen is always contemporary, and its relevance is revealed in its meditation, or zazen.

In this episode, we reflect on how mindfulness and learning to be truly present with ourselves leads to creative abundance, giving us endless inspiration and guidance on how to live our lives.

In this episode, we reflect on why gratitude is a foundational skill to weathering the difficulties and challenges of life.

I have decided to hit pause on Sober Yoga Girl Podcast.  In this episode, I explain why.Thank you for your support of Sober Yoga Girl Podcast over the last five years.There are 250 episodes which will stay live for you to go back and listen to anytime. And as well, I may start recording again soon...perhaps again of Sober Yoga Girl, or another show or creation.  For the next few months I want to focus on setting up my yoga space in Bali, writing my next book, and cuddling with my foster kitten Zero! You can stay up to date with everything I am offering at https://www.soberyogagirl.com/. If you subscribe there, I will be writing and sending a newsletter about yoga philosophy most likely every week once a week.There are two spots left on my India retreat February 22 - March 5. Make sure you grab a spot before they go at https://www.alcoholfreeretreats.com/india .My yoga classes in Bali and yoga teacher trainings can be found at: https://www.mindfulbali.com/Lots of love,AlexandraSupport the showRead Alex's Writing at the Intersection of the Bhavagad Gita, Patanjali's Sutras, The Buddha Dharma and Mental Health at:https://www.soberyogagirl.comCheck Out All Our Upcoming Retreats, Programs and Offerings at:https://www.themindfullifepractice.com/

In this episode, we talk about anxiety and how we can reframe our perspective on life's challenges.

In this episode, we reflect on why it's so easy to judge others from afar and how we can learn to avoid becoming addicted to judgement, even when it is very prevalent in the society around us.