Diggin' the Dharma
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/
Latest episodes
Mar 19, 2023 • 25min
Does Artificial Intelligence have Direct Experience?
In Buddhist practice, direct experience is a key component of mindfulness and the development of wisdom. Can AI actually have direct experience? And if so, does it actually develop true wisdom? Support the showGo to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Mar 12, 2023 • 30min
Is AI Sentient?
With the hyper-driven developments in Artificial Intelligence, we wonder, is AI becoming sentient? What is sentience anyway? What are the determining factors? How do we hold these developments in the Buddhist context of Anatta, not self? Support the showGo to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Mar 5, 2023 • 26min
The Benefactors in Our Lives
Metta--the quality of unconditional love is considered one of the boundless qualities of the heart. We often have beings in our lives who embody this quality and have been there for us regardless of how we are, or what we have done. These beings could be grandparents, an aunt or uncle, perhaps our parents (though most parents knowingly or not have conditions to their love), our 1st-grade teacher, or even a family dog. Recalling these benefactors is of great help if we have trouble connecting with the kind of love. In this episode, we discuss the benefactors in our lives and how the impact they can have.Support the showGo to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Feb 19, 2023 • 25min
Patience and the Patient
As Jon returns from his heart surgery and recovery, we discuss the practice of patience, which is considered one of the Perfections of the Heart (Parami). While heart surgery itself is miraculous, perfecting the heart by cultivating this quality of patience (among others) is no less so. We look at ways to develop patience throughout our day.Support the showGo to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Feb 5, 2023 • 24min
Some Strange (and not recommended) Ways to Practice
We'll discuss a fun early sutta where two ascetics, one practicing as a dog, the other as a cow, come up to the Buddha to ask for his opinion about the merit of their practices. What does this show us about our own attitude to practice?Support the showGo to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Jan 29, 2023 • 30min
Where is the Line Between Healthy Desire and Greed?
Some folks believe that Buddhism requires us to let go of all desires. This is actually a misinterpretation of the teachings. There are undoubtedly healthy and unhealthy desires, and if one desire turns into greed, we have crossed the line. That line is only sometimes as apparent as we might think. In this episode, we discuss what the Buddha says about this and how what we have to learn from these teachings.Support the showGo to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Jan 22, 2023 • 26min
Can Our Mindfulness Practice Help Alleviate Fear?
This episode will be aired the week Jon faces significant surgery. It seems like an appropriate time to look into fear and how to work with it. Support the showGo to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Jan 15, 2023 • 28min
The Fetters that Keep Us from Being Free
One of the various lists of the Dharma is the 10 Fetters. In this episode, we discuss the first five of these and none of them will be a surprise because they are so common. Despite being common that doesn't make them easy break away. Support the showGo to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Jan 8, 2023 • 29min
Support for Your New Year's Resolution to Meditate Daily
For our first episode of the 2023, we offer support just in case you've resolved to develop a daily meditation practice.Maintaining a daily practice is difficult, so we hope these tips might help the process.Support the showGo to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Dec 25, 2022 • 28min
Embodied Meditation and a Guided Meditation
In our final podcast of 2022 we'll take another look at embodied meditation, following a retreat that Jon was just on. As a special gift, Jon will lead us on a wonderful guided meditation illustrating how seeing this embodiment can work in our practice.Support the showGo to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
