Secular Buddhism

By Noah Rasheta

What's Secular Buddhism about?

A podcast for secular-minded people who are interested in learning about Buddhist philosophy.

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103 - Making Time For Nothing

07.15.2019

Is nothing something? What happens when we make time for nothing? In this episode, I will explore the idea of boredom and how mastering boredom could be one of the great benefits of mindfulness practice.

Secular Buddhism episodes:

07.15.2019 103 - Making Time For Nothing Is nothing something? What happens when we make time for nothing? In this episode, I will explore the idea of boredom and how mastering boredom could be one of the great benefits of mindfulness practice.
07.03.2019 102 - Never Lost "Having no destination, I am never lost." In this podcast episode, I will share some of my favorite quotes by Ikkyu Shojun. I will also explain one of my new favorite quotes that's been floating in my head..."Having no certainty, ...
06.25.2019 101 - What's Your Sideshow? A sideshow is a diverting incident or issue that distracts attention from something more important, the real show. In Buddhist practice, we strive to understand the sideshows we are often presenting to ourselves and to the world. What's the real ...
05.31.2019 100 - Keep Going 100 episodes! What an exciting milestone! In this podcast episode, I will talk about one of my favorite expressions/teachings from Sensei Kubose. "Keep Going" has become one of my go-to reminders about life in general.
05.22.2019 99 - Presence Podcast Interview Audio from a recent interview I did on Presence Podcast about Life Lessons. Are the stories you tell yourself real? How do you deal with your most sensitive emotions? Is there such a thing as good and bad? How do ...
05.06.2019 98 - The Rascal Behind The Curtain Sometimes when we peek behind the curtain, we discover something that we wish we didn't know. Imagine what it would be like to peek behind the curtain of the mind only to see yourself peeking behind the curtain of the ...
04.25.2019 97 - Dependent Origination To understand dependent origination is to understand that nothing has independent, permanent, or absolute existence. Everything is part of a web of countless interconnections and the web is always changing. Everything arises from complex causes and conditions, and in turn, ...
04.14.2019 96 - What If The Problem Is The Problem? Pema Chodron says: "The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves.” What does that mean? How do we give ourselves difficult times? And perhaps more importantly, how could we be giving ourselves difficult times ...
04.02.2019 95 - Levels Of Morality What does it mean to be moral? Is morality just a form of obedience? In this episode, I will talk about the concept of levels of morality and how at a certain level, it's no longer about obeying the rules, ...
03.21.2019 94 - Obstacles on the Path - The Five Hindrances The Buddha taught that there are five hindrances or obstacles to realizing enlightenment. These obstacles are commonly referred to in Buddhist teachings as “The Five Hindrances” of desire, aversion, disinterest, agitation, and indecision. These mental states are considered to be ...
03.06.2019 93 - Stepping Into Groundlessness Buddhist teachings and concepts often challenge us to think differently about life. They challenge us to question the stories we’ve come to believe about ourselves and about reality but perhaps none more than the idea of stepping into groundlessness.
02.20.2019 92 - Your Inner Compass Buddhist teachings are always pointing inward. When we put these teachings into practice, we are learning to look inside ourselves and to understand ourselves a little bit better than before. In this episode, I will discuss an experience I had ...
02.04.2019 91 - The Three Poisons The three poisons of hatred, greed, and ignorance, can be thought of as the root source from which all unskillful actions arise. In this podcast episode, I will discuss the Buddhist teaching of the three poisons and how we can ...
01.29.2019 90 - Ultimate Authority The ultimate authority in your life is YOU. If you're familiar with the Kalama Sutta, you're aware of the teaching to analyze things against your own experience and to be cautious about relying on external sources for authority. Knowing this, ...
01.11.2019 89 - Killing The Buddha There is a famous quote in the Zen tradition that says “If you meet the Buddha, kill him”. This quote is attributed to Linji a prominent zen master. What does it mean? How can this teaching help us in our ...
12.30.2018 88 - Radical Okayness What is the state of radical okayness? There is a very clear message that seems to permeate through many of the Buddha’s teachings, that is, the importance of getting to know yourself, knowing your own mind. I believe that when ...
12.23.2018 87 - Mindful Parenting \| An Interview With Shirin Peykar This is the audio recording of an interview I did with Shirin Peykar where we discussed the topic of mindful parenting. Shirin works with parents who are trying to be more mindful. Parenting is difficult at times and it's easy ...
12.18.2018 86 - Listening To Understand We seem to really struggle when it comes to having conversations about difficult topics. Are we listening with the intent to understand the other person or are we simply assessing to determine what team the other person is on? Are ...
12.02.2018 85 - Sometimes We Try Too Hard Sometimes we fail because we try too hard, other times because don't try hard enough. The trick is to find the right balance, the space in between, the space that is often referred to in Buddhism as The Middle Way. ...
11.18.2018 84 - How To Practice Mindfulness Daily In this podcast episode, I will discuss some of the exercises and introspective questions that I believe can lead to a more mindful way of living. These are exercises that are published in the new book "The 5-Minute Mindfulness Journal."
11.11.2018 83 - The Eightfold Path The essence of many of the Buddha's discourses and teachings can be found in the Eightfold Path, often referred to as the Path of Liberation. It is not a path we walk only once or in a particular order. It's ...
11.06.2018 82 - Dealing With Dissatisfaction In Life If Buddhism were to be summarized in one key teaching, that teaching would be about the nature of dukkha (suffering/dissatisfaction) and the cessation of dukkha. There is a fundamental unsatisfactoriness and stress that we all deal with in life. In ...
10.17.2018 81 - The Tale Of Many Tales The tale of many tales is the story we have about ourselves and the story we try to ensure that others have of us too. What are some of the stories you have about yourself? How attached are you to ...
09.18.2018 80 - Life Is Not Fair Life is not fair, it's true! But is that really a problem? In this podcast episode, I will discuss the monkey reward experiment where one monkey was given cucumbers and another was given grapes and the result of that decision. ...
09.05.2018 79 - The Blind Leading The Blind In a reality that is continually changing, our views are limited in space and time. The result is that we are essentially the blind leading the blind. In this episode, I will discuss the teaching of the blind men and ...
08.18.2018 78 - No Hope No Fear Suffering arises when we want things to be other than how they are. Where there is hope, there is fear and where there is fear there is hope. They are like two sides of the same coin. When we feel ...
07.29.2018 77 - Embracing Rebellion "I think of mindfulness meditation as almost a rebellion against natural selection...Natural selection sets our agenda, and Buddhism says, 'We don't have to play this game." In this episode, I will discuss the concept of embracing rebellion as a form ...
07.20.2018 76 - Patience With Ourselves, Others, And Life What does it mean to be patient with ourselves, others, and life? How do we practice patience? Is Mindfulness practice for everyone? These are a few of the questions and ideas I will explore in this podcast episode. I hope ...
07.09.2018 75 - Everyday Buddhism Interview This podcast episode is the audio of a recent interview I did on the Everyday Buddhism podcast with my friend Wendy. If you enjoy this podcast episode, check out the Everyday Buddhism Podcast on your favorite podcasting app or visit ...
06.11.2018 74 - Goals, Relationships, and Non-Attachment If we're practicing non-attachment, how should we approach things like goals and relationships? Should we avoid such things? I don't think so. Goals are great and so are relationships. So how should we approach goals and relationships in the context ...
06.04.2018 73 - What Moves Us? The 5 Core Social Motives What Moves Us? Why do we fear rejection? Why are we so motivated to want to belong? In this episode, I will discuss the 5 core social motives of Belonging, Understanding, Control, Enhancing Self, and Trust as presented by Susan ...
05.16.2018 72 - Yanny Or Laurel? - A Lesson in Mindful Communication In this episode, I will share an audio clip that's gone viral where some people hear the word "yanny" and others hear the word "laurel". I will also discuss 6 tips to help us be more mindful of how we ...
05.01.2018 71 - Breaking The Chain Of Reactivity At any given moment, we’re all acting upon what has been set in motion by others. A central teaching of Buddhism is that we can pause and break the cycle of reactivity. We can learn to be more skillful in ...
04.22.2018 70 - Beware Of The Guru Mind In this episode, I will discuss my personal views about having a Guru/teacher. In order to learn something new or to develop a new skill, it can be helpful and wise to have the guidance and advice of a teacher ...
04.09.2018 69 - Sitting With Sadness Buddhist teachings often talk about "being with our emotions" or learning to "sit with an emotion" but what does that really mean? What does that look like in our day to day lives? In this episode, I will discuss a ...
04.03.2018 68 - Questions About Buddhism In this podcast episode, I will discuss my newest book and I will share some of the specific Q&A's directly from the book. Presented in a practical Q&A format, No-Nonsense Buddhism for Beginners is the most clear-cut introductory guide to ...
03.26.2018 67 - Never Enough In this podcast episode, I will discuss how the attitude of "never enough" can lead to a form emotional abuse that we inflict on our selves. I will discuss the idea of how letting go of the unhealthy views, ideas, ...
03.19.2018 66 - The Joy & Pain Of Sharing Experiences Have you ever felt the strong urge to capture the experience you're having and then to share it with others? We do this with movies, books, restaurants, and of course ideas, opinions, and beliefs. In this episode, I will discuss ...
02.15.2018 65 - What Does it Mean to Forgive? The Buddhist approach to forgiveness is about changing our relationship with the reactive patterns that run our lives. It’s a form of introspection that allows me to understand my reactive patterns and then, more importantly to change my relationship with ...
01.30.2018 64 - We Don't Need To Change Ourselves In this episode, I will discuss the concept of inherent perfection and how from the Buddhist perspective, that implies that we don't need to change ourselves. The idea of "perfection" from the Buddhist perspective is not a moral qualification. There ...
01.16.2018 63 - Mindful Eating - A Discussion With Paige Smathers Like breathing, eating is one of the most common things we do, but how mindful are we of this process? How mindful are we of our relationship with food? In this podcast episode, I will discuss the topic of mindful ...
12.22.2017 62 - What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully In this episode, I discuss the topic of death with Frank Ostaseski, author of "The Five Invitations: What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully". Death is perhaps our greatest teacher, a close encounter with death can forever change our ...
12.15.2017 61 - Mindful Relationships, Social Justice & More - Yael Shy In this podcast episode, I am sharing the audio of an interview with Yael Shy. Yael offers expert guidance on beginning a meditation practice and explores how to bring that practice to relationships, social justice, and the general ups and ...
11.29.2017 60 - "Happiness" - A discussion with Ellen Petry Leanse This is the audio recording of an interview with Ellen Petry Leanse (TEDx: Happiness by Design) and author of "The Happiness Hack: a brain-aware guide to life satisfaction". I hope you enjoy listening to our discussion on the topic of ...
11.20.2017 59 - "Escape Into Discomfort" - A discussion with Shinzen Young In this episode, I am sharing the audio from an interview/discussion I had with Shinzen Young on the topic of "Escaping into Discomfort". This interview was streamed live on November 16th, 2017.
11.08.2017 58 - The Art of Stopping & Seeing The Buddha told Angulimala (the murderer), "I stopped long ago, it's you that hasn't stopped". The art of learning to stop….is about having the ability to pause for a moment and to shine some light on the hidden agendas that ...
10.30.2017 57 - Why Do We Experience All-Pervasive Suffering? Why is it common to have that nagging feeling that things aren't how they're supposed to be? Do you ever feel like life is not how it's supposed to be, others are not how they're supposed to be or that ...
10.24.2017 56 - What Makes You You? According to classical Buddhist thought, "self" is a view...It is a product of our perception…and perception is always happening. What if perception is an event that occurs rather than a thing that exists? In this episode, I will talk about ...
10.10.2017 55 - The Four Foundations Of Mindfulness Developing the four foundations of mindfulness helps us to remove the conceptual constructs that often blind us from seeing reality as it is. Imagine being able to see things as they really are, free from our ideas and concepts. This ...
10.02.2017 54 - Guided Meditation: Fostering Kindness And Compassion This is a 10-minute guided meditation aimed at fostering kindness and compassion. Revisit this meditation anytime you feel the need to foster feelings of kindness and compassion.

Older episodes

Secular Buddhism

What's Secular Buddhism about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Secular Buddhism episodes:

103 - Making Time For Nothing

102 - Never Lost

101 - What's Your Sideshow?

100 - Keep Going

99 - Presence Podcast Interview

98 - The Rascal Behind The Curtain

97 - Dependent Origination

96 - What If The Problem Is The Problem?

95 - Levels Of Morality

94 - Obstacles on the Path - The Five Hindrances

93 - Stepping Into Groundlessness

92 - Your Inner Compass

91 - The Three Poisons

90 - Ultimate Authority

89 - Killing The Buddha

88 - Radical Okayness

87 - Mindful Parenting | An Interview With Shirin Peykar

86 - Listening To Understand

85 - Sometimes We Try Too Hard

84 - How To Practice Mindfulness Daily

83 - The Eightfold Path

82 - Dealing With Dissatisfaction In Life

81 - The Tale Of Many Tales

80 - Life Is Not Fair

79 - The Blind Leading The Blind

78 - No Hope No Fear

77 - Embracing Rebellion

76 - Patience With Ourselves, Others, And Life

75 - Everyday Buddhism Interview

74 - Goals, Relationships, and Non-Attachment

73 - What Moves Us? The 5 Core Social Motives

72 - Yanny Or Laurel? - A Lesson in Mindful Communication

71 - Breaking The Chain Of Reactivity

70 - Beware Of The Guru Mind

69 - Sitting With Sadness

68 - Questions About Buddhism

67 - Never Enough

66 - The Joy & Pain Of Sharing Experiences

65 - What Does it Mean to Forgive?

64 - We Don't Need To Change Ourselves

63 - Mindful Eating - A Discussion With Paige Smathers

62 - What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully

61 - Mindful Relationships, Social Justice & More - Yael Shy

60 - "Happiness" - A discussion with Ellen Petry Leanse

59 - "Escape Into Discomfort" - A discussion with Shinzen Young

58 - The Art of Stopping & Seeing

57 - Why Do We Experience All-Pervasive Suffering?

56 - What Makes You You?

55 - The Four Foundations Of Mindfulness

54 - Guided Meditation: Fostering Kindness And Compassion

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