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© 2026 Diggin' the Dharma
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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/
151 Episodes
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Send us a text Jon and Doug discuss the role of "investigation" in our practice, one of the key factors of enlightenment or awakening. What are we actually investigating and how does this investigation lead provide energy and even joy? Interested in taking a class with Jon? Check out: When the Sh*t Hits the Fan- Broken Heart Dharma Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Send us a text Refuge is an evergreen topic in our practice. How can reorienting ourselves towards refuge help in the new year? Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Send us a text In this episode, Jon and. Doug discuss different styles of teaching meditation and dharma; how to find a teacher, and what it means to be a teacher. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Send us a text Jon and Doug discuss practicing kindness and elements of the other Brahmavihāras with their guest Bodhipakṣa, who has a new book out: The Heart’s Awakening: 108 Steps to a Life of Love. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Send us a text This week is a special episode, recorded thanks to Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho at Clear Mountain Monastery. Our conversation touched on themes Secular Buddhism vs Traditional Buddhism, the sacred, belief in rebirth, saddhā (faith), Mundane Right View vs Transcendent Right View, attachment to views, and much more! Clear Mountain Monastery will release a video of this discussion on their YouTube channel in December. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, b...
Send us a text It's Halloween as Jon and Doug record their episode, so the discussion is about the supernatural beings in Buddhism, their history, how they reflect our own inner and outer states, and how we can practice with them. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Send us a text Mental proliferation or "papañca" is one key way the mind works overtime to keep us agitated and stressed out. Jon and Doug discuss how we get lost in our stories, and how sometimes it's good to spend time figuring them out, and other times it's best to figure out how to let them go. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Send us a text In many respects our practice aims towards equanimity. But if we force it, we may end up in indifference instead. Jon and Doug discuss these very different states and how our practice can help us navigate through them. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Send us a text Practice can often be most helpful when things in our life go sideways. Jon and Doug discuss practice in the context of doctors, dentists, and hospital visits. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Send us a text What are we doing when we "meditate"? It seems like there are so many different styles and approaches. Jon and Doug discuss ways to frame and understand the practices. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Send us a text There are many different approaches to practice within Buddhism, not to mention outside of Buddhism. How can we work with these different approaches? What are some of their key differences? Doug's Dharma Video: Do All Religions Lead to the Same Goal? -- https://youtu.be/moGPUNfO8no With One Voice- a film about different spiritual traditions lead to the same place. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https...
Send us a text With the US holiday of July 4th upon us, Jon and Doug discuss dependence, independence, what freedom really means, and how to practice towards it. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Send us a text The actual instruction to "gladden" the mind is sdd in the Anapanasati (Mindfulness of In and Out Breathing) Sutta, in the third tetrad about the Mind. What is the Buddha asking us to do here? Jon and Doug discuss what it means to gladden the mind in Buddhist practice, why it's important and how we can practice with this instruction. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Send us a text The second noble truth addresses the cause of Dukkha (suffering) as our nature to cling to our desires (or push away that which we don't want). The opposite of this is letting go. Ajahn Chah, the venerable Thai forest monk and teacher to many of today's wonderful teachers-- would say often: Letting go a little brings a little peace. Letting go a lot brings a lot of peace. Letting go completely brings complete peace. And yet, letting go, is not always easy! Jo...
Send us a text These are difficult times, and our practice can be a true refuge and an opportunity to recharge. However, it’s also possible for meditation to become a means of escaping or bypassing what’s happening in the world or our personal experiences. Ideally, true refuge recharges us and increases our capacity to face the world and with what Bhikkhu Bodhi calls “conscientious compassion.” Jon and Doug have a lively discussion about how our practice supports us in...
Send us a text Jon and Doug discuss the Buddhist practice of acceptance. How would the Buddha have framed it? How can we work with acceptance today, and how might an attitude of acceptance make our lives better? Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Send us a text The Buddha taught that guarding the sense doors is an essential part of practice. Of course, social media didn’t exist 2500 years ago. These days it’s so easy to get caught in the vortex of social media. Jon and Doug discuss how they guard (or not) the sense doors in the current media reality. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Send us a text Jon and Doug discuss the role of faith or confidence in Buddhist practice, how it can be useful and also how it can be misused. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Send us a text Silence and solitude are two forms of Buddhist practice of great depth, but also some difficulty for many. Jon and Doug discuss how they appear in the early texts, and how we can practice with them today. Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
Send us a text Joy is an essential aspect of Buddhist practice. And boy do we need joy right now! Jon and Doug discuss how joy can arise for us, and what attitudes and practices can help joy to arise. Jon's Talk on Joy for Tricycle Support the show Go to our website to leave a comment, buy us a coffee, or see further notes and links: https://digginthedharma.com/
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