The Secular Buddhist Podcast

Jeff Eisenberg Jeff Eisenberg returns to the podcast to speak about his book Buddha’s Bodyguard: How to Protect Your Inner V.I.P. Though there are differing opinions, the dhamma, like other teachings, has some wiggle room in how it may be interpreted. Some may be very minor nuances of view, others may be wildly off base,…

Susan Piver Susan Piver speaks with us today about The Four Noble Truths of Love: Buddhist Wisdom for Modern Relationships. If you ask a Buddhist, secular or otherwise, what it’s about, the answer will often be something along the lines of suffering, or suffering and the extinguishing of it. Gotama made it clear that is…

Brad Warner Zen teacher and author Brad Warner joins us to speak about his new book, It Came from Beyond Zen!: More Practical Advice from Dogen, Japan’s Greatest Zen Master. The Shobogenzo is one of Zen’s most treasured volumes from Dogen, written in the thirteenth century. But don’t let that timeframe fool you, the wisdom…

Joan Watts Philosopher, author, and lecturer Alan Watts (1915–1973) popularized Zen Buddhism and other Eastern philosophies for the counterculture of the 1960s. Today, new generations are finding his writings and lectures online, while faithful followers worldwide continue to be enlightened by his teachings. The Collected Letters of Alan Watts reveals the remarkable arc of Watts’s…

Bonnie Sumana Ryan-Fisher Bonnie Sumana Ryan-Fisher joins us to speak about her new book Mindful Moment: 52 Weeks of Mindfulness, Exercises and Reflections. When I first heard about secular mindfulness programs like MBSR, I had a judgmental reaction. This isn’t Sati, you can’t condense mindfulness into eight weeks, this is a watering down… all of…

David Wilmore David Wilmore speaks with us today about Pranna Timers, combining incense, art, and meditation. A long time ago I happened upon my favorite timer for meditation, and it’s never been replaced. In fact, I’ve bought a few more for myself and given others as gifts over the years. What’s unique about this is…

Anurag Gupta Anurag Gupta joins us to speak about how implicit bias has much to teach us about relating to one another in our sanghas. What biases do you have? What may come to mind when you hear that question may be a list of what is known to you, and it may be accompanied…

Bhikkhu Bodhi Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi joins us to speak about how Buddhism meets social crisis. Since the Buddha’s time, there has been a diversification and evolution of the sasana. The teaching encounters new people, new cultures, and becomes part of them. Fast forward thousands of years to the present day, and you have many different…

Sumi Loundon Kim Sumi Loundon Kim joins us to speak about teaching Buddhism within a family setting. Many Westerners have come to Buddhism as individuals, having found the teachings to be beneficial in our lives. That may lead us to find other birds with whom we can flock together, but it’s still fairly common for…

Ethan Nichtern Ethan Nichtern returns to the podcast to speak about his book The Dharma of The Princess Bride: What the Coolest Fairy Tale of Our Time Can Teach Us About Buddhism and Relationships. The dharma, those lessons about how we live our lives and the suffering that is an inherent aspect of conditioned existence,…