131 - The Truth Of Unsatisfactoriness

In this episode, I celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Secular Buddhism podcast by announcing a new AI-powered website, EightfoldPath.com, which serves as a modern application of the Buddhist concept of skillful means. Skillful means, or upaya, is the idea that teachings sho ...  Show more

Why are we so uncomfortable with not knowing? We often race toward any answer, even a bad one, just to escape the anxiety of uncertainty. This episode explores the strange and profound world of Zen koans.Using the powerful story of the nun Chiyono and her breaking water pail ("No ...  Show more

In this episode Eckhart answers questions about suffering as part of the human condition. He says many spiritual traditions focus on awakening as the end of suffering. Paradoxically, Eckhart says we need to go through a certain amount of suffering to realize we don’t want it a ...

Dan Ellsberg tries scare tactics to get Ram Dass to take social action. Ram Dass says –“In fact nuclear weaponry are out of balance with the way of things - The Dao - so you don’t have to cajole or coerce people into acting. You can’t milk it through fear. You can just trust peop ...  Show more

In this episode Eckhart leads a short meditation and then answers a question about our fear of suffering. Eckhart says suffering plays an important role in the evolution of our consciousness. He says without it, we would not grow in awareness. Eckhart believes, for many people ...

Raghu reveals an interesting confession about an LSD experience he had involving the death of his ego and the birth of a very specific concern. Ram Dass discusses the art of dying and suffering. Suffering only happens to a "somebody" - if you are not attached to your "somebodynes ...  Show more