Podcast
Pragmatic Buddhism
Hosted by Pragmatic Buddhism · EN
Welcome to Pragmatic Buddhism, a podcast offering down-to-earth Dharma talks, mindful reflections, and unscripted conversations for curious minds. We explore the intersection of ancient insight and modern life, weaving together Buddhist teachings, psychology, neuroscience, and lived experience.
Whether you're new to meditation or a longtime practitioner, this podcast invites you into a path of authentic awareness, compassionate acceptance, and wise action without dogma, jargon, or perfectionism.
30episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
What Do We Mean by Karma?
Mar 600:38:40Tap to summarizeThe word “karma” gets used everywhere from social media to pop culture but what does it actually mean in Buddhist practice? In this talk, Joe and the Columbus sangha unpack karma as a teaching about intentional action and the patterns that follow from it. Rather than framing life as predetermined, this perspective highlights how each moment contains the seeds of future experience. When we understand karma clearly, we see both the weight of our habits and the possibility of change. This episode invites listeners to consider karma not as fate, but as a path toward responsibility and liberation.
Transcribe →Sitting with Discomfort
Feb 2700:54:00Tap to summarizeDharma practice isn’t always calm or pleasant. In this episode, Danielle and the St Louis sangha look at how learning to sit with discomfort can deepen awareness, patience, and care for ourselves.
Transcribe →What is Zazen, Really?
Feb 2000:16:45Tap to summarizeWhat if meditation wasn’t about clearing your mind, but opening to your life just as it is? In this episode, Glenn from the Columbus sangha introduces zazen as a gentle practice of open awareness, free from pressure to fix or achieve anything.
Transcribe →Using Difficulty as Practice
Feb 600:49:22Tap to summarizeWhat do we do when life feels hard or overwhelming? In this episode, Danielle and the St Louis sangha explore how Buddhist practice helps us pause, notice, and choose how we respond.
Transcribe →Meaning with a Capital M
Jan 3000:13:35Tap to summarizeIn this talk, Joe from the Columbus sangha explores what we mean when we talk about “meaning” — and how Buddhism invites us to relate to meaning without turning it into something fixed or absolute.
Transcribe →Mind Training for a Reactive World
Jan 2400:44:00Tap to summarizeWhat if life’s difficulties weren’t obstacles to practice, but the practice itself? With the St Louis sangha, Danielle explores Lojong slogans as cognitive and embodied tools for transforming reactivity, cultivating awareness, and engaging the world with greater clarity and care.
Transcribe →Sympathetic Joy: Joy Without Comparison
Jan 1600:05:47Tap to summarizeIn this Dharma talk from Curtis from the Columbus sangha explores sympathetic joy, the practice of rejoicing in the happiness and success of others. Rather than denying envy or comparison, Curtis looks at how awareness and practice can help us loosen those habits and rediscover joy as something shared, not scarce.
Transcribe →Why Sangha Matters: The Forgotten Jewel
Jan 900:46:53Tap to summarizeBuddhist practice isn’t meant to happen in isolation. In this conversation, Danielle invites the St. Louis Sangha to reflect on what it means to find refuge in one another — to learn, practice, and grow in community. Through personal stories and shared insight, the talk reveals how Sangha helps us see beyond our delusions, sustain our practice, and remember that none of us awakens alone.
Transcribe →Before the New Year, Pause
Dec 3100:45:12Tap to summarizeWhat if happiness isn’t found in getting what we want, but in loosening our grip on craving, aversion, and delusion? In this year-end discussion, the Danielle and the St Louis sangha reflect on the past year’s choices, identifying which actions led to genuine joy and which deepened suffering. Together, they explore how awareness and boundaries can help shape a wiser year ahead.
Transcribe →The Wisdom of Not Knowing
Dec 2600:09:54Tap to summarizeWe often move through life thinking we know what we’re seeing—our surroundings, other people, even ourselves. Joe from the Columbus sangha explores how this habit limits perception, connection, and compassion. Drawing from the Heart Sutra and Zen practice, he shows how “not knowing” can become a doorway to presence and wonder.
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