Pragmatic Buddhism

Buddhism Is a Way, Not the Way

What if you could explore Buddhism without having to believe that Buddhism is the one true path? In this episode, Glenn leads a discussion with the Columbus sangha that

Aspiration, Appreciation, Conviction: Batchelor on Resolve, and Why Trust Isn't Faith

What do you do with a teaching that asks you to trust something you can't prove? James from the St. Louis sangha reads Stephen Batchelor's "Resolve" chapter and his answe

Can AI Teach Us Buddhism? Why Practice Still Matters

AI can give us almost endless information about Buddhism, but can information actually transform us? In this thought-provoking Dharma talk, Tim Curtis explores what gets

Is My Brain a Liar?

Mary had heart surgery in her twenties and came out with a blind spot her brain filled in. She didn't know she couldn't see this spot until someone asked why she wasn't t

The Middle Way of Pragmatism: James, Dewey, and Why Buddhism Isn't Atheism

What do you do when someone states, flatly, that God exists, or that God does not? Glenn's answer in The Middle Way of Pragmatism is to slow down. Notice when you're reac

Off Autopilot: The Mental Discipline Basket of Effort, Mindfulness, and Concentration

Danielle of the St. Louis sangha completes a walk through the Noble Eightfold Path with the mental discipline basket: appropriate effort, mindfulness, and concentration.

We Let AI Write (Part of) a Dharma Talk

Why do we call it Pragmatic Buddhism? Glenn of the Columbus sangha starts by discussing the Western pragmatists (Peirce, James, Dewey, and Rorty). But then he runs and ex

Buddhist Ethics Without the Rulebook: Right Speech, Action, and Livelihood

We all want to do the right thing but what is the "right thing"? Most people come to Buddhism hoping for a rulebook. Do these three things, avoid those five, and you'll b

Reacting vs. Responding: A Buddhist Take on Sport and Everyday Life

What is the difference between reacting and responding, and can you train the gap between the two? In this episode, Glenn from the Columbus sangha takes Buddhist practice

Right View, Right Intention, and the Courage to Let Go

What does it take to see your own life clearly, and then actually act on what you see? In this episode, Danielle teaches the wisdom basket of the Eightfold Path: skillful

Compassion and Wisdom: The Two Wings of Awakening

In this dharma talk from the Order of Pragmatic Buddhists, Curtis explores the relationship between compassion and wisdom, two qualities the Buddha identified as essentia

A Pragmatic Discussion of the Eightfold Path

What if Buddhism's core teaching wasn't a set of beliefs to accept, but a diagnosis and a prescription? In this dharma discussion, Danielle introduces the Four Ennobling

You Are Not a Thing: Buddhist Wisdom on the Self We Keep Defending

We constantly take a mood, a moment, or a memory and turn it into who we are. "I'm an anxious person." "This is just how my life goes." "That's who they are." In this tal

Prayer as Practice: Listening, Compassion, and Interdependence

Is prayer a Buddhist practice? More than we might think. In this dharma talk, Joe shares how his work as a chaplain transformed his understanding of prayer — from somethi

Right Attitude: Sitting Without Chasing

Aaron returns to lead the St. Louis Sangha through the second part of Shunryu Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, this time exploring "right attitude." The group reflects

Bach, Forest Bathing, and the Zazen You Didn't Know You Were Doing

What does Bach's organ music have to do with sitting zazen? For Glenn, everything. In this talk from the Columbus sangha, he shares a realization that struck him during m

You're Doing It Wrong (And That's the Point): Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

What if the hardest thing in the world is simply sitting still? In this episode, Aaron from the St. Louis sangha leads our community through the opening of Suzuki's class

Buddha Nature in a Distracted World

We live in a world built for distraction — scrolling, streaming, multitasking, always doing something else. But what if awakening isn’t somewhere far away, but right here

Change, Dissatisfaction, and the Self: The Three Marks of Existence

The Three Marks of Existence can sound stark: everything is impermanent, clinging leads to dissatisfaction, and there is no fixed self. But these teachings aren’t pessimi

What Does “No Self” Really Mean?

The Buddhist teaching of “no self” can sound confusing or even alarming. Does it mean we don’t exist? That our personality is an illusion? In this talk, Douglas and the S