Pragmatic Buddhism

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 talk and discussion from the Columbus sangha, Joe explores the Buddhist concept of reification — the very human habit of freezing what is fluid — and what the tradition has to say about why it leads to suffering, and how practice can help us loosen our grip. Drawing on Kalupahana's reading of early Buddhist philosophy, this conversation weaves together the five aggregates, non-self, and sitting meditation into something practical and immediately recognizable. If you've ever noticed that the story you're telling about yourself might be more constructed than it seems, this one's for you.

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 something he scoffed at to something he now considers a doorway into mindfulness, compassion, and the lived reality of interdependence. The Columbus sangha joins in a rich discussion about the Serenity Prayer, the Bodhisattva Vow, and what it means to meet people exactly where they are.

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 on the paradox of sitting without seeking, the practice of "leaving no trace," and what it means to build the cushion without chasing it. Discussion turns to early misconceptions about meditation, the layered noise of the mind, and the quiet micro-thoughts that surface only when we stop trying so hard.

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 morning physical therapy: truly listening to Baroque music is its own kind of meditation. The conversation winds through Suzuki Roshi's "don't serve them tea," the eightfold path as guidelines rather than commandments, forest bathing as prescribed medicine, the tyranny of sleep trackers, and why walking into a Buddhist temple on the other side of the world can make you think, "wait, is this even Buddhism?" A warm, wide-ranging discussion about finding presence when the cushion isn't working, and learning to hear the whole field instead of just one line.

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 classic Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, and the conversation ranges from the pressure to always be productive to what it means to just observe without acting to why being terrible at something might actually be your greatest advantage.