The Daily Dharma

Getting stressed is normal and part of your spiritual journey - listen in to discover why.

Better than a thousand words that don't bring peace, is one word that does. We discuss how to apply this framework to every day life and the importance of reminding ourselves that at the end of the day, self-peace is the goal. 

Wisdom is often referred to something we have. However, Buddhist philosophy argues otherwise - rather, that wisdom is a practice that you actively engage in every day. Follow us on Instagram @the.daily.dharma for cool new quotes!

Why is the temporary nature of life so terrifying? In this episode, I take a real-time example of a time I became incredibly bitter and unhappy and how I applied Buddhist philosophy to find my way to peace.

When another person reacts poorly, I always tend to take responsibility for it. In this episode, we discuss why we shouldn't own and be attached to the emotions of others and what we should do instead.

In this week's episode, we talk about the difficulty of dealing with the pain and suffering of those we love and how Buddhist philosophy teaches us to approach this. To get some cool Buddhist quotes in your Instagram feed, please follow us @the.daily.dharma! 

The Buddhist practice of compassion begins with recognizing your own personhood and being compassionate to yourself. Here's why it's difficult and how to move towards it, step by step.

Today's episode centers on the true nature of failure and a neat little story from Ajahn Brahm about a little boy who couldn't memorize. Follow us on Instagram @the.daily.dharma for Buddhist quotes!

In this week's episode, we talk about going through extremes and why it's part of your spiritual journey. 

In this episode, we talk about the nature of life - impermanence and what our own sense of suffering has to do with it.

In Buddhism, guilt is an emotion that serves no purpose. It intensifies your suffering instead of alleviating it. So go ahead and forgive yourself - or take small steps every day to reach forgiveness. 

What is a Bodhisattva? In this episode, we talk about the translation of the world, who Bodhisattvas truly are and the lessons we can draw from their stories. 

In this episode, we cover the meaning behind the introductory Buddhist stanza, "Namo Tassa" and the importance and respect given to one's skepticism when starting out in Buddhism. We especially highlight the difference between reverence and worship and how practicing Buddhism is the core of all Buddhist philosophy, rather than faith. 

Why do so many spiritual "gurus" push us to give "big"? In this episode, we talk about giving from the Buddhist lens and why it's more important than ever to simply give "small". 

The pandemic has left us all feeling all sorts of wrong. In this episode. we talk about why it's okay to simply feel what you're feeling and allow yourself to be grumpy. 

Do you find yourself pushing harder and harder in your spiritual path, without yielding results? In this episode, we talk about the cons of self-punishment and why Buddhist philosophy points towards gentleness and kindness towards oneself instead of punishment. 

In stillness, the world is restored. In this week's episode, we talk about how "nothing" is not necessarily a bad thing - that we can take the absence of action as both a negative and a positive. The biggest positive of doing "nothing" is really that it's the path to stillness...without inaction there can be no internal reflection, checking-in or self-empathy. Silence and space is necessary for stillness, making it very important to carve out in our current lives. Follow us on Instagram on @the.daily.dharma. Stay safe everyone!

Hello! In this week's episode, we talk about the power of perspective. When we realize that we have a choice in how we see the losses and suffering in our lives, we gain a powerful tool in self-actualization and empowerment. Make sure to follow the podcast on Instagram @the.daily.dharma and subscribe on Spotify, iTunes and wherever you listen! Stay stay everyone, sending light and love.

Grief, or the pain of things we are attached to going away, is a pivotal part of life. In this episode, we talk about how Buddhist philosophy deals with grief and how we can learn to become compassionate observers of our own grief. 

This week, our story is drawn from my life's experience - having done many rash things, I had to take time to be silent, reflect and talk it out with a wise person. Now that this process is over, we talk about the many stages of learning to accept and draw insights from our suffering - as cliche as it sounds - suffering is perhaps the greatest teacher we have on life and the universe around us. Make sure to follow us on Instagram @the.daily.dharma! Stay safe everyone - Theruwan Saranai (May the blessing of the Triple Gem be with you).

This week has been super rough for me so I wasn't sure I could do an episode. However, a friend of mine recently reminded me that speaking of good, positive things helps to dispel negative energy. So here I am! In this week's episode, we talk about the story of a young woman who is told to collect a mustard seed from a family who has never experienced death. Tune in to hear what happens!

In this episode, we talk about the Buddhist perspective on forgiveness and why it's important not to harbor deep feelings of resentment and hatred towards others. 

Happy Wednesday! It's becoming a habit for me to do our episodes in the middle of the week and I kinda like it. In this week's episode, we talk about a beautiful fable I read in one of Venerable Ajahn Brahm's books about a big smelly monster. It's a funny tale but also so simple and easy to relate to. Make sure to follow us on Instagram at @the.daily.dharma to stay connected with us everywhere! Thank you for listening and stay stafe! 

In this week's episode, we talk about the Five Precepts. While most Buddhist traditions take it as a simple and straight-forward sutra, we explore how it's actually pretty deep - an open invitation to re-examine how you effect others and yourself as well as how much further you can go to align your actions with your values. Follow us on Instagram to stay connected @the.daily.dharma!

For today's episode, I share a simple yet impactful Buddhist story about a boy and a salamander. To stay connected to us after each episode, make sure to follow us on Instagram @the.daily.dharma and leave us a review on iTunes! 

We take a look at the Lokavipatti Sutta to uncover the eight conditions of the world. You can read more about it HERE. Follow us on Instagram @the.daily.dharma to stay connected to us!

This week's episode is inspired by a different podcast called Guru, which dives into how spiritual materialism has lead people down a dark path, behind teachers who don't have the best intentions for their students. Buddhist philosophy clearly dictates that Dharma cannot be sold or bought and more specifically, that Enlightenment and wealth are two different paths. We discuss why that is and how we can fully embrace the spiritual path regardless of where we are materially in our lives. To stay connected, follow our Instagram at @the.daily.dharma

In part two of our discussion of the Sigalovada Sutta, we dive into the opposite spectrum of friendship - what makes a good friend? We talk about the four categories of good friends who provide financial, emotional, spiritual and social support and what their friendship to you actually looks like. Follow our podcast on Instagram @the.daily.dharma for more bite-sized Dharma!

The Sigalovada Suttra is one of my favorites because it talks about one of the most important aspects of our lives - friendships! More specifically, it clearly breakdowns the characteristics of people that aren't good for us and those that are. In part one of this sutra, we cover four types of legitimately bad friends and what makes them unhealthy and toxic to our lives.

In a crazy and chaotic world, how do we find silence? We take a deep dive into what silence and noise really symbolize and how to create silence in our minds. 

When our careers, financial security, personal relationships and everything else goes away, what are we left with? In this episode, we do a modern re-telling of the Ratana Sutra, a discourse on what we should hold truly valuable in our lives. I dig deeper into what I feel the sutra is trying to tell us and come away with practical wisdom to ease the stress of the tragedies that may rock our lives.

Karmic retribution is real. Everything we think, say or do has a consequence, regardless of our good or bad intentions. One of the best stories that illustrate how karma works is the story of Monk Mogallana and why he is depicted with blue skin. This is a very chilling story but it goes to prove why we always need to hold ourselves accountable for our actions and make sure that we are putting our best foot forward every day.

In this episode, we talk about Metta Meditation - a beautiful practice that you can use to generate peace of mind and calm even in a chaotic and brutal world. 

In this episode, we touch on the four noble truths - a way to fully understand our experience of unhappiness and find a way towards joy and satisfaction. 

Happiness is achieved through success...right? In this episode, we use the Dhammapada to challenge conventional wisdom about happiness and separate the two to better our lives. 

Why does a 20-something marketer decide to start a podcast about practical, Buddhist philosophy? Well, let me tell you - it is a long and strange story. In our very first episode, I take you through my spiritual journey as a confused kid to actualized adult with the help of Buddhist philosophy, meditation and self-love.