Dharma PhD

Written by: Shannon M Whitaker
  • Summary

  • One practitioner’s four-year journey to become a professional in Mindfulness and Secular Buddhism, without getting all mysterious and solemn about it. Join Shannon M Whitaker, co-host Jeff Street, and guests as we discuss the science, philosophy, culture, and practice of mindfulness: What’s the latest fMRI research actually telling us about the effects of Loving-Kindness on the brain? Why is Loving-Kindness a terrible translation of the Pāli word “Metta”? How are other practitioners navigating their practice in the real world? You won’t get a real PhD from listening to this podcast. But don’t worry, we don’t have one either.
    Copyright 2024 Shannon M Whitaker
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Episodes
  • Everything Is Included in Dhamma Practice (Even the Zombie Apocalypse) - EP9
    May 31 2023

    Welcome to Dharma PhD!

    In this episode we discuss how even the most seemingly unskillful stuff (watching the HBO TV series "The Last of Us" https://www.hbo.com/the-last-of-us) can be approached as part of Dhamma practice. And no, this is not just an excuse to watch more Pedro Pascal.

    Transcript of the episode: https://dharmaphd.com/2023/06/05/dharma-phd-the-podcast-episode-9-everything-is-included-in-dhamma-practice/.

    If you're interested, the Official HBO podcast with Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin: https://listen.hbo.com/the-last-of-us-podcast.

    Want to get in touch? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at hello@dharmaphd.com.

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    33 mins
  • What are we oriented towards? (MN26, Ariyapariyesana Sutta) - EP8
    Jan 31 2022

    Welcome to Dharma PhD!

    In this episode Jeff helps Shannon with her homework on Majjhima Nikāya 26 (MN26), The Ariyapariyesanā Sutta. We also talk a lot about Lamborghinis.

    Some links for your rabbit-holing pleasure:

    Bodhi College: https://bodhi-college.org/

    Bodhi College's Committed Practitioners Program: https://bodhi-college.org/events/31-committed-practitioners-programme/region-EU/

    MN26 at Sutta Central: https://suttacentral.net/mn26/en/sujato?layout=sidebyside&reference=none¬es=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin

    Shannon's awesome [sic] spreadsheet comparing the Pāli and 5 translations of MN26: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14y7HpwHlPWLLMNRf9gs5C82ARgrM4z6F6GtK8xCpNbQ/edit?usp=sharing

    The system that Shannon has been using since 2008 for yearly planning and resource orientation: https://www.thesimpledollar.com/financial-wellness/31-days-to-fix-your-finances/

    This super amazing hummingbird feeder! It was designed by a rad chick in Tucson, Arizona, who worked as a Zoo Keeper and tended to hummingbirds at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. If you want one, we urge you to consider buying from the original artist, rather than a knockoff from an online retailer: https://www.copperhummingbird.com/gallery

    Want to get in touch? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at hello@dharmaphd.com.

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    40 mins
  • John Peacock's "Buddhism Before the Theravada" Part 6 - EP7
    Nov 13 2021

    Welcome to Dharma PhD!

    In this episode we talk about John Peacocks' talk, "Buddhism Before the Theravada, Part 6".

    We talk about paṭiccasamuppāda (Dependent Origination) as a Buddhist model of cognition and about how having a framework such as this one to understand our experience can help us deal with craving and grasping loops.

    A few things referred to:

    Dr. Judson Brewer (https://drjud.com/).

    The Independent PhD project (https://dharmaphd.com/2020/07/10/the-independent-phd-and-why-you-should-start-one/).

    I recently posted on the blog about overlapping models of perception/cognition, one more cognitive-science-y compared with dependent origination: https://dharmaphd.com/2021/11/01/modeling-cognition/.

    Hedonic Tone, also called "feeling tone" is my preferred translation of the Pāli word "vedanā". I talked about it over on my other podcast in a few episodes: https://www.buddha-bites-podcast.com/episode/buddha-bites-ep23

    A transcript of and link to John Peacock's talk is available here: https://dharmaphd.com/2021/11/13/john-peacock-buddhism-before-the-theravada-part-6-2011-09-04/

    And a transcript of this podcast episode is available here: https://dharmaphd.com/2021/11/13/dharma-phd-the-podcast-episode-7/

    Want to get in touch? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at hello@dharmaphd.com.

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    54 mins

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