The Words of the Buddha | Buddhist Monk Bhikkhu Bodhi | Dan Harris and Ten Percent Happier Podcast

What are the words of Buddha? Dan Harris hosts Buddhist Monk, Bhikku Bodhi, who is a translator of Buddhist scripture. When Dan Harris first got interested in meditation, all the talk of the Buddha that he encountered in the various books he was reading and lectures was attending seemed like more of a bug than a feature. He was looking for science-backed stress relief, not religion. But the more He learned, the more interested he became in the Buddha. He was, after all, not a god or a prophet. He was, based on the available evidence, a mortal man who made no claims about the creation of the universe. In fact, to the extent that he did make metaphysical claims, he explicitly told people: don’t believe anything because I tell you. Meanwhile, he laid out a set of meditation instructions and an approach to the human situation that, in my experience, are extraordinarily practical and valuable. And yet, many of today’s meditators don’t know much about who the Buddha was or what he actually taught. Hence today’s guest, the Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi. He was born Jeffrey Block in Brooklyn, became a Buddhist monk as a young man, and then went on to become one of the premier translators of Buddhist scripture. In this conversation, we talk about: why it can be so helpful for meditators to know what the Buddha taught; how these teachings survived for centuries before they were ever written down; how he makes sense of the teachings on karma and rebirth; the Buddha’s daily schedule; what kind of person the Buddha was; and what the Buddha taught about staying engaged in politics. Before we started rolling, I asked Bhikkhu Bodhi how I should address him, and he said many people call him “Bhante,” which is a term that is used in Buddhist circles to address monks, and translates into something like “venerable sir.”
Where to find Bhikkhu Bodhi online:
Website: bodhimonastery.org/ven-bhikkh...
Facebook: / bhikkhu.bodhi.1
Books Mentioned:
• The Noble Eightfold Path: The Way to the End of Suffering by Bhikkhu Bodhi www.noblepath.org/audio.html?f...
• Return to Life: Extraordinary Cases of Children Who Remember Past Lives by Dr. Jim B. Tucker: www.jimbtucker.com/return-to-l...
• What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula Thero www.ahandfulofleaves.org/docum...
• The Foundations of Buddhism by Rupert Gethin bookshop.org/books/the-founda...
Other Resources Mentioned:
• Dr. Ian Stevenson’s research on Perceptual Studies (apparitions, past lifetimes, and near death experiences) - med.virginia.edu/perceptual-s...
• Buddhist Global Relief - www.buddhistglobalrelief.org/
Full Show Notes: www.tenpercent.com/podcast-ep...
Learn more about Ten Percent Happier podcast at www.tenpercent.com/podcast.
Check out guided meditations alongside practical teachings in the Ten Percent Happier app. Click here [10percenthappier.app.link/ins...] to get started.
#danharris #meditation #mentalhealth #mindfulness #dharma #podcast #mindfulnessteacher #adults #anxiety #buddha #buddhism #fitness #health #interview #meditate #men #mental #help #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthtips #mindfulnessmeditation #science #selfawareness #selfhelp #selfhealing #tph #tenpercenthappier #tenpercent #panicattack #panicattackrelief #anxietyrelief #anxietytips
Subscribe to watch more Ten Percent Happier videos / tenpercenthappier
Listen to the Full Podcast link.chtbl.com/Y_729H6p
FOLLOW DAN HARRIS PODCASTS ON SOCIAL
Dan Harris on Twitter / danbharris
Dan Harris on Instagram / danharris
Dan Harris on TikTok / danbharris
Dan Harris on Facebook / danharrisabc
FOLLOW TEN PERCENT HAPPIER ON SOCIAL
Ten Percent Happier on Facebook / tenpercenthappier
Ten Percent Happier on Twitter / 10percent
Ten Percent Happier on Instagram / tenpercent

[@newpilgrim]

Thanks so much, Dan! Greatly appreciate you for bringing on someone who could make these teachings so accessible. Be well! 😎

[@TenPercentHappier]

We're so glad!

[@chuckbeattyo]

We are fortunate to have monks like Bhikkhu Bodhi around, in this time, to speak and do what they do. Also, very fortunate for great communicators like Dan Harris to notice and interview someone like Bhikkhu Bodhi. This is all very valuable.

[@lmansur1000]

I so much appreciate this teacher! He is an authentic teacher to me!!

[@TenPercentHappier]

We're so glad!

[@madelineparsons1956]

Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu! Thanks, Dan and deep bow of appreciation to Bhikkhu Bodhi

[@TenPercentHappier]

Thank you!

[@lah6739]

Meditation predates Buddhism. It was a technique developed 3000 years ago by the yogis in ancient India when they embarked on their investigation to understand the nature of self. Also, I'd like to add karma is not "punishment". This may be a Theravada tradition of understanding but in the Mahayana tradition it is not punishment, it is just a natural law of potentials (negative AND positive) created and driven by intentional actions of the body, speech and mind that ripen when the conditions are conducive to that karmic "seed" to "ripen". Karma is not fixed, it is not fate. In the Mahayana tradition karma can be purified. We can change our karma. Great conversation, good questions Dan and thank you to Bhikku Bodhi for sharing his wisdom.

[@TenPercentHappier]

Thank you for sharing your insight!

[@adamdreisler7365]

Bante calls karma “moral justice”… not ”punishment”. It may be spoken of in slightly different terms… but karma is the same in Theravada and Mahayana…

[@beachbaby7]

Ty for this video. I've become very interested in Buddism recently. The other religions I have looked at fail miserably. Much respect. 🙏💚🌿

[@TenPercentHappier]

Our pleasure!

[@user-bs4qu7tb2g]

Two things: I might be wrong, of course, but I have observed the following. I think you mistake 1) insight to be conjecture and 2) trust to be belief when it comes to realising, practicing and observing some of the things that you found to be hard to grasp towards the end of the talk. Yet, or so I would argue, in my experience trust can be a very supporting vehicle on the path of the Dhamma. I compare it to the martial arts. The first thing you learn - before you learn anything, that is - in martial arts is: Don't think. This is not a means to degrade students, but to help them with their own progress. I heard a Vietnamese master say: "While one of my students was pestering me with questions about how to do a certain punch that I showed them, some kid in China had already punched that same punch a hundred times and got a better understanding about that punch than any of my explanations could have ever provided, no matter how well I would phrase them." This goes to show that inferential reasoning serves it purpose with some objects, while completely losing its power when used towards the wrong objects of realisation. So here we have a wonderful application of the Sutta to the Kalamas. I think the topic of rebirth and the Law of Kamma is one of these things that depend more on experience and practical everyday insight and the first thing in order to allow yourself to see the world through such a lense is to - at least temporarily, maybe as an experiment - accept a teaching and see where that raft takes you on your journey here and now. If you have to abandon the raft anyway at some point - and you will have to - why not jump in today? 😊 Namo Buddhaya 🧡☸️

[@pingboucher4767]

Thank you for sharing your beautiful spirit with us. You are Transformers. 📡🪶💗

[@TenPercentHappier]

Thank you!

[@ExercitusGymnasticus]

Not a new show

[@chadreilly]

I wonder why both Bodhi, and Goldstein have similar, non-congruent laughter with their speech. It's weird.

[@chadreilly]

Also notice how Bodhi is not asking you to believe in anything "supernatural" with regards to anything he's witness, even with his life's devotion. Rather he's saying, he takes it on faith based on what he read. It's just weak. I liked his book "In the Buddha's Words" so it's not like I'm a hater. But anyway, as far as lived experience it does't sound like any of these teachers have anything to offer more than hearsay, some millenia removed.

[@chadreilly]

"I'm tired of walking around pretending to be me." Doesn't that sound like a dissociative disorder?

[@lcmohan79]

After reading the suttas I find it difficult to buy this idea of 'liberation' hanging around ending the cycle of birth and death. This is not the teaching of the Buddha.The ideas of rebirth and liberation were already prevalent even before the Buddha. But Buddha changed these ideas and made them ethical.He taught just one thing: the existence of suffering and it's removal.This he himself had said very often. I disagree with what Bhanteji declared to be the liberation. Buddhas own words are more authentic than what any tradition or master Translators or commentators tell or teach or preach. We should be careful not to take all the statements that we find in suttas to be the words of the Buddha.

[@TenPercentHappier]

Thank you for sharing your input.

[@TheGerogero]

let's go Brandon