Buddhism Beyond Belief with Susan Piver
Buddhism Beyond Belief is a podcast from Susan Piver, a 30 year student of Tibetan Buddhism and founder of the Open Heart Project, an online meditation community with close to 20000 members.
With Susan as a friend and guide, we will look at traditional teachings like the four noble truths and the six paramitas–but not from an academic standpoint. Rather, we will talk about how to make it all personal and relevant in everyday life.
This podcast is not about Buddhist doctrine. It’s about how anyone can bring the profound wisdom of the dharma into their real life: at home, at work, and in love. The foundation for it all is meditation as a spiritual practice, not the latest life hack. Let’s go beyond the science and celebrity testimonials to discover the true power of meditation which is not based in self-improvement but in self-discovery.
Episodes
32 episodes
Transcending Insanity, Part Six: True Wisdom
In this episode, I explore the sixth and final pāramitā—prajna, or wisdom—the one beyond words and concepts. True wisdom isn’t about knowledge but about recognizing the interdependence of all things and walking the Middle Way between eternal...
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Season 1
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Episode 30
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42:30
Meditation is for Mystics (it’s not a life hack)
In this episode, I talk about something that’s been making me a little grumpy: how meditation is often reduced to stress relief. While that’s a real benefit, it misses the deeper purpose — waking up to reality itself in order to be of benefi...
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Season 1
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Episode 29
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39:00
Buddhism and the Enneagram (with a musical aside)
In this episode, I share why I wrote The Buddhist Enneagram and how two life-changing systems—the Buddha Dharma and the Enneagram—can support your journey toward wisdom, compassion, and self-understanding.
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Season 1
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Episode 28
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27:20
The Antidote to Anxiety: A Buddhist View (With Drugs)
In this episode, I share something very personal and deeply resonant for the times we’re living in: how we vacillate between hope and fear, and how the Buddhist path invites us to wake up beyond either one. Also, drugs...
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Season 1
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Episode 27
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22:18
How to Choose a Meditation Teacher
Thinking about working with a meditation teacher? It’s a powerful step—but how do you choose the right one?In this episode, I offer a framework based on the three Yanas (vehicles) of Buddhist practice. Each path reflects a diff...
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Season 1
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Episode 26
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15:24
Transcending Insanity, Part Five: Meditative Absorption
In this episode, I explore the fifth of the six paramitas, or transcendent actions of the bodhisattva path: Meditative Absorption—sometimes just called meditation.But this isn’t your typical “sit on the cushion and follow your ...
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Season 1
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Episode 25
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19:18
A Rebroadcast of Our First Episode – “On Meditation: An Uncommon View”
I'm away this week, so we're revisiting the very first episode of the podcast. Originally titled “On Meditation: An Uncommon View,” it now becomes episode 25.Meditation is often framed as a self-help tool—to reduce stress, mana...
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Season 1
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24:04
Transcending Insanity, Part Four: Exertion
In this episode, I dive into the fourth of the six paramitas, or transcendent actions, from the classical Buddhist teachings: exertion. If you’ve been following along with our exploration of the first three—generosity, discipline, and patien...
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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26:32
Transcending Insanity, Part Three: Patience
In this episode, I move on in our exploration of the Six Paramitas (“transcendent actions”) to the third paramita: patience.There is a common misconception that patience means tolerating bad behavior or remaining silent in the ...
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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18:01
Transcending Insanity Part Two: Discipline
This week we continue our exploration of the Six Paramitas (or Transcendent Actions)—the Buddhist teachings on how to go beyond suffering and confusion into wakefulness, compassion, and liberation. I talked about the first paramita, Generosi...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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22:56
Seven Sources of True Wealth
In this episode, I explore a little-known yet profoundly practical Buddhist teaching: The Seven Riches of the Universal Monarch. I warmly invite you to look beyond the modern view of mindfulness as merely a stress-relief tool; rather, consid...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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17:30
Transcending Insanity, Part One: Generosity (the Virtue that Produces Peace)
This episode starts off a new series on the Six Paramitas (Transcendent Actions). Focusing on the first paramita: generosity, I share how this quality—often misunderstood as mere niceness or material giving—is actually the...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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20:45
Choosing the Buddhist Path: How and Why
In this new episode, I explore what it actually means to become a Buddhist through the Refuge Vow. Potentially misunderstood as a formality or an unnecessary label, I discuss the spiritual and practical significance of...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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27:24
The 7 Most Frequently Asked Questions About Meditation
In today’s episode, I take a deep dive into the meditation questions I’ve been asked the most over the past three decades—as a student, as a teacher, and now, as someone who teaches others to teach.We talk about the real stuff....
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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23:06
Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind to the Dharma
In this episode, I explore a classical teaching throughout the Buddhist world, The Four Reminders, also known as the Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind to the Dharma. When I first heard them, I tho...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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23:23
Egolessness, Self-Kindness & the Buddhist Enneagram
In this episode, I explore the tension between spiritual teachings on egolessness and the deeply personal need for self-understanding. I talk about how meditation reveals both the illusion of self and the reality of who we are. I also share ...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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27:31
Five Suggestions for Primordial Confidence
In this very, very crazy world, it’s easy to feel powerless. But from my decades of Buddhist practice, I've learned that it’s not just an inside job– you can actually arrange your outer world to give you strength.1. Clean Up Yo...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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26:35
The Problem with Egolessness
In this episode, I take a deep dive into a topic that a lot of people (myself included) find confusing; what does it mean to be egoless? Drawing from my 30+ years of experience, I share my own issues with the call to transcend ego within the We...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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28:41
The Four Noble Truths of Love
In this episode, I share my personal adaptation of Buddhist principles for relationships, "The Four Noble Truths of Love." Drawing from my own 26-year marriage and moments of deep disconnection, I talk about how Buddhist wisdom helped me nav...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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19:07
Buddhist Cosmology: The Six Realms of Being
Which one are you in right now?In this episode, I explore the six realms of Buddhist cosmology which can be understood as both literal places of rebirth and psychological states we all experience. I also mention how this might ...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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17:56
Meditation, Rage, and Other Strong Emotions
Why do we turn to meditation when things fall apart—and what are we really supposed to do with all these overwhelming emotions? In this short episode, we explore three powerful ways to relate to diff...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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12:16
Why You’re Not Meditating Consistently (and What to Do About It)
In this episode, Susan reflects on one of the most common meditation struggles: staying consistent. If you’ve ever wondered, “Why can’t I just do the thing I know is good for me?”—this episode is for you.
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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28:11
True Compassion or Idiot Compassion?
In Buddhism (as in most wisdom traditions), compassion is central—but it’s often misunderstood. It’s not about being nice, it’s about being awake. True compassion is wise, fierce, and rooted in awareness.“Idiot compassion” is a...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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20:27
Who Can You Trust in the Spiritual World?
Trusting a spiritual teacher is one of the most important—and complex—decisions on the path. This talk explores three personal experiences: one with a brilliant but inscrutable and controversial teacher, another with a teacher whose miscondu...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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25:32
Inexplicable Joy: Emptiness, Compassion, and the Heart Sutra, Part 2
In the previous episode, we discuss a teaching that is central throughout the Buddhist world: the Prajnaparamita sutra, also known as The Heart Sutra. While being utterly confounding, at the same time it is a perfect primer on the true...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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25:02