Episode 218: Weaving Spiritual Practice into Daily Life
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
The Buddha said that the minds of his followers should "constantly, day and night, delight in spiritual practice." But what practice can we stitch into the fabric of ordinary days? This fan-favorite epsiode explores a spiritual thread that can run through work, family, errands, and all the passing moments that make up our lives. Cherishing others requires no shrine, no retreat, no special circumstance—only a special intention. To cherish another means we think and act on this intention, "Your happiness matters. I will work for your happiness." Whether it's the barista, a child,...
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Episode 217 -Fan Favorite - Overcoming Fear and Anxiety
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
We’re bringing back a fan favorite episode from the Buddhism for Everyone archives with an exploration of fear, anxiety, and bravery. Fearlessness is often spoken of in Buddhist teachings, but here we go beyond the idea of simply “being brave” to uncover how the Buddha understood fear itself. Together, we’ll look at what causes fear, the antidotes that dissolve it, and how we can tap into the quiet courage already within us. In Buddhism, there is a distinction between skillful fear and unskillful fear. Skillful fear can protect us. An example of skilful fear is noticing a subway train...
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Episode 216 - W.A.I.T. Why am I talking?
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
Have you ever walked away from a conversation and thought, "Why did I just say that?" Oh, me too. But thankfully, the Buddha left us plenty of tools to transform even our speech into something sacred. In this episode, we explore an acronym I recently added to my spiritual toolbox, W.A.I.T. — Why Am I Talking? Before we speak, we can pause and ask ourselves this simple question to check our motivation. Are we trying to connect or control? Are we speaking from kindness or merely from habit? The Four Gates of Speech Another powerful filter comes directly from the Buddha. Before we speak, we can...
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Episode 215 - How to Be Present in Moment
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
This episode is a gentle return to something simple, sacred, and too often forgotten: the present moment. The only moment we ever truly have. We explore what it means to really be present. True calm arises when we're not lost in yesterday's story or tomorrow's worries but rest in the stillness of the now. JoAnn Fox, a Buddhist teacher of over twenty years, will talk about why presence is the ground of peace, the birthplace of connection, and the secret doorway to joy. Let's take a breath and be here now. They do not grieve over the past, Nor do they yearn for the future; They live only...
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Episode 214 - The Dalai Lama's Secret to Lasting Happiness
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
We chase happiness like it’s just around the corner. Could our final destination, “happiness,” be hidden in a new relationship, job title, city, or home? But His Holiness the Dalai Lama, with his childlike laugh and mountain-like presence, has let us in on a little secret: the true source of happiness isn’t getting what we want. It’s cherishing others. It’s being kind. The Dalai Lama says, “The basic source of all happiness is a sense of kindness and warm-heartedness towards others.” Buddhist teachings remind us again and again that when we shift the spotlight from...
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Episode 213: How to Be Mentally Strong When Things Go Wrong
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
This episode is about those moments when life doesn't go according to plan: when things go wrong, fall apart, or just feel too heavy to bear. At these times, mental strength becomes our most valuable refuge. But what does it really mean to be mentally strong? How can we cultivate that strength without becoming rigid or emotionally shut down? We'll be exploring one of my favorite quotes from the great Buddhist master Shantideva: "If something can be done, why worry? If nothing can be done, why worry?" This deceptively simple teaching holds the key to freedom from anxiety, overwhelm, and...
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Episode 212 - How To Be Calm Amidst Chaos
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
“Praise and blame, fame and shame, gain and loss, pleasure and pain come and go like the wind. To be happy, rest like a giant tree in the midst of them all.” ― Buddha We're exploring a truth so simple yet profound it almost feels like a secret; every problem we have comes from just one thing, our own mind. Specifically, our problems come from misperceiving reality: we see our worries, fears, and stresses as big, immovable mountains. In reality, they're more like clouds, shifting and changing with the winds of the mind. Nothing is as fixed as it seems. Everything depends on perception...
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Episode 211 - Let Love and Hope Rewrite the Story
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
We're exploring a truth so simple yet profound it almost feels like a secret; every problem we have comes from just one thing--our own mind. Specifically, our problems come from misperceiving reality: we see our worries, fears, and stresses as big, immovable mountains. In reality, they're more like clouds, shifting and changing with the winds of the mind. Nothing is as fixed as it seems. Everything depends on perception (even that thing you're stressing about right now). Could we change our perception and enjoy whatever arises? Buddhist Teacher, JoAnn Fox, offers two ways to practice...
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Episode 210 - Aṅgulimāla: Practicing Non-violence
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
In this episode, we practice one of the most powerful antidotes to anger and aversion: compassion. I know—when we’re irritated, hurt, or downright fuming, compassion is usually the last thing on our minds. But in Buddhism, compassion isn't weakness—it’s strength. It’s the most powerful way to interrupt the cycle of harm and start creating peace, inside and out. The Story of Aṅgulimāla The Buddha’s radical teachings on non-violence reveal how to respond rather than react when things get heated. I also share the story of Angulimala—yes, the guy who was literally collecting...
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Episode 209 - No Self: Discovering Limitless Potential
Buddhism for Everyone with JoAnn Fox
Who—or what—are you, really? If you start peeling back the layers, things get interesting fast. You have a body, but you’re not just your body. You have thoughts, but if you were your thoughts, wouldn’t you have disappeared the last time your mind went blank? And if you were your emotions, who were you before that bad mood showed up? Buddhism teaches that the self we cling to so tightly—this solid, unchanging “me”—is actually empty of independent existence. That doesn’t mean you don’t exist; it means you exist in a far more fluid, interconnected, and expansive way than you...
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When the Buddha explained the ten nonvirtuous actions to abandon, four are devoted to our speech. Our words are an incredibly powerful tool; they can build ourselves and others up. Or they can tear ourselves and others down. In a sentence they can destroy a relationship, friendship, or employment; such is the power of our speech. In fact, a mindfulness practice of purifying our speech is one that can change our lives completely.
The Four Nonvirtous Action of Speech
- Lying
- Divisive speech
- Harsh speech
- Idle chatter
5 Factors of Right Speech:
- Is it true?
- Is it beneficial?
- Is it kind?
- Is it spoken with a mind of good will?
- Is is the right time?
The karmic results of the 4 Nonvirtuous actions of speech which are similar to the cause, explained by Je Tsongkhapa:
- [as a result of lying] others would slander you a great deal, and they would deceive you;
- [as a result of divisive speech] your helpers would not get along and would misbehave;
- [as a result of offensive speech] you would hear unpleasant and quarrelsome speech; [183]
- [as a result of senseless speech] your words would not be respected or understandable, and your confidence would not be unshakable;
Je Tspnkhaoa also explained that abandoning the four nonvirtues of speech is the karmic cause of trustworthy words., “The effect of trustworthy words is that through kind speech, purposeful behavior, and being one whose aims are the same as the disciples’, you gather living beings and mature (teach and guide) them.”
“The word is pure magic, and when you adopt the first agreement, magic just happens in your life. Your intentions and desires come easily because there is no resistance, there is no fear; there is only love. You are at peace, and you create a life of freedom and fulfillment in every way. Just this one agreement is enough to completely transform your life into your personal heaven. Always be aware of how you are using the word, and be impeccable with your word.”
—Adapted from The Fifth Agreement: A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery. Copyright© 2010 by Miguel Angel Ruiz, M.D., Jose Luis Ruiz, and Janet Mills. Reprinted by Permission of Amber-Allen Publishing, Inc., San Rafael, California
Seeing danger in what’s not dangerous
And not seeing danger in what is,
Those who take up wrong views
Go to a bad rebirth. (317)
-Buddha, The Dhammapada
References and Links
Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. (Kindle). Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp. 78 (Link)
Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 1 (Kindle). Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor.
Right Speech. Access to Insight (website).
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sacca/sacca4/samma-vaca/index.html
The Fifth Agreement: A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery. Copyright© 2010 by Miguel Angel Ruiz, M.D., Jose Luis Ruiz, and Janet Mills. Reprinted by Permission of Amber-Allen Publishing, Inc., San Rafael, California. https://www.thefouragreements.com/the-first-agreement-be-impeccable-with-your-word/