Buddhism Beyond Belief with Susan Piver
By: Susan Piver
Language: en
Categories: Religion, Spirituality, Buddhism, Health, Fitness, Alternative
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 wo...
Episodes
Three Qualities of Awakening
Jan 09, 2026As we move into a new year, how do we deepen our understanding: of ourselves, our relationships, and our spiritual practice? In this episode, we explore the three essential steps of learning in the Buddhist tradition: hearing, contemplating, and meditating.
Highlights:
Why the first step, hearing, is more than listening: it’s opening to what’s being offered without judgment or projection.How contemplating allows teachings to be tested, weighed, and integrated through experience rather than accepted blindly.What it m... Duration: 00:25:32Inexplicable Magic: An Excerpt From My Upcoming Book
Dec 26, 2025For the final episode of the year, I am sharing a short excerpt from a book I am writing called Inexplicable Magic: Meditation for Mystics. This work grows directly out of the heart of this podcast and its focus on how we actually live–not as monastic meditators, but as householders.
In this excerpt, I reflect on the Buddha’s awakening and on meditation as it was originally understood, not as self-improvement or stress reduction, but as a path of waking up from delusion and helping others do the same.
I explore the connection between mind...
Duration: 00:15:45Buddhism and the Four Immeasurable Qualities
Dec 19, 2025As we close out a year many of us are ready to leave behind, this episode reflects on what we might want to carry forward—and what we can gently let go of. I explore the Buddhist teaching of the brahmavihāras, or Four Immeasurables, as a way of giving our hearts a place to live that is honest, resilient, and humane.
The Four Immeasurables—loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity—are called “immeasurable” because they are not limited resources. They don’t require perfection or self-improvement. They begin with noticing what...
Duration: 00:23:30The Way of Listening: Songs That Stayed With Me
Dec 12, 2025In today’s episode, I’m doing something a little different. Lately I’ve been ending each show with what I called the Podcast After-Party—I share a song I love, along with a few words about why it matters to me. I never meant it to be anything formal. It was simply a delight, a way of sharing the music that has struck some essential chord in my life (no pun intended).
I’m not a scholar of music, nor a musician, nor anything close. But I’ve been lucky. My ea...
Duration: 01:09:56When Practice Isn’t Enough: A Buddhist Look at Panic
Dec 05, 2025In this episode, I speak directly to a question I’m often asked: what can we do when anxiety or panic takes over? While many people associate Buddhism with calming the mind, the path is far more layered than stress reduction. Sometimes the most skillful response is not meditation but something far more ordinary and tender.
I share my own experience with severe panic attacks—episodes triggered whenever I felt trapped, especially on airplanes. These attacks arrived suddenly and with enormous force, and none of my usual tools helped. Not meditation. Not breath practice. Not even medication or...
Duration: 00:24:29Lessons on Right Speech from a Chaotic Morning
Nov 28, 2025In this episode, I explore what I believe to be one of the most urgent Buddhist teachings for our current moment: Right Speech. Many people associate Buddhism with stress reduction or calming the mind, and while those benefits are real, the path is far more robust. It offers a way to wake up, to see clearly, and to live everyday life with more meaning, compassion, and courage.
I also share a story that unfolded early this morning at Austin’s Barton Springs pool—an unexpected confrontation between two dog owners that I somehow stepped righ...
Duration: 00:27:26Keeping Practice Sacred (Without Getting Weird)
Nov 21, 2025In this episode of Buddhism Beyond Belief, I explore how we can keep our meditation practice genuinely spiritual without making it complicated, performative, or “weird.” After more than thirty years of practice, I’ve learned that depth comes from sincerity, not technique. The simplest form of meditation—just sitting—can open profound dimensions of patience, clarity, confusion, authenticity, and genuine confidence.
I share a story from a long retreat in the Colorado Rockies, where I unexpectedly found myself helping to produce a classical music recording inside a sacred building called the Great Stupa. Unsure how to pre...
Duration: 00:23:21The Seven Characteristics of a Dharmic Person
Nov 14, 2025In this episode of Buddhism Beyond Belief, I explore how we truly enter the path—not through esoteric or “advanced” practices, but by grounding ourselves in simple awareness and presence. After more than thirty years of practice and teaching, I’ve come to see that depth in meditation isn’t about complexity. It’s about sincerity—how fully we can find our breath, sit with our mind, and meet life as it is.
I share what the Tibetan Buddhist tradition calls the seven characteristics of a Dharmic person—qualities that guide anyone, Bu...
Duration: 00:33:58A Guided 10-Minute Meditation Practice (plus music)
Nov 07, 2025In this episode, I offer a guided meditation and explore what it really means to not be trying—not striving to get somewhere, even in practice. Rather than exerting effort or resisting, meditation invites us to let go again and again and rest in a state of receptivity.
We look at how love, insight, and creativity are not things we can get, but things we receive, and how meditation teaches us to rest in that open space. I also clarify common misconceptions ab...
Duration: 00:27:43Transcending Insanity, Part Six: True Wisdom
Oct 31, 2025In 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 eternalism (“something lasts forever”) and nihilism (“nothing matters”).
We revisit the first five pāramitās—generosity, discipline, patience, exertion, and meditative absorption—and see how they lead us to the spacious awareness that meditation reveals. Mindfulness is only half the path; the other half, awareness, brings love, creativity, and compassion.
We also look at the...
Duration: 00:42:30Meditation is for Mystics (it’s not a life hack)
Oct 24, 2025In 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 benefit to others.
Meditation isn’t a self-improvement plan. It’s a path of presence — one that begins with self-awareness but is meant to open outward, toward others and the world. When practice stops at “me,” it can harden into self-absorption. When we remember its spiritual heart, it becomes a way to connect —...
Duration: 00:39:00Buddhism and the Enneagram (with a musical aside)
Oct 17, 2025In 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.
Contrary to common views of Buddhism as merely stress relief, I explore its deeper invitation: to live more fully, to wake up, and to meet life with an open heart. The Enneagram, in turn, becomes a powerful upaya—a skillful means—for making compassion real.
In this episode, I talk about:
The Antidote to Anxiety: A Buddhist View (With Drugs)
Oct 10, 2025In 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. Just gotta say that right up front.
We often think of mindfulness or meditation practice as a way to feel better, to reduce stress or calm down—and while those benefits are real and important, this path is so much more. It’s about learning how to live fully a...
Duration: 00:22:18How to Choose a Meditation Teacher
Sep 26, 2025Thinking 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 different view of meditation—and can help you clarify the kind of guidance you need.
Three Yanas, Three Teaching Styles
1. Hinayana – The Foundational Path
Best if you're starting out and need structure. Look for a teacher who emphasizes:
Transcending Insanity, Part Five: Meditative Absorption
Sep 19, 2025In 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 breath” kind of conversation. We go deeper into what it means to live meditation—to carry the practice off the cushion and into our everyday experience.
Highlights from this episode:
Why the Buddhist path is so much more than stress reliefMeditation isn’t just about calming... Duration: 00:19:18
A Rebroadcast of Our First Episode – “On Meditation: An Uncommon View”
Sep 12, 2025I'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, manage pain, improve sleep, or boost performance. And yes, science supports all of that. But the original intention, as taught by the Buddha, was something much deeper: a path to wake up from suffering, discover wisdom, cultivate compassion, and live with courage.
This episode explores meditation as a spiritual practice—a way to move beyond c...
Duration: 00:24:04Transcending Insanity, Part Four: Exertion
Sep 05, 2025In 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 patience—you’ll know these aren’t lofty ideals but practical ways to bring dharma off the cushion and into real life.
Here, we go deep into what exertion really means. Spoiler: it’s not about trying harder. I talk about what makes exertion so powerful, what gets in its way, and...
Duration: 00:26:32Transcending Insanity, Part Three: Patience
Aug 29, 2025In 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 face of harm. Instead, patience is a profound and active spiritual practice that can help us transcend aggression and stay present with reality as it unfolds.
Drawing on classical Buddhist teachings and a personal story about losing my temper in traffic, I talk about how we can remain connected to our own and others’ humanit...
Duration: 00:18:01Transcending Insanity Part Two: Discipline
Aug 22, 2025This 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, Generosity, in a previous episode. Now we look at the second: Discipline.
This isn’t the harsh, rigid discipline of making yourself do things you don’t want to do. Here, discipline is a joyful, courageous return to presence—a practice of continuously coming back to your intentions, your inner world, your experience, and your humanity.
Highli...
Duration: 00:22:56Seven Sources of True Wealth
Aug 15, 2025In 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, consider your practice as a transformative lens on how to live fully, wisely, and with meaning.
Drawing from classical Buddhist teachings, my own seminary training, and over 30 years of personal practice, I share how these "seven riches" can serve as guiding principles for cultivating intimacy, purpose, vitality, and inner wisdom in daily life. I even share a...
Duration: 00:17:30Transcending Insanity, Part One: Generosity (the Virtue that Produces Peace)
Aug 08, 2025This 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 foundation for waking up, finding sanity, and increasing the sanity of this world.
I talk about three forms of generosity:
Ordinary generosity – Giving material things with an open heartThe gift of dharma – Sharing wisdom in a humble, useful way
The gift of fearlessness – Helping other... Duration: 00:20:45
Choosing the Buddhist Path: How and Why
Jul 25, 2025In 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 the vow.
Refuge is taken in the Three Jewels—Buddha (awakening), Dharma (wisdom/path), and Sangha (community). What do they mean? I also share about my own journey in taking the vow in 1993, how I was trained and given permission to offer the vow myself, and the internal changes that often fo...
Duration: 00:27:24The 7 Most Frequently Asked Questions About Meditation
Jul 18, 2025In 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. The messy, wonderful, confusing, luminous questions that arise when you sit down on your cushion and meet your own mind.
Highlights:
You’re not supposed to. That’s not a failure—it’s reality. Thoughts a... Duration: 00:23:06
Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind to the Dharma
Jul 11, 2025In 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 thought how can I forget what I just heard?! Turns out, I can’t. Warning: once you hear them, you can’t unhear them either. They are at once brutal and deeply compassionate. Much like life itself.
Highlights:
The Four Thoughts are uncomfortable but e... Duration: 00:23:23Egolessness, Self-Kindness & the Buddhist Enneagram
Jun 27, 2025In 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 how the Enneagram—a system of personality types—has been an invaluable tool for fostering compassion and clarity in myself and my relationships.
Highlights:
1. The Problem with Egolessness
Teachings on “no self” can feel like a shaming of personal identity.Meditation helps us see b... Duration: 00:27:31
Five Suggestions for Primordial Confidence
Jun 20, 2025In 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 Your Space I know this sounds like a scold but it isn’t. When you walk into chaos, you feel chaotic. When you walk into a space that's been tended to—not perfect, just cared for—you feel elegant. Your care then perfumes the environment.
2. Wear Nice Clothes Not fancy or...
Duration: 00:26:35The Problem with Egolessness
Jun 13, 2025In 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 Western cultural backdrop of individualism, shame, and self-judgment.
Key Points:
"Ego as the enemy" can reinforce cultural self-shaming: Broadly speaking, we are wired to monitor, scrutinize and “fix” our flaws and mitigate our failings. This kind of self-focus in our culture makes it easy to see so-called ego a...
Duration: 00:28:41The Four Noble Truths of Love
May 23, 2025In 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 navigate challenges.
Key Points include:
Love Affairs vs. Relationships: There is a fundamental difference between love affairs (characterized by romance, intensity, desire, and perhaps some drama) and relationships (characterized by intimacy, closeness, deep knowing, and sometimes irritation).
The Buddha’s Four Noble Truths
Life is suf... Duration: 00:19:07Buddhist Cosmology: The Six Realms of Being
May 16, 2025Which 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 help us contextualize the chaos and cruelty of our current political situation in the US. The realms include:
The God Realm - A place of complete abundance where beings have everything they desire but no motivation to seek enlightenment
The...
Duration: 00:17:56Meditation, Rage, and Other Strong Emotions
May 09, 2025Why 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 difficult feelings like anger, fear, and anxiety: as afflictive; as bridges to compassion; and as hidden forms of wisdom. All three ways are accurate, though usually only the first is described in Buddhist writings.
In this episode, you’ll hear about how to work skillfully with emotional intensity, not necessarily by escap...
Duration: 00:12:16Why You’re Not Meditating Consistently (and What to Do About It)
May 02, 2025In 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.
The surprising truth? It’s not a discipline problem. It’s a misunderstanding of what meditation really is.
Main Topics Covered:
The Real Reason Consistency is Hard
True Compassion or Idiot Compassion?
Apr 25, 2025In 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 term coined by Chögyam Trungpa to describe misguided kindness that stems from the three poisons:
Grasping – trying to feel good or be liked.Aggression – trying to control or make something (or someone) disappear.
Delusion – trying to avoid seeing what is really going on.
True compas...
Duration: 00:20:27Who Can You Trust in the Spiritual World?
Apr 18, 2025Trusting 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 misconduct led to a break, and a third with a humble, quietly extraordinary master who became the true source of guidance.
The central lesson? Let your practice—not personality—be the guide.
Ask yourself:
Does this deepen my path?Do I respect the community?
<... Duration: 00:25:32
Inexplicable Joy: Emptiness, Compassion, and the Heart Sutra, Part 2
Apr 11, 2025In 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 meaning of emptiness and ultimate compassion. Turns out, these are the same thing. Who knew?! If you missed it, just go back one episode.
In this episode, we go through the Sutra of the Heart of Transcendent Knowledge line by line and look at the various terms (skandha? dhatu?) as well as the main c...
Duration: 00:25:02Inexplicable Joy: Emptiness, Compassion, and the Heart Sutra, Part 1
Apr 04, 2025In this 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 meaning of emptiness and ultimate compassion. Turns out, these are the same thing. Who knew?!
There are many translations of this important teaching. The one discussed in this episode is here.
In part one of this two-part episode, Susan talks a bit about the history of the text, what we can learn from it, and how b...
Duration: 00:23:08The Four Noble Truths and the Middle Way: Foundations of the Journey
Mar 28, 2025The Buddha’s Early Life & Awakening
Siddhartha was a protected prince, shielded from suffering by his father.
He encountered old age, sickness, and death for the first time during a trip outside the palace.
This led him to renounce his privileged life and seek liberation from suffering.
He meditated under the Bodhi tree, seeking truth beyond suffering.
Achieved enlightenment, saw through the nature of suffering, and articulated the Four Noble Truths.
The Four Noble Truths (Overview):
Life is... Duration: 00:18:56The Broken Hearted Meditator
Mar 21, 2025Perhaps contrary to popular belief, meditation does not make us feel all zen. Rather, it actually makes us feel more deeply.
Discussed in this episode:
Meditation Heightens Emotions – It doesn’t numb feelings but makes them more vivid.
Trauma-Sensitivity is Important – Meditation can help with grief and sorrow but may amplify trauma. The practice should be handled with great care.
Options for Working with Strong Emotions in Meditation:
Stop meditating if it’s overwhelming.
Label emotions as “thinking” and return to the breath.<...
Duration: 00:14:14On Road Rage and Compassion
Mar 14, 2025In this (embarrassing) episode, long-time Buddhist practitioner Susan Piver describes an episode of road rage (her own) and the moment her rage turned into compassion. Spoiler: it has nothing to do with remembering Buddhist principles and everything to do with simply being human.
Discussed in this episode:
What are the Four Immeasurables?
Loving-kindness – Recognizing our shared humanity.
Compassion – Feeling others’ sorrow as our own.
Sympathetic Joy – Sharing in others’ happiness.
Equanimity – Maintaining balance amidst emotional ups and downs.
How Meditation Cultivates Compassion
Why...
Duration: 00:09:30How to Meditate (and Avoid the Biggest Misconceptions)
Mar 07, 2025This episode provides a deep and practical exploration of meditation, defines meditation as something more than mindfulness, it also includes awareness. Common misconceptions are enumerated. The key takeaway is that meditation is not about achieving a specific state but about learning to be with yourself as you are, with openness and curiosity. Includes a 10-minute guided meditation.
Introduction to Meditation & Mindfulness
Many wisdom traditions emphasize examining one’s own mind as the start of a spiritual journey. In the Buddhist tradition, this is done through meditation or mindfulness practice.
... Duration: 00:29:55On Meditation: An Uncommon View
Feb 28, 2025Meditation is most often described as a self-help technique that will support you to improve performance, reduce stress, manage pain, and sleep better. All of this is true. Thank you, science! However, as first transmitted by the Buddha, the practice was not described in any such terms. Rather, it was offered as a way to wake up from suffering, realize true wisdom, extend compassion, and live with bravery. We in the West can still expect such outcomes without relying in any way on cultural appropriation or religious beliefs.
Beginning with the right view, meditation as a spiritual p...
Duration: 00:24:04Teaser: Buddhism Beyond Belief with Susan Piver
Feb 26, 2025Buddhism 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...