🧡 If you find benefit in my videos, consider supporting the channel by joining us on Patreon and get fun extras like exclusive videos, ad-free audio-only versions, and extensive show notes: www.patreon.com/dougsseculardharma 🙂 📙 You can find my book here: books2read.com/buddhisthandbook

Doug’s failure leads to Doug’s Dharma. Sounds successful to me,looks like you found your way,🥰👍 keep up the good work.

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

Thanks! Yes indeed, one thing led to another. 😄

Thanks Doug, your personal disclosures really brought this video to life and provided great insights. More please.

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

Thanks! My life is generally pretty boring but if I can figure out more that might be useful I will. 😄

Doug, you are a national treasure

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

😜

@CrimBlack

2 ай бұрын

Quick, hide from Nic Cage!

Very good video. I can say that only after watching some of your videos, I began to take Buddhism seriously. And as you said, it's difficult to deal with our mistakes, but it becomes easier when we try to learn from the Buddha. Thank you!

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

Yes understanding the dharma makes it all fall into place.

Often I've felt just as troubled by success, in that I either didn't feel I was worthy, or it wasn't going to last. 😕🙏

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

True! Impostor syndrome is also a big one.

One of the best videos I've watched ...plain & simple on how to deal with life....thanks Doug🙏

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful! 🙏😊

Great dharma talk! 🙏 speaking from personal experiences always resonates!

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

🙏🙏

Thank you for this honesty. I think this series you are doing IS your thing; your offering to us and great lessons for us. Also, I personally appreciate your penchant for philosophy, which goes so well with Buddhist studies.

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

You're most welcome! Yes I enjoy it, and even if it isn't to everyone's taste, what is? 😄

Thank you for sharing Doug 🙏

Splendid video, Doug, as always! 😁🙏 Like "appropriateness", "legality", "honor" and many other things, "failure" is nothing but a sociocultural construct. And that means it can be deconstructed. Recently someone confessed that she had been afraid to ask me something, and I replied that she can ask me anything, that there are no taboos. She said: "In my world such a question is inappropriate." Then I asked her (questions I regularly ask myself in my Zen practice): "What is 'my world'? Where does it come from? Who or what created it? Investigate this matter closely..." It has turned out to be a great success - or just another kind of failure?! 🤣🤪🐱🙏

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

😄😄

Thank you Doug, I’m about to graduate with a religious studies degree, and feel unsteady about what I can do in my future, this video really helped changed my perspective

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

Glad to be of service!

Love your explanation that failure is another learning experience. It was a great reminder for me

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

I think of it like a photon's journey out from the core of a star. It can take millions of years, but it happens eventually. It's all part of the process. We're always moving forward through time. We never change directions... I don't think.

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

🙏😊

Very insightful video Doug and great timing 👍 I was just telling my good friend earlier today (who recently started his own KZread channel) that he should not set himself goals, as that can lead to disappointment and suffering. Instead, he should simply focus on the enjoyment of making nice videos, and what will be, will be. He seemed to understand and take on board my advice.

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

Yes. I think goals can be useful in helping us to plan and organize, but they're best held lightly.

Funnily enough I was just scrolling through different graduate philosophy programmes and scholarship opportunities before tabbing into youtube to take a break and immediately seeing this video. This really spoke to me as someone that once hoped to get into academia but similarly struggled with lack of clear direction early on, life set-backs and disillusionment with the academy as a whole. Philosophy is particularly difficult to be a "success" in as the purpose of philosophy is to turn knowledge into wisdom and wisdom isn't especially socially or financially rewarded, neither is it much of an in-demand skill on the job market... Many "successful" academic philosophers collect and sell knowledge for the sake of collecting and selling knowledge whilst the question of attaining or sharing wisdom is considered superfluous time wasting. Your words today have strangely given me confidence to still pursue graduate and doctoral studies but to do so whilst releasing myself from a fixed idea of success. In my eyes you strike me as a success as you've still managed to forge an unconventional but meaningful path for yourself. Doug, I'm very grateful that your "failures" brought you to creating this channel as these videos have brought me, and I'm sure many others, to better understanding the dharma and living with more wisdom. Thank you for sharing your story and insight🙏

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

You're most welcome! Yes, grad school in philosophy can be a lot of fun if you get in with some good colleagues. The question is to what extent you'll want to burrow down into a topic deep enough that nobody cares except yourself and maybe four other people. And then there's the job market ... 😵‍💫

I would buy your novel in a heartbeat, Doug!😊🙏🏼

@williamdonnelly224

2 ай бұрын

Me too!

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

Thanks! Maybe someday ... 😄😄

A fine video Doug Thank you so much.

Thank you for this very nice talk. You are so humble. I’m grateful for your channel- I’m way more of a beginner than you . I don’t even know where I fit in terms of Theravada, early, Mahayana, secular etc. and yet, Buddhist practice is important to me and I’m grateful for what you do. I really like the Sutta references and when you explain basic concepts. Thanks again!

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

You're very welcome! No need to choose where to fit. Either it will become clearer with time, or like many you will prefer a more ecumenical approach. 🙏

In some cases, I feel failure is devastating because we put so much emphasis on achieving a particular goal and when we don't, it kinda leads to self-resentment

@DougsDharma

Ай бұрын

True ... we identify with the goal and when it isn't achieved we feel anger and suffer.

Thanks Doug. You made my day much better❤

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

Happy to help!

This video was a breath of fresh air.. especially as a perfectionist at work, in my relationships with friends and family, in my hobbies, and ultimately in my daily practice/application of the dhamma. I appreciate your willingness to own up to your failures and efforts to improve at a gentle, mindful pace!

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

Glad to help! 😄

You can't fail or succeed, you can't make any mistakes, you can't succeed, arrive or achieve.

Thank you so much for creating your KZread channel Doug's Dharma! I have found these teachings very helpful and inspiring, so thank you so much for making them! I was inspired to join your Patreon page after watching your video Doug's Dharma, Meditations on Failure: a Buddhist Practice. I could totally identify with it and found it extremely helpful Doug, so thank you!

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

Thank YOU for your kind generosity. 🙏

About failure, it teaches not just this lesson about how one does not know if the failure is really a failure because one didn't have the 'other life' that would have come with success. Some failures leave you at the very bottom, where you will run into other people who have profoundly failed. The lesson you learn there is that you have to save yourself from there, and that many will not. You can see them as they are for the first time, and you realize that many will not make it. And perhaps the good that comes out of seeing that is compassion.

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

🙏

Doug - “failure “‘in austerity is what LED the World Honored One to find the Four Noble Truths and Middle Way (all other ways lead to failure ) The auspicious group of five did not accept him , “he is loose , no one should get up and give him a seat , Or prepare a footstool “ Failure at its ultimate dissatisfaction let Buddy to decide to sit and be enlightened or die “This is the third truth I ssiacocered I. The third earth if the night ❤

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

🙏😊

I had to fail by societies standards to begin to understand true success and become a lamp unto myself.

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

🙏

I can relate to your history of failures. Mine is pretty detailed and long. But I ended up happy married, financially secure, and at peace with myself. I learned from the failures. One thing I learned was how to avoid (or at least, minimize) failure! Thanks for your honesty and wisdom.

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

🙏🙏

You always ask the good questions. I'm about to start a doug binge.

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

😄

Really good video, thank you very much ❤

Thanks, Doug. This was really beneficial for me to hear. I've been in a process of recontextualizing my own experiences and it's good to see your example.

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

Glad to help.

Thank you for sharing your history and vulnerabilities that some may consider "failures." However, in my experience and thanks to the Buddhist teachings, I have learned that each "failure" is nothing but an opportunity to grow my practice and be a better person with better choices. The only failure in my book is that which we do without intention and let our karma direct our life. Other than that, everything is a valuable lesson.

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

True, and a wise understanding!

This is such a great video! Your content reminds me to try to be more calm and kind and I love it

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

My pleasure!

Love this talk thanks

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching.

Its weird how your life mirrors mine I actually laughed a few times at how weird the similarities are. I was always interested in philosophy even at a young age (particularly pre-socratic philosophy), I just vaguely knew that I wanted to live abroad and do philosophy but didn't have a plan. I got fortunate enough to get a government scholarship to study abroad in Australia around 19 but philosophy wasn't on their list so I had to study something else, so I chose something at random that was on their list and seemed fun (big mistake) I chose graphic design. I couldn't draw anything, and I was terrible at it and kept failing at everything ... lol two years into it I switched my major to English literature, fortunately the government didn't mind and paid for me to switch. My thinking was that if I cant do philosophy, and I cant do design maybe I can be an English teacher and that could help me live abroad in other countries. During my time studying literature I found out about Buddhism and Ken Wilber and other thinkers. inwardly I became a Buddhist but didn't practice it outwardly. This seems odd to other people because I come from a Muslim culture but I don't care, Buddhism made much more since to me than monotheistic religions. Also, during my time studying, I got into a relationship with an Aussie girl. We got serious and were about to get married but after my scholarship ended she changed her mind and cheated on me and we broke it off lol I did end up graduating and getting my literature degree but then found out that its difficult for me to work abroad in other countries as an English teacher because other countries tend to only hire white people from native English speaking countries. Whenever I apply I would be just viewed as a 'non-native English speaker' regardless of my credentials. So the degree felt useless to me and I see it more as a failure than a success. so I pivoted and started studying a Masters degree again in Australia. I still didn't know what I wanted to do. I just knew it had to be something employable and could let me live abroad and maybe help people somehow. So, I chose Social Work. This time I used my own money to study it since the scholarship is over. I passed all off the subjects except for one that I kept failing over and over. The money ran out and I had to go home and didn't get the Masters degree because of that one subject. Also during my Master's degree I paid a lot of attention to how Australia and other western countries treat mistreat other countries and that radicalized me and I became a Marxist-Leninist and joined a socialist party. I also became more Buddhist around that time. After failing my Master degree I went back home and now I'm pivoting again. I learned to code on my own and turns out I'm pretty decent at it and I enjoy it a lot. I coded some websites on my own and I'm creating a game and coding everything. I'm also nearly done with writing a novel that started out as the script for my game but later on turned into a novel. I'm not sure how I will publish it and if any publishers will take it. right now im improving my programming skills but later in the near future I will apply for jobs abroad as a programmer. I'm also in another relationship. I'm not sure if I will ever finish that Masters degree.

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

Life is a trip, isn't it! Best of luck with it all. 🙏

The worst is when we identify with our failures. Whatever we do there it can be a success or a failure. The question is always: what can be done with this success /failure.

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

Yes, great point!

I really want to get better at a particular game but i'm very scared of failing even though i know long term i will enjoy this particular game. In the moment failure hurts. But failure is important to learn... but that pain makes me want to avert away from learning. Its a difficult balance and i'm probably thinking too much about it.

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

Yes, the difficult thing is coming to understand that failure is part of the game, it's the learning.

This came at the right time for me thank you

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

Glad to hear!

Amazing😊

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

Thanks 😄

thanks !

Great video! Thank you for clarity and sharing your experience 🙏🙏🙏

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

My pleasure Jason, thanks for your video!!

I think this is my favorite video by you, and I like all of the videos I've seen so maybe ironically: this one is not a failure.

@DougsDharma

Ай бұрын

🙏

Nice one.

this is great

A master guitar maker once told me there's no such thing as failure just new solutions

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

Maybe so ...

That was such a vulnerable introduction, I was surprised! Thank you for sharing. Failure is a major Topic I have to deal with right now and this is a helpful reminder. Thanks ✧ദ്ദി( ˶^ᗜ^˶ )

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

My pleasure!

Hey Doug, could you make a video clarifying how the term Dhamma is to be understood, and how the Buddha used it. And how is it different from the term Dharma, if at all.

@DougsDharma

Ай бұрын

I did one awhile back, perhaps it's what you're looking for: kzread.info/dash/bejne/Y2t-17yOoZi1eMo.html

@anicca6877

Ай бұрын

@@DougsDharma Thanks, Doug! 🙏

Ignorant self. They kicked me out of graduate school. PHD is no good.

@DougsDharma

2 ай бұрын

Ah, sorry to hear.

Hey Doug. In zazen as I have understood we observe without clinging, resisting or pushing away our thoughts is it correct? I guess that for the most part, this is what mindfulness is about. Is there a practice that we act similarly towards our emotions? Or zazen involves a similar approach to emotions too? To put it better,If you do zazen and a strong good or bad emotion arises what is the best way to approach it?

@DougsDharma

Ай бұрын

That's right, in Zazen (or mindfulness meditation) we nonjudgmentally observe what is arising, be they thoughts, emotions, perceptions, whatever.

Why don’t you wake up and see that success and failure arise concurrently and causelessly?

The best goal is the highest goal. The higher the goal the higher the chance of failure. The highest goal is the bodhisattva vow. The bodhisattva is the biggest loser.

@Hermit_mouse

2 ай бұрын

You have to wonder if this path was devised by clever Buddhist masters to drive ambitious students to failure.