Are you new to Buddhism and don’t know where to start? At How To Train A Happy Mind, we share accessible, non-religious forms of analytical meditation rooted in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
We are a nonprofit podcast, book, and meditation community for people seeking happy minds, fulfilling relationships, and a more compassionate world.
These are our top podcast episodes of 2025 that teach meditation and Buddhism for beginners, all in plain English.
1. What Are the Six Perfections? with Dr. Jan Willis? #180
One of our most beloved guests is Dr. Jan Willis: a trailblazing scholar, inspiring practitioner, and powerful storyteller. In this interview, Dr. Willis guides us through the six perfections (generosity, morality, patience, joyful effort, concentration, and wisdom), profound practices that were once closely guarded, secret teachings.
Dr. Willis offers a heartfelt introduction to these transformative ideas, weaving in stories from her remarkable life. She shares wisdom from revered Buddhist masters, reflects on resisting racism in the segregated South, and offers insights as a leading Western Buddhist practitioner and scholar.
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2. Inexplicable Joy—On the Heart Sutra & Buddhism Without Belief with Susan Piver #188
Another favorite of the podcast is Susan Piver. She talks about her new book, Inexplicable Joy, which explores one of Buddhism’s most famous and mysterious texts: the Heart Sutra. This profound text is all about the perfection of wisdom, emptiness, the ultimate interdependent nature of reality. Fully realizing this is said to lead to the inexplicable joy that gives Susan’s book its name.
Join us to hear her unique take on a text she’s been reciting for 30 years and discover her fresh, modern, and sometimes surprising ways of understanding words written nearly 2,000 years ago.
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3. Concentration Makes Us Happy! with Ven. René Feusi #198
It turns out that many of the greatest living Buddhist teachers are also some of the hardest to receive teachings from. Lacking ego, they have no need to promote themselves. They often spend their time in retreat or guiding a small circle of longtime students. Those fortunate enough to stumble across such a perfect teacher dedicate sustained time and effort to studying with them. This is the case with Scott’s (the host of our podcast) closest teacher, Venerable René Feusi.
Venerable René became a monk in his twenties after a motorcycle accident awakened him to the preciousness and fragility of life. Since then, he’s spent decades as a monk, including nearly 10 years in solitary retreat. He’s one of the most respected yogis in our lineage, and he teaches from his own deep experience. He’s not afraid to share what hasn’t worked along with what has.
Out of a wish to maintain his solitude and focus on long-term students—and probably mostly out of humility—Venerable René has always declined invitations to appear on this podcast. But last year he gave a public talk at Tse Chen Ling Center in San Francisco on the benefits of concentrated awareness. We asked him if we could share it here, and he said yes.
So here’s Venerable René Feusi on how focused awareness concentration can help us live with joy, not just in formal meditation, but while walking, sipping tea, listening to music, or even playing with your cat.
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4. Joy and Enthusiasm—Even When Life’s Hard—with Tenzin Chogkyi #194
Tenzin Chogkyi is another one of our popular guests. In this episode she talks about one the six perfections: enthusiasm (or joyful effort). She also talks about how to maintain our joy and enthusiasm in life when things are difficult or even when we get too much of a good thing. This episode also explores the highest ideal of joyful effort: to find enthusiasm in virtue, in doing good in the world.
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5. 20 Minute Path to a Happy Mind Guided Meditation #197
This 20-minute meditation is led by host Scott Snibbe, and it is based on the sequence he shares in the How to Train a Happy Mind book and podcast. The stages are based on the Tibetan Buddhist lamrim, a sequence created more than a thousand years ago by the Indian Master Atisha Dipankar. Over the past decade, Scott’s adapted it into a non-religious form that transforms the mind from states of frustration, craving, and loneliness to states of satisfaction, connection, and meaning.
Listening to this daily or weekly is an amazing way for beginners to dip their toe into Buddhist meditation.
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6. The Complete Path to a Happy Mind #192
This guided meditation is similar to the one above, but about twice as long! It is a summary of every step of the path from the preciousness of life to the ultimate interdependent nature of reality. If you are a beginner to Buddhism but enjoy longer meditations, try this one out.
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7. Two Meditations on Emptiness with Dr. Jan Willis #181
Esteemed Buddhist teacher and scholar Dr. Jan Willis leads two meditations on emptiness in this episode. One focuses on the emptiness of the “I” and this belief that we exist, that there is an “I”. The other meditation is about the nature of the mind itself.
She shares the analogy that the mind and the nature of the mind is like the sky. And this “I” is an adventitious, delusional, negative and harmful cloud in that sky. But we need to be able to notice it and notice where it exists and whether or not it exists in a solid way that we think it does.
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8. From Panic to Peace: A Guided Meditation with Kazu Haga #187
When the world feels like it’s unraveling, how do we come back to ourselves?
In this gentle, grounding guided meditation, activist and educator Kazu Haga invites us to sit beside our fear, not to fix or push it away, but to witness it with compassion. Through breath, body, and the ground beneath us, we rediscover a quiet strength that endures even in chaos. This episode is a chance to reconnect with your essential self, to hold space for the parts of you that feel overwhelmed, and to find peace not by escaping the world, but by grounding more deeply within it.
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9. Mindfulness Awareness Meditation with Susan Piver #189
Susan Piver leads a short breath awareness meditation in this week’s podcast episode. If you were to go down the Buddhist path, you would start with this practice before starting with visualizations, guru yogas, mantras, mandala practices. It’s a simple practice that is suitable for all.
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10. Is Enlightenment Possible? #200
Is enlightenment something far off or is it something we can begin to explore right now?
Or is enlightenment something that’s already within us, waiting to be recognized?
And is enlightenment even any fun?
In this episode, Scott shares a talk and meditation he led in our community a couple weeks ago, “Is enlightenment possible?” Scott also explores in more depth the question that’s bothered him for decades: whether enlightenment is a fixed endpoint or the beginning of some new altruistic adventure.
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For those who are interested in the Buddhist path, how to begin a regular meditation practice, and cultivating true joy, we’d love for you to become a part of our community. We have an ad-free podcast, a weekly meditation community, and the How to Train a Happy Mind book.
We teach Buddhist philosophy that is backed by science and applicable to your daily life. Join us and begin cultivating your inner peace and joy today!
And if you’re looking for a beginner’s guide to Buddhism, we recommend checking out How to Become a Buddhist: A Beginner’s Guide from The Buddhist Center—Thubten Norbu Ling. They talk about important Buddhist principles, the core teachings of the Buddha (like the Eightfold Path, Four Noble Truths, and 5 Precepts), and how you can apply the Buddha’s teachings to everyday life.
FAQs on Buddhism for Beginners
How do I start practicing Buddhism?
Starting to practice Buddhism is actually pretty straightforward. Begin with the basics like learning about the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, which are foundational Buddhist teachings that explain suffering and how to work with it. From there, try Buddhist meditation, read a a book on Buddhism for Beginners, or find a local sangha (Buddhist community) if you want guidance. You don’t need to dive into everything at once, Buddhism is about gradual practice and finding what resonates with you.
Who was the Buddha?
The Buddha was a prince named Siddhartha Gautama who lived around 2,500 years ago in what’s now Nepal. He left his sheltered royal life, sought enlightenment through intense practice, and eventually figured out the root of human suffering under a Bodhi tree. What the Buddha taught wasn’t a religion in the worship sense but more a way of life focused on understanding reality, ending suffering, and cultivating compassion through practical techniques anyone could use. He spent the rest of his life traveling and teaching these insights to whoever wanted to learn.
What’s the difference between analytical and mindfulness meditation?
While mindfulness meditation is very popular in the modern world, Buddhist meditation is often analytical rather than passive. Analytical meditation is like a mental movie or podcast that takes your mind on a narrative journey to cultivate the best qualities of a human being. Mindfulness meditation, on the other hand, is about simply observing what’s happening in the present moment without judgment.
Who is the Dalai Lama?
The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, calls himself just a simple Buddhist monk, though he’s the spiritual leader of Tibet and one of the world’s most recognized religious figures. Born in a small village in northeastern Tibet, he was identified at age two as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama through traditional signs and tests. Tibetan Buddhists believe the Dalai Lamas are manifestations of Avalokiteshvara (the Bodhisattva of Compassion): enlightened beings who’ve chosen to keep being reborn to help all living beings reach enlightenment (or nirvana).
What are the different Buddhist schools?
Buddhism has three main schools: Theravada (focuses on the Pali Canon), Mahayana (emphasizes the bodhisattva path and universal liberation), and Vajrayana (uses tantric practices and is associated with Tibetan Buddhism).They all share core Buddhist beliefs but differ in their texts, practices, and approaches to reaching enlightenment.
What are Dharma talks?
Dharma talks are teachings given by Buddhist teachers where they explain Buddhist practice, share insights, and offer guidance on applying Buddhism to daily life. They happen in temples, meditation centers, or online, and they’re a traditional way of passing wisdom from teacher to student beyond just reading texts.
