podcast

Rethinking Thanksgiving: A Buddhist Perspective #209

25.11.2025
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In the United States, we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday this week. It’s a time that brings up a variety of challenges for many people: family conflicts, political disagreements, concerns about overeating, and the painful historical roots of the holiday in colonial exploitation of Indigenous people. 
In this episode, we share a private talk and meditation Scott gave to the Train a Happy Mind community last Thanksgiving. In it, he grapples openly with these issues, while exploring how we can still make the holiday meaningful. 
How can we use the deeper spirit of Thanksgiving—generosity and gratitude—to expand compassion and awareness to include all beings across the planet? 

In this episode you'll learn:

How to Celebrate Thanksgiving In a New Way

How to Do the Buddhist Practice of Universalizing

What Are the Five Delusions in Buddhism

What Are the Antidotes to Buddhist Delusions

How To Stay Open Through Both Pleasure and Pain

Overview:

The Problematic Side of Thanksgiving

A Broader Kind of Gathering

Universalizing: How to Create a Mind of Sharing and Generosity

Starting the Meditation: Settling In

The Five Delusions

Stabilize the Mind

Love and Compassion

Universalizing Thanksgiving

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