Rethinking Thanksgiving: A Buddhist Perspective #209

Rethinking Thanksgiving: A Buddhist Perspective #209

Author: Scott Snibbe November 25, 2025 Duration: 39:53

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:

01:55 The Problematic Side of Thanksgiving

03:45 A Broader Kind of Gathering

08:02 Universalizing: How to Create a Mind of Sharing and Generosity

11:21 Starting the Meditation: Settling In

12:25 The Five Delusions

16:12 Stabilize the Mind

17:50 Love and Compassion

23:52 Universalizing Thanksgiving


This Earth Day, I’ll be sitting down with one of the most inspiring voices on climate and the future—author Kim Stanley Robinson—for a live online conversation hosted by UC Berkeley’s School of Journalism.

We’ll explore how his work offers real hope in the face of the climate crisis—a chance to imagine not just what could go wrong—but what could go right.

It’s free, April 22nd at 5:30pm Pacific. Sign up here to watch on Zoom.

If you’d like to practice with others and bring these ideas into your life, join our weekly meditation community with Scott.

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In a world that often equates busyness with purpose, How to Train a Happy Mind offers a different path. Host Scott Snibbe guides conversations that explore a secular, practical approach to well-being, drawing from a rich tapestry of sources including modern psychology, science, and contemplative traditions. This isn't just about sitting quietly; it's an active training of our innate capacities for intelligence and emotional resilience. Listeners will find a podcast dedicated to actionable techniques that move beyond basic mindfulness, engaging our imagination and compassion to reshape our inner experience and outward relationships. Each episode, often featuring insightful guests, breaks down complex ideas into accessible practices aimed at building genuine, lasting happiness from the inside out. The discussions naturally weave through themes of mental fitness, spiritual inquiry, and physical health, reflecting a holistic view of what it means to live meaningfully. Tuning into this podcast feels like joining a thoughtful workshop for the mind, where abstract concepts become tools you can use in your daily life to foster personal peace and contribute to a kinder world. Scott’s grounded perspective helps demystify meditation, presenting it as a trainable skill for modern life challenges, making the pursuit of a happy mind both a practical and profound journey.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 322

How to Train a Happy Mind
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