Hosted by Dr. Jay N. Forrest Updates Weekly Debut 3 December 2012 | Language English Audio format MP3 | |
 | ||
Genre Talk show (Buddhism, Dharma) | ||
5 Minute Dharma is a weekly five-minute podcast that seeks to give people practical Buddhist wisdom for everyday life. The podcast is released once a week on Friday mornings and is hosted by Dr. Jay N. Forrest. It is designed to be a simple, non-scholarly introduction to Buddhism.
Contents
Host
Dr. Jay N. Forrest is the host and producer of the 5 Minute Dharma, which is a Buddhist podcast. Jay has studied Buddhism for over 14 years, both through self-study and through classes. He has been formally trained in both Zen and Vipassana meditation practices. Jay’s background and education is in Christianity. He holds a Doctorate of Ministry degree and, until becoming a Buddhist, had spent 23 years in Christian ministry, being the Pastor of a number of churches in Wisconsin, Missouri, Tennessee, Arizona, and New Mexico.
History
The 5 Minute Dharma podcast launched on 3 December 2012 and has seen tremendous growth. With over 75,000 total downloads 2013, 5 Minute Dharma was one of the fastest growing Buddhist podcasts of 2013. 5 Minute Dharma has the distinction of being the first exclusively Buddhist podcast on iHeart Radio Talk. As of 26 February 2014, the podcast has seen over 100,000 downloads. It is ranked number 36 on Stitcher under the Spirituality and Religion section.
Format
Each episode begins with about a 15-second introduction and then gets right to the content. The podcast is designed to be a simple, non-scholarly introduction to Buddhism. Therefore, technical words are kept to a minimum, and when they are used they are explained in everyday English. This goal of keeping it simple matches the goal of keeping it practical.
The podcast is in the style of Dharma talks, which tend to be more conversational and friendly. There is a short conclusion after the talk that tells how to subscribe and the website.