Jun 30, 2020
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The Buddhist Middle Path in an Imperfect World
If there is a Middle Path, then there is a choice. And if there is a choice, then there is free will. That’s important, because if there is no free will, then there is no morality. And if there is no morality, then there is no right or wrong. The world is a jungle and anything goes, and if anything goes, then you can be assured that much of that will be bad. Because we may be a diverse group of…
Buddhism 101: Pain is Our Birthright…
Pain is our connection to the realm of sentient being. We are all equal in this regard. But we have a path, thankfully. This refers to the First Noble Truth, of course, something like ‘There is suffering.’ Period. Full stop. That’s the foundational thesis of Buddhism, which all further dissertations struggle to assimilate, what with its apparent pessimism, which only gets worse (before it gets…
Buddhism: Lost in Translation
Beware re-translations. The Buddha spoke a Sanskrit-related language. Sanskrit never went extinct. ‘Dukkha’ still means ‘suffering’, sorry. Many Western Buddhists try to manipulate the message, however slightly, to make it more appealing to Western tastes, but that says as much about Western tastes as it does about Buddhism. The issue in question, of course, is the First Noble Truth, which states…
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Buddhist Imperfection and the Crazy Wisdom of Zen
The Buddha never said we’re all perfect, quite the opposite. He said that we are nothing but ‘heaps’ of causes and conditions that he called skandhas. He never even said that he’s perfect. And those imperfections can be the basis for positive change. He DID list change as one of the causes of our suffering, but significantly less than that of the First Noble Truth—craving. Maybe that’s not…
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Buddhism During a Crisis, Coronavirus Redux...
Buddhism During a Crisis, Coronavirus Redux…
Nothing better illustrates the Buddhist First Truth of suffering than the Coronavirus, proclaimed as novel, but I’m not so sure. Because nothing is truly novel in the realm of suffering, especially when delivered by the sneaky intercessions of a virus. Somebody once said that pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional, though it wasn’t Buddha who said that, however congruent with his teachings…
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Advayavada Study Plan - week 3
Advayavada Study Plan – week 3
[Advayavada Study Plan – week 3] Dukkha (Pali) or duhkha (Sanskrit) means suffering, sorrow, dissatisfaction, frustration, anxiety, or stress; it is the first of the four noble truths of Buddhism and also the third of the three or, in Advayavada Buddhism, four signs or marks or basic facts of being, the other three being the impermanence or changeability of everything (see week 1), the…
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