Archive for September 2017
Episode 280 :: Grace Schireson :: Zen Bridge: The Zen Teachings of Keido Fukushima
Grace Schireson Grace Shireson joins us to speak about her teacher, from her new book Zen Bridge: The Zen Teachings of Keido Fukushima. The relationship between student and teacher within Buddhism is not quite like the relationship one develops, or doesn’t develop, with your math or economics teacher. It’s deep, it can be intense, heartwarming,…
Read MoreBuddhism and Stoicism 2: Five Differences
Buddhism and Stoicism are in many ways allied philosophies. However in this video we will look at five ways that they differ. We will be looking in specific at early Buddhism and Stoicism as reflected in its Classical Greek and Roman texts, and as explained in Massimo Pigliucci’s recent book “How to Be a Stoic”.…
Read MoreBuddhism and Stoicism 1: Five Similarities
Buddhism and Stoicism are in many ways allied philosophies. In this video we will look at five ways that they overlap. We will be looking in specific at early Buddhism and Stoicism as reflected in its Classical Greek and Roman texts, and as explained in Massimo Pigliucci’s recent book “How to Be a Stoic”. While…
Read MoreSecular Buddhism: Divisive Criticism Instead of Collaborative Dialogue Once Again
Many years ago I took lifetime precepts at Bhavana Society under Bhante Gunaratana, and have renewed them several times. One in particular is challenging me lately: Pisunavacha veramani sikkahapadam samadiyami. I take the precept to abstain from divisive speech. It’s with a heavy heart that I continue to stumble in this, especially in response to…
Read MorePractice Circle: Autumn and Impermanance
We’ve crossed the Equinox, and here in the northern USA where I live, the arrival of autumn is unmistakable. Green leaves dry and are touched with orange, red and gold. The evening turns cool and dark. Soon the lush profusion of life will give way to the barren cold of winter. It’s a very good…
Read MoreRight Concentration Extras
What are the so-called “formless jhānas” or formless attainments in meditation? That’s one of the questions left on the cutting room floor after my video on Right Concentration. We’ll also tackle the question of how concentration meditation has tended to be sidestepped in a modern context.
Read MoreWhat is Right Concentration?
The last stage along the Eightfold Path is Right Concentration. What sort of skills did this imply, at least in the context of early Buddhism? We will look at some of the Buddha’s famous similes in order to make sense of the training.
Read MoreBuddhist Economics?
We look at Buddhism as an approach to economics, following two recent books: The Buddha on Wall Street by Vaddhaka Linn, and Buddhist Economics by Prof. Clair Brown. We will consider whether what they propose is really Buddhist, and whether it’s really economics. And we’ll consider whether in the end it matters.
Read MoreWhat is Right Mindfulness?
Mindfulness meditation is increasingly popular nowadays, but its roots go back to early Buddhist texts associated with the seventh stage along the Eightfold Path. We will delve a little into these texts and attempt to flesh out the key aspects of mindfulness meditation in the early tradition.
Read MoreReason and Practice
Bodhidharma, the great master who delivered the Meditation School of Buddhism to China, said that there are really two gates that lead us to the path to awakening. He called them the Gate of Reason and the Gate of Practice. The Gate of Reason is realizing through instruction and/or study, coming to understand our true…
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