Archive for November 2017
Quit Comparing Yourself!
It’s said that all comparisons are invidious. Early Buddhism understands personal comparisons as varieties of conceit, of which there are three basic types. We’ll look at those types in this video and consider why they are unskillful.
Read MoreWhy Buddhism Isn't a Religion
We’ll look at three ways that Buddhism isn’t a religion, focusing on early Buddhism in particular. Of course, Buddhism has religious aspects. However it also can be seen as something entirely non-religious, more in the vein of a school of philosophy.
Read MoreEpisode 283 :: Kritee :: Being an Indian Woman Priest in the Zen Tradition
Kritee Zen priest Kritee joins us to speak about what it’s like being an Indian woman priest in the Zen tradition. As the world becomes more of a global community, people are becoming more exposed to a greater variety of cultures, ideas, and ways of living than ever before. This is a wonderful opportunity for…
Read More11/26 Practice Circle: Silent Illumination, Sitting with a Question
One powerful way to access the wisdom of the whole bodymind is to sit until the mind becomes still, and then to drop a question into that stillness and pay attention to what arises. When Practice Circle gathers again this Sunday, Nov. 26, at 6 pm Pacific, 8 Central, and 9 Eastern, we’ll pursue this…
Read MoreOn Gratitude
Thanksgiving is a good time to reflect on the great number of people for whom we should be grateful. This includes not only the folks close to us, or who we know well, but also includes those whom we may never lay eyes on. So many people are responsible for our living a life as…
Read MoreSpiritual Materialism
What is spiritual materialism and how can it get in the way of our progress along the path? Spiritual materialism is a concept that originates from the Tibetan teacher Chögyam Trungpa. We’ll look at three different aspects of it, and discuss what an alternative approach would look like.
Read MoreJudgment and Non-Judgment
It is critical to our progress along the path that we make lucid judgments about skillful and unskillful thoughts and behaviors. At the same time though we are often enjoined to pursue a kind of non-judgmental awareness. How are these recommendations reconciled? Or are they completely at odds? We will look at this question in…
Read MoreWhat is the Present Moment?
The present moment, the “now” is often made the focus of our intention and practice, for many very good reasons. In this video we will turn to some of the more philosophical aspects of the present moment, in order to investigate certain problems that arise with it. At the end we will turn to practical…
Read MoreEpisode 282 :: Miles Kessler :: Mindfulness, Aikido, and the Integral Dojo in Tel Aviv
Miles Kessler Miles Kessler joins us to speak about the intersection of mindfulness and Aikido. Hi, everyone. I want to thank you for supporting the Secular Buddhist Association with your generous contributions. Because of that dana, we’re able to continue offering this podcast, the discussions on our website secularbuddhism.org, and of course our live online…
Read MorePractice Circle: Trust Emergence
When Practice Circle meets again this Sunday, 7/12/20, at 8 pm Central, we’ll work with a practice called Insight Dialogue. To prepare, I thought I’d share this essay we originally published in 2015. At Practice Circle, we’ll be working with an interactive mindfulness practice developed by Gregory Kramer called Insight Dialogue. In this practice, we…
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