Archive for December 2017
Episode 285 :: Richard Bryan McDaniel :: Zen in the West
Richard Bryan McDaniel Richard Bryan McDaniel joins us to speak about the growing of Zen in the West with his books The Third Step East, and Cypress Trees in the Garden. When I think of Zen, my mind and heart go back to the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center, the place I was introduced to Buddhism…
Read MoreWhy Be Generous?
Why be generous? The first subject the Buddha would typically discuss with lay audiences was generosity. We will look at the Buddha’s outward and inward advice: to whom one should give, and what reasons one should have for giving. Suttas mentioned in this video: The Archery Sutta (SN 3.24) Giving (AN 8.31) Giving (AN 7.52)…
Read MoreNeistat and Einstein on the Good Life
YouTuber Casey Neistat and physicist Albert Einstein had contrasting ideas of what might constitute the good life. We’ll look at both of them and compare them with some ideas from Aristotle and early Buddhism. To find the section of Casey’s video cited above, see HERE. For a nice discussion of Einstein’s approach to happiness, this…
Read MoreBuddhists of Other Religions
Can you be a Buddhist and a Christian, a Jew, or member of some other religion? We will take a look at that question and investigate how such cross-fertilization works with a secular approach to Buddhist belief and practice.
Read MoreThe Buddha's Surprising Advice to Converts
When folks converted from competing religions or philosophies to the Buddha’s dhamma, he had a couple of pieces of advice that might surprise some of us. We will look at that advice and some lessons we can take away from them for today’s world. Suttas mentioned: Upāli Sutta (MN 56.16-17) Sīha Sutta (AN 8.12) (Dāna)…
Read MoreEpisode 284 :: Robert Wright :: Why Buddhism Is True
Robert Wright Robert Wright joins us to speak about his book Why Buddhism Is True. Recently there has been a great deal of discussion about the book we’re going to be speaking about today. Some of that discussion, particularly and interestingly from Buddhists, has highlighted the long road we have to take around mutual understanding…
Read MorePractice Circle: Cultivating Compassion
This is to be done by one skilled in aims Who wants to break through To the state of peace: . . . As a mother would risk her life To protect her child, her only child, Even so should one cultivate a limitless heart With regard to all beings. Khuddakapatha 9, trns Thanissaro Bhikkhu…
Read MoreOne Way the Dharma Can Bite Us
If we misuse the dharma it can come back to bite us: this is the upshot of one famous sutta. We will look at this sutta and consider some of its implications for our approach to the Buddha’s teachings both online and in person. Suttas discussed in this video: Alagaddūpama Sutta Kālāma Sutta (Kesaputtiya)
Read MoreWhat Did the Buddha Say About Prayer?
Many contemporary Buddhists make prayer part of their practice. We will look at the early texts to see what the Buddha seems to have thought about such activities. Ken McLeod’s article on Buddhist prayer in Tricycle magazine (may be paywalled): “Where the Thinking Stops“. Suttas mentioned: Aṅguttara Nikāya 5.43 Saṃyutta Nikāya 42.6
Read MoreOnline, Together, Meditating, Secular: An Event Announcement from New Zealand!
For those who don’t know, New Zealand has a lively Secular Buddhist community: https://secularbuddhism.org.nz/ http://www.onemindfulbreath.org.nz/ http://abet.nz/ Last month, the prominent Ramsey Margolis announced via his newsletter that he wanted to try to lead a free, online meditation using Zoom similar to SBA US’s Practice Circle. Not only had he gone out of his way to…
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