Archive for April 2019
Do We Need Pāli?
Pāli is the language of many of the oldest Buddhist discourses. Do we need to know Pāli to know about or practice early Buddhism? We’ll consider that question with reference to a new book out by eminent Pāli scholar Richard Gombrich, as well as a look at a couple of early texts from the Buddha…
Read MorePractice Circle 4/28: Mindful Self Compassion
We’re fortunate this Sunday evening to have Amy Balentine lead us in Mindful Self Compassion practice! Beside being the principal of the Memphis Center for Mindful Living, Amy is also an SBA board member, and has recently been trained in MSC. Amy Balentine has been a licensed psychologist in Memphis since 2004. She grew up…
Read MoreFour Books That Turned Me On To Buddhism
Let’s talk about four books that turned me on to Buddhism, and why!
Read MoreWas the Buddha Human or Divine?
We see aspects of both humanity and divinity in the Buddha of the early texts. I’ll discuss some of those aspects and propose some ways the historical development might have proceeded. Essays: https://sujato.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/on-the-32-marks/https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/5-personen/analayo/genesis-bodhisattva.pdf Suttas: A Trainee: https://suttacentral.net/mn53/en/sujato A Delicate Lifestyle: https://suttacentral.net/an3.39/en/sujato Fear and Dread: https://suttacentral.net/mn4/en/sujato Greater Discourse on the Destruction of Craving: https://suttacentral.net/mn38/en/bodhi At Cātumā:…
Read MoreEquanimity Through Sense Restraint
One of the key ways the Buddha recommended we aim towards an equanimous outlook on life was through sense restraint, otherwise known as “guarding the sense doors”. What was that practice? We will discuss it in this video. Suttas mentioned: All the DefilementsUntamed, UnguardedSāriputta and the PupilWith Bhāradvāja Interesting online discussion: https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/how-to-practice-sense-restraint-guarding-the-sense-doors/3228
Read MoreBuddhism for Today, and the SBA
There are many forms of Buddhism for today. Once we understand this we will see the way to make room for a more inclusive and contemporary approach to belief and practice. I’ll discuss this and the role of the Secular Buddhist Association in this video. Please consider donating to the SBA. You can find its…
Read MoreEpisode 308 :: Blair Hurley :: Buddhist Fiction The Devoted
Blair Hurley Blair Hurley joins us to speak about her new Buddhist fiction book, The Devoted. I know that many of you listening are avid readers, and have sometimes asked about Buddhist fiction. We’ve not had a lot of those interviews on the podcast because it’s not a particularly large portion of fiction writing, but…
Read MorePractice Circle 4/14: New Attitudes of Mindfulness: Curiosity
At Practice Circle, we have worked with Jon Kabat Zinn’s Seven Attitudes of Mindfulness: Acceptance, Nonjudging, Nonstriving, Letting Go, Patience, Humor, Trust, and Beginner’s Mind. In their terrific training manual for mindfulness teachers, A Clinician’s Guide to Teaching Mindfulness, Christina Wolf and J. Greg Serpa add three more: Curiosity, Kindness, and Gratitude and Generosity. Over…
Read MoreLearning vs. Doing Buddhism
Many of us spend our time learning about Buddhism. That’s great but there is another way to approach it: by doing. We’ll look at some of the key differences between these approaches and why it’s good to know about both of them.
Read MoreA Buddhist Utopia from an Unlikely Source
In the 1890s Rudyard Kipling wrote “The Song of the Cities”, a poem comprising quatrains in which 16 of the chief cities of the British Empire report to London (and/or Queen Victoria). Most of them, it seems, are doing fine. A typical example is Singapore’s contribution :- Hail, Mother ! East and West must…
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