Buddha's Young Life

by Vivek Roy

Here is a brief sketch of the life of the Buddha also known as Siddhartha, Gautama, and Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism. (more…)

Happiness and Meaning

Evolution drives us towards survival and reproduction. That we exist, now, is a result of our ancestors being sufficiently good at survival and reproduction that we have a 4 billion year unbroken lineage to the origin of life. At some unknown point in that 4 billionn year journey we developed consciousness and (perhaps) agency. In some way we (what is we, or I, or 'self'?) became aware of our environment and aware of the choices open to us in negotiating it towards some end.

Evolution continually drives us towards the next nourishing meal and the next potential partner in order that our specific genetic pattern may survive in perpetuity, or long beyond our individual mortal body. It does this by driving us to seek positive emotions, that which 'feels' good, and to avoid negative emotion (what feels bad). But feelings are inevitably short-lived. It would not serve evolution if one tasty meal satisfied us for a lifetime.

Over countless aeons, civilization developed drives that seem to exceed the basics of evolution. We still seek the momentary hedonistic buzz of basic fulfillment. But its inevitable transience causes us to seek the more sustained satisfaction arising from meaningful purpose in life. (more…)

A Buddhist - Christian Path to Satisfaction

Like most religions Buddhism and Christianity both consist of philosophical and “supernatural” aspects. This post draws on the key philosophical teachings of Buddhist pragmatism and Christian kindness to identify guidance for satisfaction and fulfilment in the 21st Century.

Life is Short, Fragile and Uncertain

A human lifespan is but the tiniest drop in the cosmic ocean. Life is fragile; it can be cut short in so many ways - illness, accident, at the hands of another. It is subject to countless unpredictable external influences, many with the power to drastically affect life’s course, or mercilessly terminate it.

Life is like being given $100 and knowing it will vanish at some random unknown future time. Rationally, you’d spend and enjoy it now. That is living primarily in the moment, ie mindfully. (more…)

Essential Buddhism for Modern Life

Buddhism is based on teachings of the Buddha (dharma), Siddhartha Gautama, who lived some 2500 years ago. It is estimated to have some 500 million followers, over 7% of the global population [Pew Research Center]. While traditionally considered an Eastern 'religion' it is gaining popularity in the West in recent years with some 4 million adherents in North America in 2010 [Pew Research Center], likely seen as an antidote to the perceived stresses and ultimate emptiness of modern life.

Buddhism is more a philosophy than a religion. It has no God, but rather offers a description of the nature of reality and guidance on how a being with free will might negotiate that reality.

The ultimate Buddhist goal of enlightenment can take a lifetime (or several) of the contemplative existence of a monk to reach. However, such devotion is not essential to benefit from Buddhist teachings, even in the midst of worldly life. (more…)

Buddhism and Meditation Practice

The Buddhist response to the pervasiveness of unsatisfactoriness is to seek to extinguish attachment and craving (ie enlightenment or nirvana). The practice of meditation plays a significant role towards this end.

There are numerous varieties of Buddhist meditation, eg Zen, Vipassana, concentration to name but a few. However, one that has gained much attention and credibility in the West is mindfulness (eg a Google search for this term yields 39 million hits, an Amazon search some 56,000 titles).

Mindfulness meditation is about objective observation. It's about simply being in the here and now, seeing and accepting reality as it is, without feelings or judgement, not measuring it against some ideal that we'd like it to be. (more…)

Buddhism and the Human Predicament

After being raised in a background of wealth and power and sheltered from the harsh reality of life it is said that upon first witnessing sickness and suffering the Buddha was so overcome that he renounced his privileged status for a life of contemplation.

The Buddhist conception of the human predicament is summed up in the first two of the four Noble Truths, taught by Buddha shortly after he attained enlightenment; ie: (more…)

Study Buddhism Free Online

Free "MOOCs" and other resources exploring Buddhist philosophy and its relationship to and value in the modern world.

The Buddha's Teaching As It Is

Ten Audio lectures on the fundamentals of the Buddha's Teaching, by Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi

Available at BuddhaNet

Buddhism Through Its Scriptures

Learn about the rich and diverse beliefs and practices of Buddhists across time and place. Experience Buddhism through its scriptures, both relationally as well as academically.

Self-paced edX course from Harvard University, starts May 3, 2016.

Buddhism and Modern Psychology

Examines how Buddhism is faring under the scrutiny of science and modern psychology.

Self-paced Coursera course from Prof. Robert Wright, Princeton University.

Tibetan Buddhist Meditation and the Modern World: Lesser Vehicle

This course explores the immense variety of meditation practices past and present.

Self paced Coursera course from the University of Virginia.

No Comments on Study Buddhism Free Online

Does 'Self' Exist?

The Buddhist Perspective of Self

Buddha's assertion that the self does not exist was first described in the famous "Discourse on the Not-Self". It is a fundamental principle of Buddhist philosophy and is said to be the second sermon delivered by the Buddha after his enlightenment.

Buddha defined five "aggregates" that together constitute the entire person. These are: form (body), feelings (positive, negative, neutral), perception, mental formations (thought, emotion, will), and consciousness.

Buddha declared each aggregate in turn (like most of reality) to be impermanent, and therefore not identifiable with 'self'. This implies Buddha's concept of self has (a degree of) permanence.

Considering the aggregates again, he declared that each is not controllable (we cannot control the fate of our body, our emotions etc), and is therefore not self. This implies Buddha's concept of self is controllable. (more…)

Truth and righteousness contain all morality

By Lt Col R K Langar

Our ideal in life should be to speak the truth and act righteously. When translated into Sanskrit the title of this write up will be SATHYAM VADA DHARMAM CHARA. Mahabharata says that Dharma or Righteousness is adequate to lead one to the status of Absolute Brahman. Mahabharata also underscores that Dharma is eternal Truth and Truth is Righteousness (Dharma). (more…)

The Embryo of the Tao

A Return to the womb

By Travis Edwards

In Western psychology there is a term known as the inner child which represents the most pure and innocent aspect of ourselves. In popular psychology this term 'inner child' refers to the sum of all our mental and emotional memories stored in the sub-conscious mind from conception through pre-puberty and the consensus in psychotherapy or counseling is to heal this aspect of ourselves by identifying and eliminating the dysfunctional patterns of behavior that have resulted from those sub-conscious memories.

In a deeper spiritual sense the inner child can also mean our true self or soul or likened to that of our intuition, whichever phrase is used they virtually represent the same thing. Our inner child force is linked to a higher intelligence capable of perceiving every event we undertake such as action, thought or words spoken yet it does not over think or over analyze like our so called conscious mind, it just simply perceives. The inner child depicts a state free from any torment of mind (thoughts/habitual tendencies) social conditioning, labels or concepts that typically manipulate and mislead the human psyche. (more…)