Category: Articles
Two Issues With Nibbāna
That’s the colloquialism: we don’t have problems with something nowadays, we have “issues”. “Issues” doesn’t mean we’re fed up, but there’s something there that’s just not right. There’s something that needs dealing with, working out. I have two main issues with the Buddha’s notion of nibbāna. But let me preface this by saying that since [...]
Listening to the Heart Sutra
The Shorter Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra (Heart Sutra) When Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva was practicing the profound Prajñāpāramitā, he illuminated the Five Skandhas and saw that they were all empty, and crossed over all suffering and affliction. “Śāriputra, form is not different from emptiness, and emptiness is not different from form. Form itself is emptiness, and emptiness itself [...]
Reflections for Pluralism Sunday
On Sunday 5 May 2013, progressive Christian churches worldwide were celebrating ‘Pluralism Sunday’. I was asked by the Minister of St Andrew’s on The Terrace here in Wellington, New Zealand, to talk about my ‘faith journey as a secular Buddhist’. Unsure how to approach the issue of ‘faith’, I posted some questions on the blog [...]
The Four Noble Truths
According to the tales in the Pali Canon, the very first teaching Gotama gave after his awakening was what we have come to know as the Four Noble Truths. This concept is foundational to all traditions that we call Buddhism, Secular Buddhism included. To the extent that newcomers to dharma practice know any Buddhist doctrine [...]
What is the Eightfold Path?
The Eightfold Path is common to most Buddhist traditions, and secular Buddhists consider the Eightfold Path to be the heart of practice. The Eightfold Path, or path as it’s called, is a guide for areas to explore and practice. There is great wisdom in this path, all of which can be tried out and tested [...]
Buddhas Human and Divine
The early Canon gives us two very different pictures of the Buddha, reflected in his early life. The first I will term the “human Buddha”: it’s a narrative of a real person, Siddhatta Gotama, and his path to enlightenment. The second I will term the “divine Buddha”: it’s a narrative of a superhuman being. These [...]
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 [...]
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