Category Archives: Teachings of the Buddha

The Greatest Carrot of All

As I have worked my way through the Little Books series and visited and revisited each topic, I have come to think of practice as having three levels: The worldly level, in which the goal of meditation is to ease … Continue reading

Posted in Buddha's Enlightenment, Buddhist ethics, Buddhist meditation, Buddhist practice, Teachings of the Buddha | Comments Off on The Greatest Carrot of All

Dukkha

Sharon Salzberg tells this story about her time in India. She was really struggling with her practice, and when all you are doing is practicing, that is quite a struggle. I remember when I was at my first silent retreat … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhist practice, Teachings of the Buddha | Comments Off on Dukkha

New Biography of the Buddha

For those of you who are wondering why there is such a long time between my posts it is because I am working on the seven-part series of “Little Books on Buddhism.” I am in the process of releasing book … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhist history, Buddhist meditation, Buddhist practice, India, Teachings of the Buddha | Tagged | Comments Off on New Biography of the Buddha

Buddhism 101

I recently went out to the University of New Mexico web site to see what they have in the way of resources for teaching Buddhism. The good news is that there are a number of professors who teach various aspects of … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhist practice, Teachings of the Buddha | Comments Off on Buddhism 101

Books

Foundations of the Buddha’s Path The Buddha’s Path Series: Volume 1 Meditation, Ethics, and Daily Living by Eric K. Van Horn Kindle Version ePub Version Print Version The Heart of the Buddha’s Path The Buddha’s Path Series: Volume 2 Buddhist … Continue reading

Posted in Buddha's Enlightenment, Buddhist ethics, Buddhist history, Buddhist meditation, Buddhist practice, Teachings of the Buddha | Comments Off on Books

Joy

I recently heard a Dharma talk on the topic of joy, and it got me thinking about the different contexts in which joy occurs in the Pali Canon. Those of you familiar with the practice of jhāna – meditative absorption … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhist practice, Teachings of the Buddha | Tagged , | Comments Off on Joy

Generosity

A friend of mine recently sent me an article by Ken Wilber called “Right Bucks”. It is his defense of asking people to pay for Dharma teachings. He says this: “…dollars and Dharma are not only not incompatible, monetary exchange … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhist ethics, Teachings of the Buddha | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Generosity

Something Is True

I have been reading up a little on “secular Buddhism” lately because at the Albuquerque Vipassana Sangha someone is running a study group on it. Those of you who read this blog know that I am unabashedly a “religious Buddhist,” … Continue reading

Posted in Buddha's Enlightenment, Buddhist ethics, Buddhist practice, Teachings of the Buddha | Tagged | Comments Off on Something Is True

Metta, Syrian Refugees and Dazzle

I am reading the Itivuttaka (“This Was Said (by the Buddha)“), which is a small volume of discourses from the Pali Canon. The literary quality of this volume is particularly striking. Each discourse begins with a short prose passage, which is … Continue reading

Posted in Teachings of the Buddha | Comments Off on Metta, Syrian Refugees and Dazzle

The Three Poisons

I heard a Dhamma talk this week in which the idea that there is such a thing as an “appropriate poison” was proffered. He was speaking of the Three Poisons: greed, hatred and delusion. He gave an example of “appropriate … Continue reading

Posted in Teachings of the Buddha | Tagged | Comments Off on The Three Poisons