Category Archives: The Buddha

What is enlightenment?

It’s not an original question. Immanuel Kant asked “What is enlightenment?” in an essay published in 1784. I don’t think Kant had Buddhism in mind, but still, it’s a question worth considering. In a previous post I wrote about The Island: An Anthology of the Buddha’s Teachings on Nibbana, by Ajanhs Pasanno and Amaro. Nibbana/nirvana is [...]
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The island of coolness

The Island: An Anthology of the Buddha’s Teachings on Nibbana is a hefty collection of extracts from the Pali Canon, Mahayana texts, and other Buddhist writings compiled and commented on by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro. The two Theravada monks are co-abbots of Abhayagiri Monastery in Redwood Valley, California. Ajahn Amaro handles the first part [...]
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Watching a doubtful mind

My visit to Abhayagiri Monastery last week – and the 13-hour drive to and from – is in the past. So too is the feeling that overcame me shortly after arriving early Friday evening. The Buddha speaks of three kinds of feeling: pleasant, unpleasant and neither pleasant nor unpleasant. What I experienced during the initial [...]
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One Way or One of Many Ways? It Depends on the Goal

Something that intrigues me about religion and spiritual practice is the tension between two points of view. On the one hand there is the “one and only way” view of salvation. On the other hand we have the “many ways to the top of the mountain” approach. The one-and-only-way position seems dogmatic and intolerant and, from [...]
Also posted in Buddhism, Delusion, Eightfold Path, Four Noble Truths, Practice, Suffering | 2 Comments