Tag Archives: Dhamma

Good Shepherd, Bad Shepherd*

By Paul | Published: February 27, 2010
People are like sheep. Isn’t that why we have the Christian metaphor of the Good Shepherd? Someone who will tell us right from wrong, who will keep us safe from harm, who will tuck us snugly in the warm blankets of heaven on that last and most frightening darkest night of the soul? Not all people are [...]
Posted in Buddhism, Delusion, Truth, politics | Also tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

A thicket of views

By Paul | Published: February 25, 2010
My father is a kind, generous, and helpful man. He has a good sense of humor and seems always to be happy. He’s also very conservative. I’d always known from the way he lived he that he was religiously conservative. “Devout Catholic” is an apt description. But I was well into my adult life before I [...]
Posted in Buddhism, Dhamma | Also tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

I think, therefore I am not what I think I am

By Paul | Published: October 20, 2009
Yesterday morning, as we sipped coffee together, Robin and I were talking about the mind. I mentioned a talk about the brain I’d listened and the theory that the brain constructs and projects its own reality. As she was commenting I had a sudden and strong feeling,… no, not a feeling, but an experience of anatta. [...]
Posted in Anatta, Buddhism, Delusion | Also tagged , , | 2 Comments

Finding equanimity and joy in giving, receiving, and letting go

By Paul | Published: October 17, 2009
Last night, during my weekly formal meditation practice with Portland Friends of the Dhamma, I took part in a revealing exercise in acceptance of the way things are. Next week Ajahn Thanissaro, abbot of Metta Forest Monastery in Southern California, will be teaching at Friends of the Dhamma. His topic will be on the importance of [...]
Posted in Buddhism, Desire, Dhamma, Dharma | Also tagged , , , , | Leave a comment