Latest posts
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The Buddhist Way of Dealing with Regret: Transforming the Past into a Peaceful Present
Key Takeaways 1. Introduction Regret can be a heavy feeling. It is the mental discomfort we experience when we look back at our past and believe we made a wrong choice. “I should have been kinder,” “I wish I hadn’t said that,” or “If only I had taken that opportunity.” These thoughts can replay in…
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Buddhism and Overthinking: When Thought Becomes Suffering
Key Takeaways A Note on Terminology Overthinking is a modern psychological term, not a technical category in the early Buddhist discourses. This article uses it as a broad modern description of repetitive, distressing or unproductive thinking. The closest Buddhist concepts include papañca (mental proliferation), unwholesome thought, inappropriate attention (ayoniso manasikāra), craving, clinging and conceit, but…
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Integrity: A Buddhist Approach
Key Takeaways 1. Introduction: What Does Integrity Mean in Buddhism? 1.1 Integrity as Living in Accord with the Dhamma In everyday language, integrity often means honesty, moral uprightness, or consistency between what one says and what one does. In Buddhism, integrity carries these meanings but also goes much deeper. It is not simply about being…
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Buddhist Clear Seeing: Seeing Things as They Really Are
Key Takeaways 1. Introduction: What Does It Mean to See Clearly? We spend most of our lives seeing the world through a filter. We see what we expect to see, what we want to see, what we fear to see. We see through the lens of our habits, our preferences, our fears, and our desires.…
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Setting Intentions with the Buddhist Mindset
Key Takeaways 1. Introduction: Why Intention Matters Every morning, before we have even opened our eyes, the mind is already stirring with inclinations, tendencies, and impulses. Some are subtle, a vague sense of what the day might hold. Others are more pronounced – a specific plan, a worry, a hope. In Buddhist teaching, these movements…
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The Five Aggregates (Khandhas): A Contemplative Guide and 108 Reflections
With Sutta Central Links Key Takeaways Preamble & Scope Note This guide presents a structured exploration of the five aggregates (pañcakkhandhā), drawing primarily from the early Buddhist discourses preserved in the Pāli Nikāyas (specifically the Khandha Saṃyutta of the Saṃyutta Nikāya). In the early suttas, the five aggregates are not presented as an ultimate ontology…
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The Unshakeable Ground: Cultivating Truthfulness (Sacca) on the Buddhist Path
Key Takeaways Introduction In a world saturated with spin, curated online personas, and the subtle art of the “white lie,” the concept of truth can feel increasingly malleable. We navigate a complex web of social niceties, strategic omissions, and half-truths, often losing sight of the simple, profound power of honesty. Yet within the Buddhist tradition,…
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Winning, Losing, and the Buddhist Path: Victory and Defeat Across the Traditions
KeyTakeaways Introducotion “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” “Winning beats losing every time.” “Show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser.” These three slogans, staples of twentieth century competitive culture, encode a theory of human worth. Victory is treated as close to the highest good available to a person. Defeat is…