Latest posts
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Judgement, Non-Judgement, and Discernment in Buddhism: A Practical Guide for Modern Life
Key Takeaways 1. Introduction Few topics in Buddhist practice generate as much confusion as the relationship between judgement, non-judgement, and discernment. A practitioner may hear a teacher say to observe thoughts without judgement, then open a sutta to find the Buddha clearly evaluating some thoughts as wholesome and others as unwholesome. A meditator may be…
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Life Is Short, the Future Unknown: Why Practice Buddhism?
Key Takeaways 1. Introduction Life is short. This is one of the few facts that every human being shares, regardless of culture, religion, or personal philosophy. The Buddha did not avoid this truth. In the Paṭhamaāyusutta (SN 4.9), he told his monks that the lifespan of humans is short and that a long life is…
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Navigating the Unknown: A Buddhist Approach to Uncertainty
Key Takeaways 1. Introduction Life is defined by its unpredictability. Whether it is a sudden change in career, a health concern, or the shifting landscape of global events, uncertainty is a constant companion. For many people, this lack of clarity triggers anxiety, stress, and a desperate search for security. We want guarantees. We want to…
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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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Abhidhamma Explained Simply: A Guide to the Buddhist Psychology of Experience
Key Takeaways 1. Introduction to the Higher Teaching The word Abhidhamma translates as “Higher Teaching” or “Higher Doctrine” [Abhidhamma]. While the Buddha’s general discourses, collected in the Sutta Piṭaka, often used stories, parables, and everyday examples to point toward inner peace, this third collection of texts takes a markedly more analytical and systematic approach. If…
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The Five Remembrances (Upajjhatthana Sutta) – A Guide to Contemplating Life’s Unavoidable Truths
Key Points at a Glance Introduction to Buddhist Psychology and the Upajjhatthana Sutta Buddhist psychology is not an abstract academic discipline. It is a practical, lived framework for understanding how the mind creates suffering through its habitual resistance to the natural flow of reality. While many Western psychologies emphasize biography, personality formation, and developmental conditioning,…
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Karma – Why Do Good People Suffer? A Buddhist View on Fortune, Misfortune, and Injustice
Key Takeaways Introduction: The Problem of Unjust Suffering Why do good people suffer while those who do harm appear to flourish? And how can any teaching of moral causation possibly account for the immense horrors of genocide, transatlantic slavery, and the indiscriminate slaughter of millions in war? These questions trouble anyone who honestly reflects on…
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The Guiding Compass of the Heart: Understanding Right Intention in Buddhism
1. What is Right Intention? 1.1 Definition and Core Meaning Right Intention, known in Pali as Samma Sankappa (sammā meaning “right,” “proper,” or “skillful,” and saṅkappa meaning “intention,” “resolve,” or “thought”), is the second factor of the Noble Eightfold Path. It acts as the crucial bridge between understanding and action. If Right View is seeing the map clearly, Right Intention…