Today, Labor Day, is a national holiday in the United States. Many people have the day off from work, myself included, and this resulted in a three day weekend. A mini holiday of sorts. Over these three days I’ve slept more than usual and done very little outside of eating and relaxing. It has left… Read more »
Over the past several months I’ve been reading less and living more. This doesn’t mean that I’ve stopped considering spiritual and philosophical matters – quite the contrary. There have been seemingly endless discussions on these subjects with friends and family and I find that over and over again the ideals of Buddhism appeal to me more than… Read more »
In February of this year, Sam Harris spoke at the TED conference regarding his view that science can answer moral questions. I was excited to hear what he might have to say on the subject, as he is a noted atheist with a degree in philosophy from Stanford and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA. … Read more »
When I discuss the tenants of Buddhism with people unfamiliar with it, they are often quick to assess it as a selfish and pessimistic religion. It’s easy to see why they think this way, as the first noble truth of the Buddhist path is that all things lead to suffering, and another core teaching is… Read more »
The truth that there is no such thing as a permanent “self” rang true to me the first time I read it in Buddhist texts. After all, when you ask a person who they are, they often give some conventional reply – such as “I am John,” which is a name, or “I am a… Read more »
Things have been very busy lately, which is why I haven’t posted here in some time. I moved out of Pops’ house a few weeks after he passed away and I’ve spent the last two weeks settling in to my new apartment and working on other projects. I did come across something interesting in a… Read more »
Eastern religions put a great deal of emphasis on meditation, and especially sitting meditation. Many schools say that one can only reach awakening through sitting, likely because many of the great teachers in the past were enlightened in this way. You may find yourself in a situation where you are told that you should practice… Read more »
Recently it seems that everything I’m studying points to one essential truth: nothingness. Also known as shunya or “the void” by Hindus, this is not meant to say there isn’t anything – like one might imagine space or a black hole – rather the idea here is nothing as the opposite of something. There cannot… Read more »
