- The Chain of Suffering: The Buddha’s Hardest Teaching
The doctrine of dependent origination is one of the Buddha’s most profound teachings. It’s also very hard to get a real grasp on. We’ll try to simplify the teaching by looking at a couple of suttas that may reveal an earlier stage in its…
- The Strange Early Buddhist Sutta on the Impermanence of Elements
Contemplating the impermanence of the elements helps us to understand their non-self nature. In one early Buddhist sutta, Sāriputta gives an argument as to how the four elements are impermanent. But it's a strange sutta, full of…
- Learn Calm: an Elements Practice from Early Buddhism
An early Buddhist practice with the four elements leads us to equanimity and calm with the ups and downs of life. We'll look at that practice in this video with reference to a few early texts.
- Learn Not to Take it Personally: a Non-Self Elements Practice in Early Buddhism
One of the key practices in early Buddhism that often gets overlooked is a practice with the four elements leading to an experiential understanding of non-self. I'll look at that practice with reference to several early texts.
- What is Dependent Origination in Early Buddhism?
The Buddhist notion of dependent origination is a complicated and difficult subject. We'll look at its manifestation in the early teachings, in its canonical twelve-step formula as well as in formulations that are simpler. Then we'll…