- Don't Idolize People (Even the Buddha Made Mistakes)
Often religions are built around the ideal of a perfected being, but such ideals mask historical reality. We will look at a hint of this in early Christianity as well as several examples from early Buddhism of the Buddha's own fallibility…
- The Buddha on Investigating Our Teachers: Should Only Enlightened People Teach Dharma?
The Buddha believed that teachers should not be followed on faith, but rather that they required investigation. I'll look at one key sutta where the Buddha outlines such an investigation, and discuss how it can be overinterpreted. What…
- Buddha's Surprising Views on Old Age
What was the Buddha's experience with old age? We will begin by looking at the role aging plays in the Buddha's dharma, and then turn to a few early suttas to gain insight into what the Buddha's later years were like. We will see some…
- A Couple of Thoughts on "Who was the Buddha" by @ReligionForBreakfast
The engaging and popular YouTube channel @ReligionForBreakfast has put out a number of videos on Buddhism recently. Their video on "Who was the Buddha?" is a good intro to the topic that raised questions around the idea of a historical…
- Who Was Ananda? Life of the Buddha's Closest Companion
Apart from being the Buddha's close attendant, Ananda has the reputation of being everyone's favorite early monastic. We'll consider why that might be the case by looking at his life and the controversy that eventually clouded it.
- Was the Buddha Human or Divine?
We see aspects of both humanity and divinity in the Buddha of the early texts. I'll discuss some of those aspects and propose some ways the historical development might have proceeded.
- Did the Buddha Feel Pain?
One question we may have is whether the achievement of awakening -- or even that of being a Buddha -- means we no longer experience pain. We'll consider that question, with an emphasis on what the early texts say about what the awakened…