- Appreciating Nature in Early Buddhism
What did the early Buddhists have to say about appreciating nature? It's a bit of a conundrum. We'll look at what a couple of venerable monks had to say about the beauty of the natural world. Then we'll turn to the Buddha's views on such…
- Pleasure and Minimalism: an Early Buddhist Perspective
It often seems Buddhism is against our pursuing pleasures and avoiding pains. We'll consider whether and to what extent it is possible to live an ordinary life that doesn't pursue pleasures, looking in particular at minimalist lifestyles,…
- On Taste and Connoisseurship
Is it important or worthwhile to cultivate refined taste or connoisseurship in one's aesthetic preferences? This often seems to be one of the aims of formal education. We'll look at some Western thinking around the notion of refined…