- Is Life a Mistake? (The Buddha vs. Anti-Natalism)
Doug examines whether it is wrong to have children, comparing a surprising teaching attributed to a Buddhist meditation master (Ajahn Chah) with the contemporary philosophical position of anti-natalism as articulated by David Benatar, and…
- Four Ways Contemplating Mortality Can Be Life Changing: Its Role in Early Buddhist Practice
My father recently passed away, so I'm thinking about mortality. I'll discuss its centrality to early Buddhist meditation practice as well as its relation to impermanence generally. Then I'll turn to four ways that contemplating mortality…
- One Buddhist Meditation Master's Thought Technique to Reduce Stress
Beliefs, views, opinions, and preferences are stressful. We can work to alleviate them with a mental technique suggested by the Thai meditation master Ajahn Chah.
- The Mysterious Buddhist Tale of "Venerable Empty Scripture"
Who was "Tuccho Poṭhila" or "Venerable Empty Scripture"? We'll start with a story by the Thai Buddhist meditation master Ajahn Chah, and take a dive into the story's background and potential origins. It contains lessons for how we should…
- The Paradox of Ownership in Early Buddhism
There's a paradox of ownership in early Buddhist dharma. I'll consider that paradox, and why we should try to avoid looking at the world in terms of possession and ownership.
- Dealing with Noise: One Buddhist Meditation Master's Solution
Thai meditation master Ajahn Chah had a very simple reframing of the problem of noise that may be helpful to us in dealing with any number of difficult or annoying situations. I'll discuss his advice.
- Learning from Others (That You Don't Agree With)
Learning from others in a wise way involves a delicate balance between having a skeptical, critical eye and being charitable and open-minded. We'll discuss that balance in this video, and make use of a story involving the Thai meditation…