- The Controversy Over Nuns (Bhikkhuni) in Buddhism
In the past few decades a controversy has arisen over the restarting of nuns' orders in two schools of Buddhism. We will discuss the controversy as it relates to the Theravāda school, and note in passing that a similar controversy exists…
- How Deep Should Buddhist Meditation Get? The Question of Jhana
There has been a recent disagreement over how deep meditative concentration practice should go, and over how deep the early Buddhist texts claim it was. We will look at that disagreement and help illuminate it by looking at some…
- What is Right Concentration?
The last stage along the Eightfold Path is Right Concentration. What sort of skills did this imply, at least in the context of early Buddhism? We will look at some of the Buddha's famous similes in order to make sense of the training.
- Mindfulness and Concentration Meditation
Early Buddhist practice involves two main kinds of formal meditation, which we will discuss.