Fame

In this second video on the Heart Sutra we'll look at its importance within the history of Buddhist dharma. What is its distinctive, polemical framing? What sorts of claims does it make, and how does it justify them? This all leads to the…

The idea of "skillful means" plays a central role in much Buddhist dharma. We'll consider one of its most famous early examples and why one scholar considered it a "paternalistic" concept. We'll also look at its role in reinterpreting the…

What is "skillful means" in Buddhism, particularly in early Buddhism? We'll look at its usage in the early texts, in particular in one odd text where it seems the Buddha recommends a practice of sense desire, and then turn to its more…

There's a very strange verse in the Dhammapada, one that's been understood for over a millennium to have a variety of readings that don't come across well in translation. We'll look at the verse and consider why it's been so tough to…

The Buddha was one of the most famous people who ever lived. What did he think of his own fame? How did he react to it? Therein lies a lesson!

We had a house fire a few weeks ago. I'll begin by looking at the Buddha's famous Fire Sermon, traditionally understood to be his third public discourse, and then turn to what happened to us during that long night. I'll also have a nice…

Should we look at ancient stories and myths historically, or as inspirational literature? I'll look at both options through the lens of the Aggañña Sutta, a famous, early Buddhist creation myth.

Are you your consciousness? We'll look for an answer to this question by considering the famous mistake of Sāti the Fisherman's Son, an early Buddhist monk who was famously corrected by the Buddha. We'll also consider where Sāti might…

Aṅgulimāla was a mass-murdering brigand who was converted by the Buddha into a monk, and who eventually became enlightened. We'll look at the most famous elements of his story and why they are important from an early Buddhist point of…

The parable of the raft is one of the most famous early Buddhist parables. We'll look at it in context in this video, illustrating its place in a particularly profound early sutta.

One of the Buddha's most famous parables is that of the poisoned arrow. What did it say, and why is it important?

Gain and loss, fame and infamy, praise and blame, pleasure and pain: they orient our lives. How should we work with these conditions most skillfully? We will look at what the Buddha had to say.

One of the Buddha's most famous similes was that of the two arrows. We will discuss aspects of that simile and how understanding it can help us in our practice with the Coronavirus.

The simile of the chariot is one of the most famous in all of Buddhism. We'll look at the deep history of the chariot in the cultures of ancient Eurasia and its importance generally to the area. Then we'll turn to how the chariot was used…

We may have heard the metaphor of the "luminous mind" in Buddhist discourse. We'll discuss one famous source of that metaphor and how it has influenced some aspects of Buddhist thought in the abhidharma and thereafter, as well as certain…

Who is Māra in Buddhism? We'll give an answer to that question by looking at how Māra is both similar to and different from the Christian idea of the devil. We'll also look at a famous simile about Māra from the earliest stratum of…

We'll take a look at the history of women in Buddhism, focusing mainly on the period of the Buddha and his immediate followers. Then we'll spend a little time looking at later developments, before finishing up with the fascinating story…

Buddhist compassion meditation practices changed dramatically during the millennium from the Buddha's lifetime to the lifetimes of some of his most famous commentators. Using a paper by the gifted scholar Anālayo as a guide, we will look…

If we misuse the dharma it can come back to bite us: this is the upshot of one famous sutta. We will look at this sutta and consider some of its implications for our approach to the Buddha's teachings both online and in person.

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.

What might the Buddha have thought about secular approaches to Buddhism? We will take a look at arguments found in a couple of early texts, the Apaṇṇaka and Sandaka Suttas, as jumping-off points. Our trip will take us through perhaps the…