Gombrich, Richard

Doug distinguishes the scholarly category of "early Buddhism" — texts and teachings closest to the historical Buddha — from a normative claim that earlier means more authentic or authoritative, arguing that historical priority does not…

The doctrine of dependent origination is one of the Buddha’s most profound teachings. It’s also very hard to get a real grasp on. We’ll try to simplify the teaching by looking at a couple of suttas that may reveal an earlier stage in its…

Was the Buddha serious all the time? Or did he sometimes use humor and satire to teach lessons? We'll consider the Buddha's attitude towards laughter as well as his use of humor and satire in teaching and debating. Then we'll consider…

Is it possible for a layperson to reach the highest attainment in early Buddhism? The focus of early Buddhist practice was monastic. However as we will see, there is also fascinating early evidence that laypeople could aspire to very high…

The Buddha often referred to himself as "the Tathāgata". But what does that epithet mean, and where does it come from? I'll look at some scholarly opinions, and then turn to the interesting history of the term. Recorded before our house…

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.

Several years ago the eminent scholar and professor Richard Gombrich put forward a controversial thesis: that the Buddha believed practicing kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity could lead us directly to enlightenment. We…

Was early Buddhism non-dualistic? We'll begin by looking at what non-dualism means, then turn to its origins in some pre-Buddhist ideas. Then we'll turn to look at early Buddhism in particular. Last we'll look briefly at some ways…

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…

Many of us will be familiar with the three refuges or three jewels of Buddha, dharma, and sangha. But how do they interrelate? We will look at a number of early suttas that indicate the Buddha's approach to them, and that suggest the…

Today we're dealing with crimes perpetrated through centuries of racial injustice in the United States and indeed around the world. Was there anything the Buddha said that might be helpful or interesting to us? We will look at issues of…

Were there Buddhas before Gotama? Will there be Buddhas in the future? We'll look at what the early texts say about past and future Buddhas, and see why the evidence there is historically questionable in various ways. We will also see how…

How can early Buddhist practice help our effort for social change? We'll discuss ways that these teachings can impact our efforts towards making the world a better place, and ways that they might help make us healthier and more effective.

Pāli is the language of many of the oldest Buddhist discourses. Do we need to know Pāli to know about or practice early Buddhism? We'll consider that question with reference to a new book out by eminent Pāli scholar Richard Gombrich, as…

What are the three realms of existence in early Buddhism? We'll begin by looking at the way early thinkers sometimes had odd ways of approaching the world. Then we'll turn to the early Buddhist account of the three realms themselves, and…

Did the Buddha really exist? It's a question that concerns some of us today, given the paucity of hard evidence from the early period of the Buddha's lifetime. We'll look at some of the issues involved in reconstructing that early history…

King Aśoka was arguably Buddhism's most important political convert. We'll look at how his edicts were modern, enlightened, and inclusive, bringing to fruition a Buddhist approach to society and politics.

We'll go over the history of tantric Buddhism, its origins as well as its differences from other forms of Buddhist belief and practice. Then we'll give an overall characterization of what constitutes this somewhat transgressive form of…

We'll take a quick overview of the history of Mahāyāna Buddhism, beginning with its earliest developments and how it separated from the rest of mainstream Buddhism. Then we'll look at a few of its later developments that came to define…

Theravāda Buddhism can be seen both as very old and very new. We'll go over the ways Theravāda has roots in the earliest forms of Buddhism, as well as the way it may be a very recent form of religious identity. This is a huge topic and so…

"Protestant Buddhism" is one phrase scholars have used to describe changes that Buddhism has undergone in its encounter with modernity. We will look at that phrase, these changes, and their ongoing impact on belief and practice.

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…

It's a good question. We'll consider some of the reasons why someone with a secular outlook should care what the Buddha thought, as well as other aspects of this question.

Academic study of early Buddhism has waned to near nothing, if a recent editorial by eminent scholar Richard Gombrich is anything to go on. I'll discuss why this should concern us.

Philosophies and religions the world over have key texts outlining their founders' beliefs and aims. What are Buddhism's key texts?

Folks interested in a secular approach to Buddhism will find many forms of Buddhism congenial. Why is early Buddhism particularly so? We will look at the Kevaddha Sutta (DN 11) and some material from Richard Gombrich, eminent scholar of…

Lots of folks ask me for recommendations of good books on early Buddhism. I have a bunch of good ones here. This is my fourth YouTube video, so it's a bit rougher than some of the later ones. Apologies and thanks for watching!