- Why the Buddha Might Tell You to Log Off - Practice in a World of Sensory Overload
Modern media are tailored to grab and hold our attention in ways that are not entirely healthy. The early Buddhist technique of guarding the sense doors can be a useful antidote. We'll discuss the syndrome of doomscrolling and the…
- The Hierarchy of Pleasures in Early Buddhism
What role did pleasure have to play in the Buddha's teaching? We'll look at the hierarchy of pleasures that the Buddha described, some of its paradoxes, and where it might lead us to understand the dharma better.
- Is Pleasure the Way to the Good Life? (Epicurus, JS Mill, and the Buddha)
A little comparison today: we'll look at two philosophers from the European tradition, Epicurus and JS Mill, and their idea that ethics and the good life stemmed from a life of maximal pleasure and minimal pain. We'll also compare these…
- The Buddha's Advice for Working With the Eight Worldly Conditions
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.
- 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,…
- What's wrong with pleasure?
What's wrong with pleasure? It often seems as though sensory pleasures are an unalloyed good, the sorts of things that we should aim to gain as much of during our lifetimes as possible. The Buddha had a somewhat different view of them…
- 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…