Relationships/love

Does early Buddhism allow for romantic affection and love? We'll look at two ways to understand love, both as universal and as personal, and how the Buddha regarded them.

Friendship was very important in early Buddhism. I'll discuss what the Buddha had to say about friendship, as well as some key differences between true and false friends.

What does artificial intelligence have to tell us about the central Buddhist teaching of non-self? We'll delve into some of the recent advances in AI, focusing in particular on the chat programs ChatGPT (GPT-3 -- recorded before the…

A loving couple asked the Buddha how they could remain together, even into their next life. We'll consider the Buddha's answer to this question and what it tells us about his pragmatism.

A question from one of my viewers. In addition to the fraught question of "no self" in early Buddhism, I'll consider some of the pros and cons of self-love (or of what passes for it, at any rate). We'll look at a couple of early suttas…

Considering the differences between devotional guru practices and "cultishness," discussed in a video interview with B. Allan Wallace, an expert on Tibetan Buddhism. What are some of the dangers with our relationship to a teacher or guru,…

In his many discourses on cultivating lovingkindness, the Buddha doesn't touch on any practices directed at self-love. Why might this be? We will look at an early sutta for clues.

We'll look at a story from the early tradition that illustrates our innate tendency to self-love, and how this tendency can be turned to more outward compassion for others.

Buddhist teacher misconduct has been in the news recently. We'll consider some ways the Buddha's teachings can point us to a more skillful and secure relationship to teachers and to the teachings themselves.