Suffering/dukkha

Doug examines whether it is wrong to have children, comparing a surprising teaching attributed to a Buddhist meditation master (Ajahn Chah) with the contemporary philosophical position of anti-natalism as articulated by David Benatar, and…

Doug reflects on five key lessons he wishes he had understood earlier in his Buddhist practice: misconceptions about meditation, the importance of testing teachings rather than accepting them on faith, treating the Dhamma as tools rather…

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…

We'll surely encounter them: pain, illness, and aging. How do we deal with such difficulties? We'll look to some early Buddhist practices for clues.

We all have stress and suffering in our lives. Is there a method we can use to pinpoint its cause and bring relief? We'll look at the 2500 year old four-step method used by the Buddha, and how it can make our lives better today.

In Buddhism craving is understood to be the source of our suffering. But what about healthy aspirations and ambitions? We'll look at differences between craving and healthy aspiration, and how to cultivate aspiration while reducing…

We crave attachment, and yet attachment brings suffering. The way out is through a practice of letting go. After describing the phenomenon of attachment, we'll discuss some practices of letting go as well as some of their benefits.

The workings of karma in Buddhism can reveal some deep psychological insights. One has to do with the role of intention in promoting happiness or misery. We will consider one early sutta to make the point, and look at the example of the…

How does perception work in Buddhism? We'll look at why it's important and how it functions, as well as how it produces dukkha or suffering. I'll also suggest how we can integrate perceptions into our practice.

The five higher fetters are five deep ways our mental processes bind us to the world of dukkha and suffering. They are a companion and addition to the five lower fetters discussed in an earlier video. We will discuss each of them and how…

The five lower fetters are five ways our habits of mind keep us bound to suffering. We will look at each of them and their characteristics, as well as certain characteristics of the first three fetters that makes them more basic than the…

It's often understood that the Buddha claimed only to teach about suffering (dukkha) and its cessation. But is this really so? We'll consider a recent paper by scholar and translator Bhikkhu Bodhi, and how to better understand the…

Oftentimes you will hear that the Buddha did say "Life is suffering," but it's not so. Nevertheless there is some truth to the misconception, and we'll look into the more nuanced point the Buddha made about life.

What is the First Noble Truth of Buddhism? We'll look at this truth of dukkha through a dive into the Buddha's definition of it in his first sermon.

What lies behind our idea of self in Buddhism? We'll look at the building blocks of it all, the so-called "five aggregates of clinging". We'll also consider ways that we can cling to each of the aggregates, and so create suffering.

Are we the same over time? We'll discuss the Buddha's answer to this question through various false leads that he rejects. We'll also look at the question of karma and the origin of suffering, and how it all relates to traditional notions…

How does Buddhist practice work? We will consider the Buddhist focus on dukkha or suffering/unsatisfactoriness, and how our spending time with it can paradoxically help us bring it to an end.

How do our intentions and volitions trap us in suffering? We will look at the role of volitions in the Buddha's formula of dependent origination. We'll see how volitions appear several times, and discuss how we can begin the long process…

Chronic stress causes us many problems in daily life. We'll look at seven ways it can impact us, and then turn to nine potential solutions to the syndrome of chronic stress. We'll find that many of the solutions supported by contemporary…

It is sometimes said that desire is the root of suffering, or that the Buddha claimed such a thing. We will look at the ways in which desire can be unskillful, including some that are very close to our hearts, and other ways in which…