Views/ditthi

Is exercise some kind of "cheat" to mental stability? We'll consider the importance of physical exertion to our practice, what it meant in the Buddha's day, and how we can integrate it into our routine.

We live in a world that strives for progress. What does early Buddhism have to say about it? We'll consider two views of progress, how the Buddhist path aligns with them, and what it might really mean to "progress" along the Path.

Is the Buddhist Path one of political engagement and activism, or one of disengagement and quietism? We'll look at some proponents of both views, then turn to how the early texts frame the issue.

What makes someone wise? We'll consider two competing views from the Buddha's day, as reflected in an early sutta. Then we'll see how both views can be integrated into a livelier whole.

One of the most counterintuitive and powerful aspects of early Buddhist thought is the practice of not clinging to views and opinions. What does this really mean? And why is clinging to views and opinions so dangerous?

Time is fundamental to lived experience, but it's also something we don't give much thought to. The Buddha had a complicated approach to time, both cosmological and practical. We will consider his views about past, present, and future,…

The Middle Way is a convenient shorthand for a number of related views and practices tending towards balance and moderation in early Buddhism. We will consider some of them, as well as other traditions that put forward similar viewpoints.…

What is Buddhist karma and how does it work? It's most useful to view karma as a natural law of cause and effect, showing how our intentions shape our experiences. I'll demystify some common misconceptions of Buddhist karma, provide some…

Buddhism's views about god and gods are paradoxical. On the one hand, all traditional forms of Buddhism accept the existence of deities. On the other hand, Buddhism is fundamentally an atheistic religion. We'll consider this paradox with…

What would the Buddha have told us about political involvement? We'll look at a couple of recent scholarly takes on this question that suggest political disengagement. Then we'll turn to some of the Buddha's political views, and how it…

What is Right View in early Buddhism, and how can we practice it in line with the Eightfold Path? We'll consider various aspects of both mundane and supramundane right view, and how we can practice with them.

What does nirvana mean in Buddhism? We'll look at some descriptions of it before turning to different views on its ontological status. Then we'll consider some later developments in ideas about nirvana. ** Note: the Pāli term "appatiṭṭha"…

Derek Parfit was one of the greatest philosophers of recent decades, and yet most people have never heard of him. His remarkable views on personal identity explicitly followed those of the Buddha. I'll look at Parfit's life as well as…

Beliefs, views, opinions, and preferences are stressful. We can work to alleviate them with a mental technique suggested by the Thai meditation master Ajahn Chah.

What did the Buddha have to say about key metaphysical topics such as what exists and how it is structured? I'll discuss this most basic aspect of philosophy and how the Buddha's views fit into some contemporary discussions of topics such…

What was the Buddha's experience with old age? We will begin by looking at the role aging plays in the Buddha's dharma, and then turn to a few early suttas to gain insight into what the Buddha's later years were like. We will see some…

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…

What did the early Buddhists have to say about appreciating nature? It's a bit of a conundrum. We'll look at what a couple of venerable monks had to say about the beauty of the natural world. Then we'll turn to the Buddha's views on such…

Do all systems of spiritual practice lead to the same place? Are they all essentially identical? This is a view that's come to be known as "perennial philosophy" or "universalism". I'll consider what the Buddha had to say about such…

Buddhist practice is all about learning how we cling to things, views, and ideas. In this video I want to ask a number of questions for you to contemplate, about some of the heart of Buddhist belief and practice. What if it isn't so?…

How was the Buddha a down-to-earth, pragmatic teacher? We will look at his views on some of the most important ritual practices of his day, and how he was skeptical of them.

What was Buddhism like early on? We'll consider that question when looking at an early text called the Chapter of the Eights or Aṭṭhakavagga. In particular we'll look at its early concept of dependent origination and how it relates to…

The Buddha had a nuanced view on magic and the supernatural. We'll look at one crucial aspect of that view, corresponding to what we might term "conversion magic" or magical means used to convince and convert. Recorded before our house…

What is a Bodhisattva? We'll answer that question, looking at such things as the Bodhisattva Vows, the aim of the Bodhisattva path, and differing views on what one needs to do to become a Bodhisattva.

When we think about who we really are, often we will identify ourselves with our appearance. That's easy to see through, as one commenter on a video of mine recently noted. But we also identify ourselves with our accomplishments, or our…

There is a controversy over the meaning of "Buddha": two of the leading monastic scholars and translators don't agree. A few weeks ago I posted a video on Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi's idea that "enlightenment" translates "bodhi" and "the…

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.

Do you want to improve your meditation practice? We'll look at ten things you can do to make meditation easier and more productive. We'll also consider a bonus eleventh thing that may change how you view the other ten!

According to the teachings of early Buddhism, one of the main sources of conflict is our attachment to views and opinions. We will look at three practices that can help us relax around our views and hence live a wiser, kinder, and calmer…

What does Buddhism have to say about suicide and euthanasia? We will first look at the broader Buddhist context and then turn to what may have been the Buddha's own views on euthanasia and the controversy surrounding them.

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…

Secular Buddhism means different things to different people. In this video I'll try to outline some of my own ideas about a secular path, and a little about how my views may differ from some others.

During the last thirty years there has been a significant rise in the non-religious in the US. We'll look at a recent YouTube video from the channel Religion for Breakfast that engaged with "atheist churches" or communities devoted to…

There were many questions that the Buddha refused to answer. We will look at those questions, many of which may interest us today, and consider why the Buddha wouldn't answer them. Then we will consider what this refusal to answer says…

Is there a meaning to life? We will begin by looking at what "meaning" is, and then take that to suggest various questions we might consider. Finally we will turn to what an early Buddhist answer might be.

Rebirth has been a Buddhist view for centuries. We'll discuss its origins in ancient Indian thought as well as its commonalities with ideas in the West. We'll also discuss its relation to ideas of time, and how those changed in the West.…

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…

What is authentic Buddhism? We'll take a look at that question from the point of view of the early texts. We'll see that they present us with two different ways we might approach the question.

Are you a beginner at Buddhism? This is the video for you! We'll look at how Buddhism views the world and how Buddhist practice stems from that view.

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…

The Buddha's teachings on the self and on non-self are some of his most subtle, interesting, and unique. We'll take a look at them in this video. We'll also compare the Buddha's view of the self with that of western philosophers David…

Both the Buddha and Jesus viewed wealth as problematic in various respects, but their approaches differed in important ways due to their historical backgrounds and outlooks. We'll consider both the views of the historical Jesus as well as…

I'm sure we all know that watching YouTube videos isn't really adequate as a form of practice. So how should we view our ongoing practice? How long will it take to reach the goal? In this video I'll discuss five keys we should use to…

The first step along the Eightfold Path is Right View. We will see that Right View has three interrelated aspects, all of which are key to unlocking its secrets.

The Buddha's early teachings on non-clinging to beliefs, views, and opinions are some of his deepest and most profound, as well as being a little tricky to understand. For those interested in a very detailed look at the Buddha on views,…