Buddhism Archive

Living daylight

September 12, 2011 · Category: Buddhism, Meditation, Mindfulness

A quote that really struck me today, from the Almaasary of quotes from A.H. Almaas: What determines whether a soul has basic trust? Basic trust is the effect on the soul of a particular aspect or quality of Being that we call Living Daylight. We call it this because if one's perception is subtle enough to visually see and kinesthetically feel the substance of one's consciousness, it actually looks like daylight, and is felt as an alive consciousness. It is experienced as something boundless, in the sense that it is not bounded by one's body but rather is experienced as something ...

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Treating chronic pain through radical acceptance

June 7, 2011 · Category: Adyashanti, Buddhism, Eckhart Tolle, Health, Meditation, Mindfulness, Witness Consciousness

A new friend asked for my advice about using meditation to treat chronic pain. I would assume that, like me, you have consulted many doctors and they aren't able to do much to help. In this case, one of the most powerful therapies is what we might call "radical acceptance." The basic premise is that we often don't realize how much of our suffering is of our own creation, created by how we react to the pain in our body. Sometimes the core of pain itself can be like a grain of sand in an oyster; but through our irritated reaction, it ...

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The other side of peace

December 20, 2010 · Category: Adyashanti, Buddhism, Intellectual, Mindfulness

Fellow Adyashanti student Margo, at A Peaceful Human Race, has an excellent new post titled "the other side of peace," which does a good job of exploring the paradoxical nature of peace. It's a topic that interests me, as I've long been fascinated by the fact that peace sometimes requires something that looks an awful lot like war -- and perhaps, occasionally, even war itself. Her post begins: "conflict is essential to the development and growth of man and society. it leads either to the construction or destruction of an entire group or state. . . if there is no ...

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An enlightened view of enlightenment

December 13, 2010 · Category: Adyashanti, Buddhism, Eckhart Tolle, Intellectual, Mindfulness

I haven't written much on Mudita Journal about the concept of enlightenment, but it's been in the background for me for several years, ever since I discovered the teachings of Adyashanti (and Eckhart Tolle, before him). Perhaps I should write a post about it, sometime, for the benefit of those who are unfamiliar, who see it as a "mystical" concept, or who are skeptical that it has any value. Meantime, I know a few of my readers are acquainted with Adyashanti — or "Adya," as students often call him — and his teachings. In any case, a friend said the ...

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The gentle art of blessing

December 11, 2010 · Category: Adyashanti, Buddhism, Eckhart Tolle, Mindfulness

I was contacted today by a fellow student of Adyashanti's teachings, who lives in Albuquerque and was wondering about the status of the group I had tried starting there, years ago. It turns out she has a blog as well, called A Peaceful Human Race. Reading it, I was moved by this post: for the last couple months, i've been reading the gentle art of blessing by pierre prandervand. a little excerpt from the book can give you a taste of what this book is about, or you could click the title of the book above, order, and check it out yourself. pradervand ...

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Transcript of my Reason.tv interview about Ayn Rand’s legacy

February 16, 2010 · Category: Buddhism, Individualism, Intellectual, Objectivism

My thanks to a user on braincrave.com for transcribing the parts of my August 2008 interview with Reason.tv that pertain to Ayn Rand's legacy. I'm pasting his transcription below (with a few light edits and corrections) for Mudita Journal readers interested to revisit some of the themes I explored in that interview. I definitely think her novels provide the best introduction to her ideas. They're easier, so they're more accessible to many people. They're best sellers over the last 40 to 50 years, so obviously they've appealed to many people. But also, they set her ideas in the context of the ...

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Suffering as a form of spiritual guidance

January 5, 2010 · Category: Buddhism, Eckhart Tolle, Intellectual, Mindfulness, Witness Consciousness

In response to my post on the significance of suffering, Andrew ends his insightful comments with: So in that sense I think the issue of suffering is important: I think denials of it lie at the root of many problems. I do wonder, though, if this gets at what you are talking about. I sense you may be referring to something more. Good points. And yes, I am groping for something more, here. In a nutshell, it's this: I have come to the view that suffering, if you respond to it correctly, will open you to a sense of deep and profound connection with ...

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On the significance of suffering

January 3, 2010 · Category: Buddhism, Intellectual, Objectivism

Peter's reply to The Invitation reminded me of a conversation he and I had several years ago, which had prompted me to write my post on Buddhism and Suffering. In that post, I concluded: So to me, the case for the significance of suffering, once we look at it closely, seems overwhelming. Does this mean we resign ourselves to suffering, or become taciturn? No, but it does suggest that there are whole areas of life that we may be blind to, and controlled by just the same, if we don’t consciously acknowledge their significance and respond to them appropriately. I find Buddhism helpful ...

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Reason TV interviews Atlasphere founder Joshua Zader

November 9, 2009 · Category: Atlasphere, Buddhism, Individualism, Intellectual, Objectivism, Personal

The interview, titled "Dating in the Atlasphere," was actually conducted in August 2008, but they've waited a while to publish it as part of a long series of interviews about Ayn Rand's legacy. From Reason TV's summary: Joshua Zader's intellectual relationship with Ayn Rand began as it does for so many, during his college years. He then blazed a trail uniquely his own among Rand admirers by creating The Atlasphere—an online networking and dating site for the fans of Rand's novels with particular emphasis on The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Zader found inspiration in Rand's portrayals of independence and integrity, ...

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Amod Lele: The Love of All Wisdom

June 10, 2009 · Category: Buddhism, Intellectual, Politics

Harvard Ph.D. graduate and occasional Mudita Journal commenter Amod Lele (see here and here, for example) has started a new blog called "Love of All Wisdom" that some of you might enjoy exploring. His political views couldn't be more different than my own, but he's proven himself interested in and open to cross-dialogue. In his latest post, "Wishing George W. Bush Well," Amod explores a theme dear to my heart -- learning not to vilify those with whom you disagree strongly. At the urging of a spiritual teacher, Amod had begun exploring his ability to wish other people well, including his ...

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