Exploring the interface between Buddhist teachings, meditation techniques, academic Buddhist Studies, and the practical application of them into our lives as lay Buddhists
I don’t know about you, but I find it intriguing and sometimes perplexing that I can feel pretty sure I understand the principle of not-self and yet there are times when I still get caught up in taking things very personally. I know I am not alone in having this experience, it is something that … Continue reading Everyday Self
Ownership is a subject that gets a lot of coverage in the teachings of the Buddha, largely from the angle of recognising all the things that are not ours – although we often take them to be. Thinking things belong to us when they actually don’t is one of the big problems that the Buddha … Continue reading Borrowed Goods
When we commit ourselves to a practice sometimes it can be easy to forget that what we are ultimately aiming for is some kind of happiness. We can get so caught up in mastering particular techniques or work so hard on our mindfulness and ethical behaviour that we end up perpetually earnest, feeling like we … Continue reading Non-Desire and Strategies for Happiness
My practice has brought me to the contemplation of mind states recently, which is one of the primary practices in the famous Satipatthana Sutta. The section on the investigation of the mind tells us to look for certain mind states, and in doing so I found a lot of useful insights into the nature of … Continue reading The Heart of Mind States
Last week’s blog about comparing papañca and imagination brought up an aspect of Buddhist theory that I admit I haven’t paid a lot of attention to, which is the issue of conceit. Once I went looking for evidence of conceit, I found it everywhere much to my initial chagrin and surprise; none of us want … Continue reading More Than, Less Than, Same
As Westerners we are constantly bombarded with the message that whatever we have isn’t good enough and that we need something more. This was something that came up in the post I wrote last week about some of the more challenging Buddhist teachings being held back from Western students for a range of reasons. This … Continue reading Insufficiency and Self
Every now and again I come across a sutta that has a simple message but can deliver a powerful teaching. One of these suttas for me is the Bhara Sutta (SN 22.22), or The Burden. It’s quite a nice sutta to know because as Buddhists we can spend such a lot of time focusing on … Continue reading The Burden
In my blog post a couple of weeks ago I was exploring the role of habit in our sense of personality, and I have been thinking a lot about Maha Boowa’s idea that our feelings of self comes from attaching to the kilesas. The kilesas are usually translated as mental defilements, and can be as … Continue reading Making Friends With Kilesas
In last week's blog I was exploring the connection between self and tasks, and off the back of it I found myself with an important question. One day last week I was feeling tired and headachy but had an important job to get finished. Strong feelings of resistance to doing the job, or anything else … Continue reading Person or Personality?
I noticed something interesting this week that led me into a different area of investigation of the experience of self. I've been on a bit of a healthy eating drive over the last couple of weeks, in part inspired by the reports that a nationwide campaign was going to be launched to encourage us all … Continue reading Taking Credit Where None is Due
Kalyana Mitta 