Exploring the interface between Buddhist teachings, meditation techniques, academic Buddhist Studies, and the practical application of them into our lives as lay Buddhists
You might not automatically think of Buddhism and quantum physics at the same time, but reading the book Wholeness and the Implicate Order by David Bohm had me doing just that. While the book seems to mostly be aiming to encourage science to use the evidence it already has about the interconnected and constantly changing … Continue reading Thought and Not Thought
Whenever we find ourselves struggling to raise some enthusiasm for a dull chore or persistence in a long, drawn out activity, the Buddhist approach to motivation often involves recalling the principles of not-self. Feelings are not-self, so we tell ourselves that the feeling of wanting to give up is not-self and we try to let … Continue reading No Person, No Task, No Start, No End
Leading on from last week's blog about learning to tolerate uncertainty, it seems only natural to explore the role of the mind in certainty and uncertainty. These are two states that we experience all the time, and yet when we scratch the surface it seems that all is not as straightforward as it appears. I … Continue reading Don’t Know Mind
I don’t spend a lot of time studying other schools of Buddhism, but every now and again I find something that really supports my practice. I found myself pondering an aspect of Zen teaching this week, from the book Being-Time by Shinshu Roberts. Zen very much focuses on exploring non-duality and aims to break down … Continue reading Not Either But Both
By a nice coincidence, after writing last week’s blog Finding the Middle Way, I happened to be reading the Hsin-hsin Ming (alternative spellings Xinxin Ming, Xin Xin Ming or Xinxinming), attributed to the Third Zen Patriarch. The Hsin-hsin Ming is a beautiful piece of writing likely dating from some time between 600 and 900 AD … Continue reading The Middle Way and The Great Way
Kalyana Mitta 