In western nations, independence or individualism has more to do with central governments taking over some of the responsibilities that used to belong to other institutions such as families, churches, neighbors and friends. In my experience, this has been the other way around. As community structur...

”Mindfulness can make you selfish," says Michael Poulin, PhD, an associate professor of psychology in the UB College of Arts and Sciences and the paper’s lead author. "It's a qualified fact, but it's also accurate. "Mindfulness increased prosocial actions for people who tend to view themselves as m...

Nicholas Weeks wrote: ↑Fri Apr 02, 2021 6:41 pm

The Three Truths

There are three truths which are absolute, and which cannot be lost, but yet remain silent for lack of speech.

1. The soul of man is immortal...

That's eternalism.

3. Each man is his own absolute lawgiver...

That's anarchism.


Kim

I think that part of our problem here is that Buddhism crosses boundaries which we take for granted in the West, i.e., it overlaps not only religion but also science (psychology in particular, but also cosmology) and philosophy (how we know, and the limits of what we can know); medicine too, if we ...

Kim

Greetings Kim, Do you believe in Right View arising in an instant? If so, why?? (Not inferring anything of the Abhidhammic variety through the use of the word "moment", but...) There is a moment when someone is a puthujjana, and then there is a moment when they are no longer a puthujjana and they a...

Greetings Kim, Your own view only makes any sense at all if you're looking at Right View in a strangely Christian fashion, i.e. that Right View descends upon the seeker like the Holy Ghost and elevates him (or her) to a New Level in an instant. Is that what you believe? If so, why?? What is this fa...

Hi, everyone, I need to explain that I began this post a couple of hours ago but was interrupted. By the time I returned to finish it, a few minutes ago, several of you had commented on what retro posted. I'm posting my own reply now without having read all of the new posts. With that caveat in mind...

Greetings, In fact, I'm going to suggest that every single Buddhist in the last two thousand years has had an incorrect view of the Dhamma. So no arya in the past two millennia according to Kim O'Hara. I didn't say that and I wouldn't say that. Once again Retro News misreports Kim O'Hara. Buddhism'...

Greetings, Without reading it all in detail, I did have the thought that it is a pity that there is not a chapter on "The conceit of the EBT approach". Is it actually "conceit" to have the intention to follow the actual Buddha's actual teachings? 🤔 Of course not. It is clearly not easy to determine...

In fact, I'm going to suggest that every single Buddhist in the last two thousand years has had an incorrect view of the Dhamma. I suggest the dhamma is still perfect hence the tragedy is missing out :goodpost: That, really, was one of the points I was trying to make: that none of us has a full and...

Bhikkhu Analayo’s allegations against Stephen do not necessarily mean Bhikkhu Analayo understands the suttas. This comedy between Dhamma Lite Stephen Batchelor vs The EBT Eternalists has been going on for years. Both sides could be incorrect in their ideas of the Dhamma. Indeed. It is also possible...

It is crazy to truly believe the world is that young. Yes. If it were, though, it wouldn't be a problem for Buddhism. It would be a problem for the kind of Buddhism which says, "Everything in the sutras is literally true," because that sets up an unwinnable clash with science. That attitude is not ...

I'm also in the camp that says Buddhism is a religion. Some popular definitions: Scholars have failed to agree on a definition of religion. There are however two general definition systems: the sociological/functional and the phenomenological/philosophical.[4][5][6][7][8] Emile Durkheim defined rel...

What really helped me in that is 5-HTP, 5-Hydroxytryptophan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5-Hydroxytryptophan A harmless supplement. 100 mg before sleep. (do not take it if you are taking antidepressants, especially monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)) You can try also melatonin, a small dosage of...