Philosophy

In this Q&A, Edwin Kelley answers key questions about Abhidharma, a.k.a. Buddhist Psychology.

The Buddhist concept of "no-self" and the pressure to be selfless can become a daunting task, as it felt for Buddhist practitioner Ching Pan. In this piece, she explores how we can care for others selflessly while also caring for ourselves

Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi on the shift that transformed his loving-kindness practice, allowing him to truly extend it toward all beings — even those he might have once considered neutral or even hostile.

Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche shares Abhidharma practices that can guide you toward inner freedom, compassion, and wisdom in his new manual, Stainless Prajna: Stages of Meditation on the Treasury of Abhidharma. Also included is a short breathing/meditation practice.

True equanimity, says Kaira Jewel Lingo, is not in any way detached or uncaring—it's inclusive, and loving, and the foundation for spiritual courage.

According to Shin Buddhist priest Rev. José M. Tirado, we must transcend our regular subjective-objective perspective in order to awaken and see things as they truly are.

The emotions we wish we didn’t have, that we’d like to just get over? Those feelings, say Jody Hojin Kimmel, are not obstacles on the path — they are the path.

Forest Tradition teacher Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo (1907–1961) defines right action—how it manifests, within and without us, and informs our aspiration to engage in right livelihood. Introduced and translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Chan teacher Guo Gu on how, through practice, we awaken to the best in others and ourselves.

Amy Paris Langenberg on the history, evolution, and modern manifestations of the training rules followed by Buddhist monastics.

Roshi Joan Halifax reflects on the guiding principles of the Zen Peacemaker Order, and why we all might benefit from putting them to the test.

Making a living while living our values can be easier said than done, but Maia Duerr has discerned six keys for cultivating the qualities and conditions for doing abundant, cheerful, sustainable work.

Ryuei Michael McCormick on right speech: When should we use forceful words, or gentle ones? Or none at all?

Clair Brown on how Buddhists’ vow to end suffering must go beyond the individual to a global understanding of how our suffering—and happiness—is connected to all living beings on our planet.

Across the major Buddhist traditions, the mind’s basic condition is described as luminous, naturally free from afflictions or karmic imprints, which are merely adventitious, like clouds covering the sky. The Buddha refers to this naturally luminous mind in the Nikayas, the Perfection of Wisdom sutras, and the tantras. Dzogchen and Mahamudra teachings also emphasize natural…

Buddhist teacher-practitioners from across traditions share personal moments that gave them insight into the true nature of mind.

The teachings on emptiness were studied, debated, and refined at Nalanda. They come to life now, says Gaylon Ferguson, in the progressive deepening of our meditation practice.

Zoketsu Norman Fischer on his deep love for Shantideva and how the great teacher’s insights lead us unavoidably to a path of vigorous service to the world.

Questions around rebirth—from how it works to whether it’s even real—have energized and divided Buddhists for millennia. In this excerpt from his book "Rebirth," Roger R. Jackson unpacks the complexity of it all and offers four basic approaches to incorporating it (or not) into our own practice.

In any presentation of the paramitas, dana, or generosity, always comes first — Nikki Mirghafori explains why.  

If you don’t want your happiness to impede that of someone else, says Vanessa Zuisei Goddard, practice the four immeasurables.

Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche unpacks the Madhyamaka view of the two truths.

Norman Fischer looks at the koan “Dasui’s Aeonic Fire" and takes on the end of the world. It’s happening right now, he says, but probably not in the way that you think. 

Abhidharma, Buddhism’s map of the mind, is sometimes treated as a topic of merely intellectual interest. In fact, says Thich Nhat Hanh, identifying the different elements of consciousness, and understanding how they interact, is essential to our practice of meditation.

In order to overcome the five main obstacles facing a bodhisattva, says Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, we must realize that all beings are primordially pure. He presents the essential teachings on buddhanature from Maitreya’s Uttaratantra Shastra.