The Buddha view of Desire
Buddhism is more than just a religion, it’s a philosophy of the mind that’s been offering profound insights since around 500BC—plenty of time for contemplating the mind! What I’d like Continue Reading
How to be a mystic
So, let’s imagine we’re sitting beside a roaring fire or overlooking a tranquil lake, and let me take you on a journey through the ineffable landscapes of mysticism and gnosis. Continue Reading
Is God a Nihilist and Can God Ever Change?
The question of whether God is a nihilist and whether God can ever change is one that has puzzled philosophers and theologians for centuries. While there is no definitive answer Continue Reading
What’s the difference between Optimistic Nihilism, Existential Nihilism, Existentialism, Nihilism vs. Existentialism and Absurdism?
Optimistic Nihilism, Existential Nihilism, Existentialism, Nihilism vs. Existentialism and Absurdism, what’s the difference? It can be bewildering, especially as these are all philosophical concepts that have been debated and discussed Continue Reading
What is the self really?
In everyday non-philosophical parlance, when we speak about a self we are generally referring to an individual. When we are speaking about selves, we are talking about individuals that are Continue Reading
The Flow of Experience…
Experience… Just stay in the present moment and you’ll realise by direct awareness that experience is not episodic. To those practitioners paying mindful attention to the present, they will soon Continue Reading
What is emptiness?
“When emptiness is possible Everything is possible; Were emptiness impossible, Nothing would be possible.” – Nagarjuna When something is described as empty, what is typically meant Continue Reading
No Ship of Theseus
Theseus’ paradox has been a contested thought puzzle throughout the ages of Western philosophy. The Ancient Greek philosophers were known for having heated debates circling in about the ship’s Continue Reading
Experience Nothing and be like Socrates by looking death in the eye!
An experience of nothing is a very sought-after meditative discipline in the Buddhist community, usually it takes a long time, years in fact for a Buddhist practitioner to attain the Continue Reading
The engine of Karma is choice!
Karma cannot be escaped. Karma just simply means ‘your doing,’ and is not the simplistic concept of retribution and revenge that we’ve been fed in the west out of semi-ignorance Continue Reading
What is real?
Mind Vs Matter There are two sides to reality, the objective side of atoms, molecules, rocks, trees, people, places and events vs the subjective experience of the mind. Matter and Continue Reading
Fritz Haber, A lesson in Karma
Fritz Haber (born 1868), was a Polish Jew, who received a Nobel prize in Chemistry for his invention of the Haber-Bosch process (a method used in industry to synthesize ammonia Continue Reading
Welcome the Peace
For over five years now I’ve been a meditation practitioner since I started back in late 2014, and never once looked back. I can only speak for myself in describing Continue Reading
Philosophy at a funeral; a lived experience…
News of death Last year my maternal grandmother passed away, she was in her eighties. Some background is in order: my grandmother was taken ill to hospital and was eight Continue Reading
Selected Ajahn Chah Quotes
Nine wise quotes by Buddhist scholar Ajahn Chah, we hope they give you inspiration! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Continue Reading
The dissatisfied Viking
This short article builds upon the recent article I published: Buddhist philosophy – Exploring Dukkha as more than just suffering, as well as a helping from stoic philosophy to Continue Reading
Buddhist philosophy – Exploring Dukkha as more than just suffering
If you study Buddhist philosophy, there’s this Pali term that’s thrown about often, but it’s not a trivial term, but a central concept to the entire philosophical framework. Continue Reading
Buddhist philosophy – Reality but a series of appearances…
(Note: Sanskrit or Pali words are highlighted in italics) Buddhism is conventionally recognised as a religion, but if you talk to Buddhists and philosophers who study this ‘religion’ that label Continue Reading