Category | Philosophy

Today we have a lesson in history. Or perhaps I should say some personal history that contains a lesson. As I am naturally loquacious however I will give away the ending upfront just in case you miss it embedded in my rambling. Ok, here it is: be true to yourself. I know, I know...it's cliche to even point out that it's a cliche. So, perhaps a smarter way of saying this is, know who you are, know what you do best, and then do that! I have made this point previously—most recently in the article the impact positive childhood memories can have on adulthood. I wrote that article as we often...

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As a fan of the band Hammock and having recently purchased several albums I wanted to shoot something for one of their amazing soulful numbers. I chose, "How Can I Make You Remember Me?" from the album, "Chasing After Shadows...Living with Ghosts." See here: hammockmusic.com/​chasing The piece came about because I was heading into town (Melbourne, Australia) and had to take public transport for a meeting. So I took my 60d and a lens—my 50mm 1,4 just in case something came up. As I took the train to the meeting I listening to Hammock on my iPhone, and shooting whatever looked interesting...

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Note: for those of you reading this via email, here is the link to the article on my website. Lessons For Life Much has been written on the subject of movies as todays moral compass ((By "morals" I do not mean right and wrong from a legal point of view...that would be the domain of ethics. Rather, I am talking about the do's and dont's that lead oneself and others to or away from genuine flourishing. )). So I will not bore you with my thoughts on the matter other than to say I agree. As such, film is the medium by which many people learn life lessons. Do you remember the scene from...

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For those of you who could not make the recent meditation conference in Melbourne (Australia), or asked to hear the presentation again, here is a shortened version of the talk recorded recently. I must apologize for the quality of the audio at the beginning. But it does come good about 2 minutes in. You may also like to know that the content in the video is being developed into course material for future retreats. Retreats that will include (1) foundational theory that will give participants an understanding of traditional Buddhist psychology and epistemology recast into modern secular language....

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please note this is a draft version: 23/2/2010 1. Introduction Does Buddhism need science? That is to say, does Buddhism need the validation of science? Perhaps not, however, in order to lift the essence of Buddhism out of the cultural setting from which we as practitioners have learnt this science of the mind we call Buddhism, we need to test the claims presented. In this article, I want to explore the possibility that science and Buddhism need each other. Most would agree I think when I say that calling Buddhism a religion is really a misnomer. For the Buddha himself urged his students...

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I am delighted to announce affiliation between the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies and the Australian Institute for Consciousness Studies (website coming soon). For those who may be unaware, the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies (SBICS) is an organization established as a nexus for advancing interdisciplinary and cross-cultural understanding that joins scientific knowledge and spiritual practice. It is a non-sectarian organization that reaches out to the scientific and academic communities, a variety of contemplative traditions, and the general public. Most recently...

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It seems that my assertion from the article Philosophy as Practice raised some eyebrows among Buddhists. Here is the section of in question: ...without the ability to analyze and use critical thinking, even the compassion spoken of in Buddhism cannot be fully developed. Therefore the wisdom lineage, as in “method and wisdom”, pervades the method lineage. I was surprised by the doubt raised by this statement, as it seems to me to be quite clear. However, in order to practice what I advocate, that is, doing philosophy, since last Thursday when the doubt was surreptitiously raised during...

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Please do not quote as I am in the process of rewriting this article. Some think: meditators do not need to study; those who teach need to study. Actually, learning is more necessary for the meditator; teachers may just incur the fault of explaining something incorrectly. It is vital for a meditator to study in order to properly understand what to meditate on. This may sound obvious, however, many people think that studying or the doing of philosophy gets in the way of real practice. However, the great Kadampa masters of old Tibet tell us it is more important for a meditator to study...

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A pithy turn of phrase, a quip engendering insight, all these linguistic devices are the tools of smarter men (and women) than I. Philosophy, for the most part, is not easy. It is not easy because of the hours spent frustrated by misunderstanding, or, as is more often the case, a sense of not understanding what the hell it is that you are reading. In the end, I must add, it is an experience for which one is better off for having. With the afore written in mind, and as good evidence of my point, I wanted to address the notion of clarity in philosophy. Some might argue there is, in fact, a lack...

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