Dharma Wheel

"So the monk approached the Great Brahma and, on arrival, said, 'Friend, where do these four great elements — the earth property, the liquid property, the fire property, and the wind property — cease without remainder?' "When this was said, the Great Brahma said to the monk, 'I, monk, am Brahma, th...

Buddhism does not directly address every possible single issue facing humans, but offers a framework that can be applied to wide variety of contexts. Worldly knowledge lacks certainty, and depends on reason to explain phenomena. The lack of certainty is non-linear, hence usually a coherent worldly v...

She wasn't able to get divorced because her husband is making it difficult to proceed with the documentation. Do you know why her husband is making it difficult to proceed with the documentation? and if you do, would that affect what is considered "adultery" in your POV? In general, the legal and t...

I tested positive three weeks ago, so i isolated myself at home for two weeks with very little movement except inside my small apartment. After the quarantine period my body was really stiff, but gradually, and after getting back to work, it is getting better. We have a total curfew every Friday, so...

Compassion, when defined in terms of absence, is to be free from delusion and ill will, and therefore not different from wisdom. From that perspective, practicing the 8FP is a training in compassion.

From what i know, it is an offense for monastics and a mixed karma for lay followers.

Self continuity is a dependently originated phenomena and therefore there is no ultimate truth in it.

There is no one correct way of explaining/determining causes except through purpose. In general, the Buddha taught that ignorance has no known beginning and that desire or craving is what fuels or maintains ignorance. Recent scientific theories such as natural selection would explain certain desires...

I received a lot of good advice or teachings in my path, such as:

1- The Buddha did not only teach not self
2- To live harmoniously in the world, right thinking is the way.

All is one can be proved from the prospective that when elements are compounded, they can function as one unity recognizable as independent from its surrounding. It can be disproved by highlighting that the one becomes independent only through negating its surrounding, and therefore, it is dependent...

The Buddha taught: A monk is not an elder because his head is gray. He is but ripe in age, and he is called one grown old in vain. One in whom there is truthfulness, virtue, inoffensiveness, restraint and self-mastery, who is free from defilements and is wise — he is truly called an Elder. The abov...

The Buddha taught: A monk is not an elder because his head is gray. He is but ripe in age, and he is called one grown old in vain. One in whom there is truthfulness, virtue, inoffensiveness, restraint and self-mastery, who is free from defilements and is wise — he is truly called an Elder. The above...

I am a heavy smoker, i don't think of quitting, i like smoking. I stopped smoking few times in the past, but without much struggle. Taking the whole thing personal makes quitting more difficult. What stops you from quitting is just another cigarette, this is how the logic goes. It seems more about t...

The ability to masturbate shows how the mind/self/clinging aggregates have no ultimate truth to them. Instead of thinking about it from doctrinal perspective, think of it in terms of opportunity cost, you are limited in time and energy. Humans can do better than seeking sensual pleasure, that does n...

Hi there, One theory to explain it is that the stilling of the body and focusing on meditation object increases consciousness (predictability) which increases neuroticism. This manifests itself as strange experiences that shakes the mind out of its habitual ways. which gradually increases both creat...

The confusion is the worst part. It would be ideal if we had consistent guidance on best practices and national coordination on making and distributing safety equipment. We have a lot of really smart people in the country who could help get us on the right track, and most would feel it their duty t...

Where i live, we had very few cases over many months, but recently, due to bad border control, we are witnessing a rise in cases, circa 40 new confirmed infections a day. What i see as a positive is that it is getting normalized. The government decided to open schools with certain health measures. T...

I don't think Buddhism came to address, solve or provide us with assuring answers about certain issues or the nature of reality. It happens that we encounter moral, existential or political issues and we try to seek answers to it in the Buddha's teachings. Instead, Buddhism helps us to see and ackno...

The necessary condition for suffering (whether mental or physical) to arise is feelings. If there is no feelings, suffering would be logically impossible. The relevance of the above to the Buddha's teachings is to show the limitations of human logic in understanding the Buddha's teachings, Translati...

Well, you wrote, “... It is interesting to contemplate what "survives" according to evolutionary theory of ethics and religion. Had religion worked perfectly in making people behave through the stick and carrot, we would probably have reached moral perfection...” And what I’m saying is that this mo...