Practicing with OCD-like symptoms and anxiety makes terror quite plausible to me. There also was a phase where fear of death (heart failure mostly) hit me at a certain depth of absorbtion.

The English word mindfulness has a link to memory. A politician might say 'Mindful of our policy on x, we propose to do y'. This is anout bearing something in mind as relevant to a present situation. The same is a key aspect of sati

Cool vid, informative.

Meditation got better with secular mindfulness. No ascetic concepts to get in the way, simpler goals and realistic psychology kicked in.

Secular Buddhism is simply Western Buddhism.

🕵️😊

Emptiness just affirms the interdependence of all phenomena

Thanks a lot, sir…❤️Great insightful video.

What is described here is shamanism .. in my opinion

Basically the ends justifies the means. Is the teaching saying that a "lie" is a statement that is for selfish needs. What if I was hiding a Nazi when the Americans knock on the door? What if the robber was fated to be struck by lightning that night and the Captain murdered him needlessly. Does the greater good of saving more people justify killing? Like the railroad story where one is asked if they would save many by pushing the large man over the bridge. But how are we to be certain our actions will obtain the desired end?

“Seclusion” refers to seclusion of mind. Not going out, or bombarded from things coming in. Simply secluded at the meditation object. 🙏🏽

The point you made at the end how Parfit has no practice. I agree this is the problem with much of western philosophy, bunch of do nothing beard scratchers pontificating, and mentally masturbating about their speculations. I have major bones to pick with a lot of so called philosophers of modern time in this regard, they do not even try to appeal to the masses, they are focusing on puffing up each others ego's with big words and confusing thought experiments. Musicians have it right in this regard at least, they are making catchy philosophical phrases that are easily memorized and upon learning them, steers one towards the good path.

“We ought not to do to our future selves what it would be wrong to do to other people.” - Derek Parfit “As from a large heap of flowers many garlands and wreaths are made, so by a mortal in this life there is much good work to be done.” - Gautama Buddha "What matters is not the dates on your tombstone, but how others will remember how you spent the dash in-between that matters." - Linda Ellis "Gods are immortal men, men are mortal Gods." - Hermes Trismegistus

On your personal notes, I approach this a similar way, I think scientifically or philosophically, and pick apart different ideas as an agnostic I don't know who is right. I have studied the ancient teachings of our ancestors from all over the globe. I believe the truth is what they have in common, the mystics seem to all agree on a lot of stuff. Leave it to scholars to debate the differences. I like the idea of secular Buddhism, a global sangha, even those of other faiths will benefit from it! I have heard many faithful believers say Buddhism brought them closer to Jesus.

Hey Doug, is it possible to pray hard enough to Buddha so that he can listen and he could be taught as to what the real - the American Buddhism is, and that's what he really intended to mean?

Beautiful teaching on this one Doug, happy to have found this channel. Just had this conversation yesterday, everyday we die and are reborn and its not that big of a deal as some have made it to be. It is the reason why there is no permanent self, since people are coming and going all the time. It's why true close friends until the grave are so rare, because people are always changing like dumping a bucket into a stream and trying to follow it.

Hi Doug, I'd love a video about Pure Land Buddhism, and the rebirth into pure lands as a suffer-less stop to make it easier to enter Nirvana. It's said that one should pray to Amitabha Buddha for Pure Land rebirth. Is there evidence that the Buddha himself taught this, or even that one should pray to a "deity" such as Amitabha Buddha for salvation?

Please also do research on Buddha's great nuns

I also agree that Karma isn't exactly responsible for all the suffering in our life. One problem I think is that some mistake pain and suffering to be synonymous when they aren't. Personally my understanding of 'Karma' is based on its literal meaning which is action. So instead of how most Buddhists describe it as Cause and Effect, I see it more as Actions and Its Consequences

Booba Saheb Ambedkar, the popular Indian Dalit politician was barely a pseudo-intellectual..He rejected the core doctrine of Buddhism that is Dukkhā, Four Aryan Truths, Anātta and called the philosophy & Metaphysics of buddhism as later adulteration to the religion and called it 'gospel of pessimism', Ambedkar ridiculously reinterpreted buddhism in terms of socio-political reform and caste-class struggle. He combined communism, caste politics, hate for Hinduism with Buddhist symbology and called it 'Navayana' but it's actually 'Bhimayana' or just Ambedkarism.

Thank you

Great video! Perhaps you want to read;henry david thoreau - "walden" . He mentions in one part how reading an old piece of newspaper can be as enjoyable as reading the odyssey ;)! Have a nice day 🤗🐏

I would like to comment on Mahayana Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism teaches about the universe. Its view of the universe is the same as that of the real universe. The three thousand worlds is a hierarchical universe, and the real universe is also hierarchical one with galaxies, clusters, and bubble structures. Its space is infinite, time flows from the infinite past to the future, and in this dust-like world governed by the law of cause and effect, there are countless Buddha lands. This shows the existence of countless terrestrial planets and intelligent life forms living there. The real person, Shakyamuni, visited the Pure Land in the west, that is, far beyond the world of stars where the sun sets, and talked about his wonderful world. In esoteric Buddhism, Vaironica Buddha, the anthropomorphic the universe, preaches the flowering Buddha nature about compassion and wisdom. Since we are born in the universe, that is, we are part of Vairocana, and we are Buddhas in born. The Avatamsaka Sutra, which teaches that one is all and all is one, teaches the fractal multiverse. The universe exists in dust or the pores of the skin. The time may come when we humanity will reach the state of the Buddha's samadhi in a laboratory. The Avatamsaka Sutra is said to be the very content of the Buddha's enlightenment. The Lotus Sutra's Eternal Buddha shows the infinite cycle of life in the infinite universe. God creates man, man attains enlightenment and becomes Buddha, the wisdom of Buddha fully realizes the essence of life, Buddha uses his wisdom to synthesize DNA and man appears, and Buddha becomes God. God, man and Buddha are united, and the cycle continues through compassion. The Lotus Sutra is said to be the teaching of the One Vehicle. Brahma was involved in the Buddha's enlightenment. From the above, I think that Buddhism is the teaching of the path to awakening came from the universe,, and that, in the 21st century, we must aim for the path of awakening.🚀🌌

I don't want to rebirth man.

👍👍👍

Amazing channel!

This video reminds me of the view on marriage by the Late Sri Lankan Buddhist Monk, Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda: "if a husband and wife really cannot live together, instead of leading a miserable life and harboring more jealousy, anger and hatred, they should have the liberty to separate and live peacefully."

Thank you for your wonderful summary. I saw that as time passed by, people started equating nirvana with death and non-existence. Yamaka Sutta (SN 22.85) warned us against such view. Upon seeing the insubstantial nature of the five aggregates, self-grasping is removed. Ideas like being and non-being have to be abandoned, as suggested by the Buddha to Upasiva (Sutta Nipata 5.7). “I” can no longer be defined. The Buddha, who has reached nirvana, grieved no longer, despite illness, old age, and death. For he has been rightly freed by non-grasping.

"They(Lotus sutras etc) cannot have been spoken by the literal historical Buddha because they came centuries after his lifetime." What do you say about the claim of people like Shanti Deva and Maitreya in Bodhicaryavatara and Sutra alamkara claiming that Mahayana sutras were spoken by historical Buddha?

Fascinating discussion on some rarely discussed topics, especially on the participation of violence on the basis of compassion. In his most recent book "Christian Atheism" Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek's harsh critique of Buddhism (borderline polemical) precisely on this controversy. His point is that compassion is essentially the desire for eliminating the collective suffering which simply eliminates individual accountability for one's moral action that is fundamental to christian ethics. I do not want to create any religious divide, but this critique may have negative implication on people's understanding of buddhism as a system of ethics.

That y he never become enlightened Tibet their brains is upside down

Doug, if you could, can you please do a video on walking meditation? I find your video so helpful thank you so much. I’m new to Buddhism and I’m really enjoying it. It’s brought me some inner peace I’ve never had in my life.

Thank you

kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2bPZaqnhN52ntU A great lecture to complement yours

For Sutta Pitaka ( there are Nikayas Diggha, majjhima , khuddaka , and Connected Discourses are well illustrated by Ven . Bhikku Bodhi ) please sir , suggest books which are Good for Vinaya and Abhi Dhamma. Much Metta to you.

Non self may be not a thing to express through words, you can only realize and comprehend it through self-practicing

From my readings of Modern Buddhist Books, it has been said that we can use the passing of a loved one to understand the Dharma more profoundly. When a loved one dies, we mourn their passing but instead of succumbing to the grief, we simply recognize that the impermanence of life is a part of samsara and then move on. Their absence will always be felt, however it shouldn't stop you from living your own life. Though it is easier than done to apply such a teaching in our life

There's an opinion among other religious sects that the Buddha didn't explicitly address the issue of an all-powerful God, in that he didn't directly deny the existence of such a God.

A horse that cannot be trained remains free to be a horse. If we deny that freedom, we enslave ourselves. Please think deeply upon this.

Doug Along the way I have heard that vipassana teachers can lose their teaching certification if they teach only vipassana vs. teaching samatha followed by vipassana. Is thie true? Gassho the Fred process

Ultimately all yānas are aimed at the problem of suffering. As you have said Doug, it is pragmatic approach vs. a theoretical approach. Either way all deal with impermanence, suffering, and non-self, any buddhist school with these in mind is very much so Buddhist. But it is hard to understand how the Tathagata truly works, as the Tathagata is immeasurable, vast like the ocean, and hard to fathom, who even knows what the lost schools of Early Buddhists were teaching.

no practice, no conceit.

In my own meditation on death I have realized that most deaths are slow suicide.

One of my favorite things the Buddha says in the Dhammapada more than once: "Even the gods will praise him" I've always wondered why the gods don't worship great men? Without great men to believe in them, the gods are powerless.

I can't say from experience in many types of Buddhism but based on what I know from other religions, the closer you are to the source, the more authentic. Its like taco bell vs Mexican town level in some cases.

Saying the ultimate truth is more important than the conventional truth kinda misses the whole point about the Dharma since such an attitude can itself become a hindrance in your practice. Both are just meant to be the means towards true understanding. Also, it depends on which truth the practitioner finds it easier to comprehend and integrate in his/her practice of the Dharma

Sometime s it feels football fans , cheering on their own team .

Thanks for covering this Doug. Skillful means is something I've both admired and been highly critical of in Buddhism. Enlightenment, despite it's many descriptions, is notoriously hard (if not fundamentally impossible) to identify empirically. That's a problem. If skillful means is used to justify unconventional teaching methods in the pursuit of enlightenment, but enlightenment is deeply ambiguous, then we make room for situations where teachers can easily abuse their power. We've seen this a lot in the west since buddhism's introduction. Anyway, I think it's an extremely crucial problem and, in my opinion, really forces us downstream to address the ambiguity around just what enlightenment is and how buddhism aught to orient itself around it. I'm curious if you have any thoughts here. Cheers for the video.

I read the Lotus Sutra on a whim a couple of years back, and while I'm not on board with the doctrine, it was a great read and pretty amazing on literary terms. It's such a wild ride, and it gets increasingly pyrotechnic (in one instance literally) page after page.

Thanks for the excellent video. This is a great follow up to your last video. Various questions which arose in my mind from your last vid were covered in this one which was superb. Regarding the revealing of the buddha and 'lesser means', i dont understand why the Lotus Sutra seems to be suggesting that at that point in time, people's capacities were suddenly ready for the great vehicle. Is it because buddha's practice was a new concept early on, so his disciples needed a steppingstone to the buddha goal via "lesser' means? Or is it that the buddha felt everyone's capacity had changed at that point? The lotus sutra essentially stated that the buddha goal was open to all, not just monastics, so i cannot figure out why the average lay person would require skillful means less than someone who practices dilligently during every waking hour. Although, I may very well be missing something important which explains what seems like a logical contradiction to me. About the great vehicle, I have always wondered why this was presented by some as a fourth vehicle, when it seemed to just be the third skillful mean- the boddhisattva ideal. Now i know the confusion was not just my own which is good, unless ive misunderstood.