Taoism is NOT Buddhism: 4 differences

(Tao Temple) China's Taoism vs. India's Buddhism explained: 4 differences that really matter

(Tao Temple) ZEN: What happens when Taoism and Buddhism collide?

Beginner's Mind or Comfortably Numb?

A "zen" mind near jhana is clear and pure.

Beginner's Mind (Japanese 初心 or shoshin) is a concept from Zen Buddhism. It means it's better to have an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of expectations or preconceptions when practicing meditation and exploring Dharma. Even at an advanced level, approach Truth as a beginner would.

Beginner's Mind is especially used in the study of Zen Buddhism and Japanese martial arts [1]. It became popular outside Japan because of Shunryū Suzuki's book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind.

Complete Illustrated Guide to Zen

The practice of shoshin acts as a counter to the hubris and closed-mindedness often associated with thinking of oneself as an adept or expert [2].

When we let ourselves think we know everything, we leave no room for surprises, but reality is full of surprises.

For example, in the Einstellung Effect, a person becomes so accustomed to a certain way of doing things that s/he does not consider or acknowledge new ideas or approaches [3], such as thinking outside the box. Like let's say someone asks you, "Who are YOU?"

• 

  One more TikTok, hookup, sext, hit of dopamine

  "I'm me," you say. Then this exchange takes place:
• "You're not who you think you are."
• "I'm who other people think I am."
• "No, you're not even that."
• "But, but, what else is there? If I'm not who I think I am, and I'm not who others think I am, do I just not exist?"
• "No, you are who you think others think you are."
• "Oh, yeah, because we're social creatures, right? There's always that [performative] factor of being watched, even if we only think we're being watched."
• "Something like that."
  
• "Ah, what do you know?"
• "Hey, at least I got you to think outside the box, realize it's not binary -- a this or that, thesis or antithesis. There's often a synthesis, an interaction, a third or fourth option not thought of within the confines of the assumptions surrounding the question."
• "Oh, yeah, huh?"
• "Monkey."

The word shoshin combines sho (Japanese 初, "beginner" or "initial") and shin (Japanese 心, "mind" or "heart") [4], which is not necessarily the brain but the intuition, knowing, heart, or the ability to discern. More

Comfortably numb?

LISTEN: (Angry Samoans) The punk rock classic "Gimme Sopor"

• There are other minds, and the worst of them is the restless Monkey Mind
• Dhr. Seven, Helena, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly

Art of dying: How Zen masters face death

(Buddha's Wisdom) Zen wisdom on death: Why Buddhist masters die smiling

Gandharan Buddhist Texts: Rhino Sutra

(Tan Lay) Ancient Gandharan (Proto-Indian) Buddhist text: Rhinoceros Sutra (audiobook)

• Snp 1.3: Khaggavisāṇa Sutta—Ven. Sujato (translation)

First statues of the Buddha

In the years following Alexander the Great’s conquest of the East, a series of empires rose up along the Silk Road. In what is now northern Pakistan, the civilizations in the region called ancient Gandhara became increasingly important centers for the development of Buddhism, reaching their apex under King Kaniska of the Kusanas (Kushan Empire) in the second century CE.

Gandhara has long been known for its Greek-Indian (Greco-Buddhist) synthesis in architecture and statuary, but until about 20 years ago, almost nothing was known about its Buddhist literature (Gandhāran Buddhist texts).

Buddhist Lit of Ancient Gandhara

The insights provided by manuscripts unearthed over the last few decades show that Gandhara was indeed a vital link in the early development of Buddhism, instrumental in both the transmission (Journey to the West, Monkey King) of Buddhism to China and the rise of the Mahayana tradition.

The Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhara surveys what we know about Gandhara and its Buddhism, and it also provides translations of a dozen different short texts, from similes and stories to treatises on time and reality.

Afghan Buddhas: The Ancient Art of Gandhara || Overlooked Art History

Afghanistan's Buddhas: The Ancient Art of Gandhara || Overlooked Art History

(Athena Art Foundation) Feb. 20, 2023: The history of ancient Gandharan art is a reminder of Afghanistan's diverse and beautiful history, in poignant contrast to its current political turmoil. 🇦🇫 Gandhara was an ancient region located in parts of present-day northeast Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan. Gandharan sculpture is characterized by its combination of ancient Greek and Buddhist styles, highly influenced by the conquest of Alexander the Great in 327 BC. #sculptor #arthistory #learnart

• 0:00-0:55 Introduction
• 0:56-1:30 Gandharan history
• 1:31-2:40 First human depictions of the Buddha
• 2:40-3:46 Other subject matter

Gandhara: Pakistan's Buddhist Legacy (exploring Taxila, Takht-i-Bhai, Shindagar (Swat)

• Takht-i-Bahi, Buddhist Afghanistan
• Mes Aynak, Little Copper Well, unexcavated Buddhist temple complex
• Buddhism in Afghanistan, Central Asia
• Buddhism in Central Asia
• Gandhāra (kingdom)
• Buddhism in Pakistan
• Ajina Tepe, Tajikistan
• Greco-Buddhist monasticism

Superiority of Solitude in Early Buddhism: "The Rhinoceros Sutta"

(Doug's Dharma) Nov. 27, 2023: Is solitary practice superior? [The best companionship is with a kalyana-mitta or "noble friend," and the second best, if no such friend can be found, is to go alone.] Let us consider the problem through a look at one of the most powerful and enigmatic early Buddhist poems, the Rhinoceros Sutra. What does it tell us, and who composed it?

• 00:00 Intro — viewer question and a poem
• 02:26 What does the poem say?
• 04:37 The central tension of Buddhist practice: solitude and community
• 08:06 Who composed the poem, when, and why?
• 09:14 Pre-Buddhist origin?
• ["Pre-Buddhist" refers to when there were only silent or non-teaching (pacceka-) buddhas, considered pre-Buddhist because the historical Supremely Enlightened Buddha (samma-sam-buddha) Siddhartha Gautama or Shakyamuni has not yet arisen in the world; however, there have been other supremely awakened teaching buddhas in the distant past. This means there were Buddhists before Buddhism even if they were not called that and a long line of at least 28 teaching-buddhas mentioned by the Buddha as having preceded him.]
• 09:59 Buddhist origin?
• 14:10 Both origins?

📙 BOOK: A Handbook of Early Buddhist Wisdom, with a foreword by Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi. 🧡 Find this material useful? Check out Dr. Doug's Patreon page and get fun benefits like exclusive videos, audio-only versions, and extensive show notes: dougsseculardharma. 🧡 Donate: paypal.me/dougsdharma ☸️ Free mini-course at the Online Dharma Institute: onlinedharma.org. 🎙Check out podcast with Jon Aaron, "Diggin' the Dharma," digginthedharma.com

✅ Books mentioned

• Bhikkhu Bodhi (trans.) The Suttanipāta: An Ancient Collection of the Buddha’s Discourses Together with its Commentaries (Wisdom Publications, 2017)
• Richard Salomon, The Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhāra (Wisdom Publications, 2018)
• The Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhara: An Introduction with Selected Translations (Classics of Indian Buddhism)

NOTE: As an Amazon associate, Dr. Doug earns from qualifying purchases. Amazon links are affiliate links where he will earn a very small commission on purchases made at no additional cost to purchaser. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of making these videos. Thanks!

✅ Video mentioned: The Early Ideal of the "Lone Buddha" or Pacceka-buddha — • The Early Ideal of the "Lone Buddha"...

✅ Sutta mentioned: suttacentral.net/mn122/en/sujato

Webpage: dougsdharma.com. Facebook: onlinedharmainstitute. Mastodon: mindly.social/@dougsdharma. Instagram: dougsdharma. Threads: threads.net/@dougsdharma. Thumbnail photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

❤️ Thanks to Patreon Patrons: Anonymous (3) John Oborne DunJing Jimmy Maa Debbie Mattison Fine Art Steve H. Ron Peat Matthew Smith Shantha Wengappuli Karma_CAC Jorge Seguel Christopher Apostolof GailJM Brett Merritt David Bell T Pham VCR Upayadhi Andi and Erik ATGuerrero686 Michael Scherrer khobe schofield Alex Perdomo Benji Forsyth Blaze Way Sonny Flink Steve Marlor Joy L Lee Andrew Tom Anthony Tucker Karlee R Ethan M Billy in Singapore Olivia Otter Carl Lennartson xiao mao Jeff Harvey Andrew Ingrouille Kenneth Grandchamp Doug Fonner Rene Gariepy Russell Needham Smoggyrob Mac Roja Bernardo Clémence Ortega Douville Kwan Alex Scott Johnston Richard J Beninger Nathanael O. Arnquist SaturnianMandala Trin P Letesa Isler Dorien Izel Robert Paterson Jake Tobiason Louvenia Ortega Steve S. Richard Rappuhn Sarah Kress John Aaron Paul Niklewski Kong Ing Kai Dave Gorman rhys reed Osanda Wijeratne Billy Scarlett Farrow

• Gandhara: A Forgotten History by Jay Vardhan Singh
• Tan Lay; Doug's Dharma; Dhr. Seven and Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Path to Nirvana; WQ reaches milestone

Here, Johnson poses at the opening green carpet for the 21st Zurich Film Festival on Sept. 25, 2025, in Zurich, Switzerland (Andreas Rentz, Getty Images for ZFF)

.

Dakota Johnson was a vision in blue at the Zurich Film Festival, and her jaw-dropping, see-through Gucci gown stole the spotlight. Johnson was on stage at the screening of her latest film, "Splitsville," at the 2025 Zurich Film Festival on Sept. 25, 2025, in Zurich, Switzerland. Artistic Director of the ZFF Christian Jungen awarded Johnson the Golden Eye Award during the screening. More:

• Dakota Johnson's sheer Gucci gown stuns at Zurich Film Festival | USA Today
• ZFF: Dakota Johnson and other stars at festival opening

Blue is the color, invisible to the ancients

Blue is the color. It represents a kind of cosmic intelligence or wisdom, to the extent any color (rate of vibration or frequency) can convey resonance or a mood. The seven main chakras (energy nexuses or "wheels") along the spine represent the aspirations of humans.

We go from the base (muladhara) with our coiled energy waiting to be expressed, where we ground ourselves, aspiring upwards to release (spiritual liberation) at the crown chakra. They are called wheels because they are turning, guiding kundalini energy upward.

Milestone

What the students wrote

What is the milestone? It is another tremendous mass of views. Without realizing it, Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal crossed yet another big tick on the ticker. With each such bundle of hits or views, most of them taking place in just the past month, we are filled with gratitude for our enlightened teacher and his successful American student (to preserve her privacy, let's call her Kalyani, the noble friend), who are inspirations that we, too, can attain such things as are described in the Buddhist texts, particularly the Abhidhamma preserved and made practical in little known Burmese Theravada tradition of the great Pa Auk Sayadaw. (All forms of Buddhism may be beautiful and exotic, counterintuitive and koan-like, but how many produce enlightenment and liberation, bodhi and nirvana, in this very life?) However, in our worldly foolishness, we tend to intellectualize everything. And for that we have our root teacher, American JuBu Bhikkhu Bodhi (BAUS.org).

What is the Path to Enlightenment?

Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

Seven energy-wheels or chakras of the body

The "path" (Pali magga, Sanskrit marga) may be summarized in many ways. Because Buddhism as recorded in ancient, memorized recitations (the oral tradition of proto-India before most people read and wrote), there are lists. So it's fun to play with them so long as one knows the map is not the terrain, only an indicator along the way. If only ONE thing were needed to awaken to enlightenment (bodhi), that

1. one thing would be insight (wisdom, direct knowing-and-seeing, panna, Sanskrit prajna).
2. If the list had two things: Serenity (jhanas) and Mindfulness (satipatthana) producing liberating wisdom.
3. Three things: Compassion, Tranquility, and Mindful Attention to the Four Foundations.
4. Four things: The Four Ennobling Truths. ("Noble" = Aryan = "Enlightening").
5. Five things: Finding a suitable teacher, giving ear, mental attention, applying oneself, and perseverance until success.
6. Six things: Sitting, calming, absorption (jhana), emerging, and immediately mindfully placing attention on phenomena (ultimate mentality and materiality, discerning cittas and kalapas), and reflecting.
7. Seven things: The Seven Factors of Enlightenment.
8. Eight things: The Ennobling Eightfold Path....
9. Thirty-seven things: (The Seven Requisites of Enlightenment or the bodhipakkhiyādhammā, all the key things, or dhamma, the historical Buddha taught pertaining to awakening that leads to knowing nirvana).

• USA Today; Editors, Wisdom Quarterly

Levels of reality and real-life levitation

(Jason Gregory) Siddhis: the magical powers of spiritual masters

Real magic is really possible? - Yes.

In Dharmic (Indian) religions, the siddhis (Sanskrit सिद्धि siddhi, fulfillment, accomplishment) are material, paranormal, supernatural, magical powers, abilities, and attainments, such as levitation (paranormal).

They are the products (sometimes byproducts) of yogic advancement through daily practices (sādhanās) such as meditation (jhana, dhyana) and eight-limbed yoga [1].

The Pali term iddhi ("psychic powers," ṛddhi) is often used interchangeably in Buddhism.

Etymology

Illusion in Prague using steel armature

Siddhi is a Sanskrit noun that can be translated as super "knowledge," "accomplishment," "attainment," or "success" [2].

Method

Buddhism's Path of Purification (Visuddhi-magga) is one of the great commentarial texts to give explicit details about how meditators and spiritual masters can actually manifest supernormal abilities [3].

• [These powers are not really "supernatural" because, however uncommon, they are our natural potential.]

It states that abilities such as levitation (flying through the air), walking through walls (solid obstructions), diving into the ground as if it were water, walking on water as if it were land, and so forth are achieved through changing one element, such as the earth element (Pali pathavi), into another element, such as air (vayu) [3].

• [This is done at will because one has mastered the absorptions (jhanas) via that element. How this is done is explained in practice by Buddhist teachers and meditation masters. Theoretically and conceptually, it is laid out in The Path of Purification, an ancient Buddhist text compiled by the great monk and commentator Buddhaghosa.]

The individual must master disc (kasina) meditation before this is possible [3]. The modern Buddhist Master Dipa Ma ("Dipa's Mother"), who trained in The Path of Purification via her personal teacher Anagarika Munindra, had these abilities -- according to her closest American students who went on to become world famous meditators and teachers (Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, Sylvia Boorstein). Their claims were verified in Calcutta and the USA but, of course, never to the satisfaction of Western science or the impossible standards of the great skeptic the Great Randi. See the great book about her by an American admirer Amy Schmidt, Knee Deep in Grace. Not only did she develop these powers with Anagarika Munindra's instructions, she taught them to her enlightened daughter Dipa and others around her. More: Siddhi

• Levitating monk | Stable Diffusion; Aperture, The 7 Levels of Reality; Jason Gregory, Siddhis; Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

Levitation by kung fu, dance, running, TM?

The TM corporation under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi -- the Beatles', Beach Boys', and other celebrities' own guru -- used to sell "levitation" during meditation, which turned out to be a kind of flipper hopping by flapping the knees, a ridiculous compromise in the way we can bend reality and language to match. Even this wouldn't be "levitation" as we understand it even with the great hang time.

(Heshers) Levitation through meditation [using same trick TV's Batman used to climb buildings]

(AS) This "yogic flying" TM style "levitation" is more embarrassing than Heshers' sill trick above.

It only took us two views to see how he's doing it, and we guarantee anyone with the right camera set up can do this tonight, with less stress on his plastic drawers from the pushing.

Buddhism's Path of Purification on levitation

95. Uplifting happiness can be powerful enough to levitate the body and make it spring up into the air. For this was what happened to the Elder Mahá Tissa, residing at Punnavallika.

He went to the shrine terrace on the evening of the full-moon day. Seeing the moonlight, he turned in the direction of the Great Shrine [at Anurádhapura], thinking:

“At this very hour the four assemblies [Note 29] are worshipping at the Great Shrine!” By means of objects formerly seen [there] he aroused uplifting happiness with the Enlightened One [the Buddha] as object, and he rose into the air like a painted ball bounced off a plastered floor and alighted on the terrace of the Great Shrine.

• [Note 29: Four assemblies (parisá) Buddhist monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen.]

96. And this was what happened to the daughter of a clan in the village of Vattakálaka near the Girikandaka Monastery when she sprang up into the air owing to strong uplifting happiness with the Enlightened One as object.

As her parents were about to go to the monastery in the evening, it seems, in order to hear the Dhamma [144], they told her:

“My dear, you are expecting a child; you cannot go out at an unsuitable time. We shall hear the Dhamma [the Buddha's Teachings] and gain merit for you.” So they went out. And though she wanted to go, too, she could not very well object to what they said. She stepped out of the house onto a balcony and stood looking at the Ákásacetiya Shrine at Girikandaka lit by the moon.

She saw the offering of lamps at the shrine and the four communities [assemblies] as they circumambulated it to the right after making their offerings of flowers and perfumes. And she heard the sound of the massed recital by the Community of Monastics. Then she thought:

“How lucky they are to be able to go to the monastery and wander round such a shrine terrace and listen to such sweet preaching of Dhamma!”

Seeing the shrine as a mound of pearls and arousing uplifting happiness, she sprang up into the air, and before her parents arrived she came down from the air into the shrine terrace, where she paid homage and stood listening to the Dhamma.

97. When her parents arrived, they asked her: “What road did you come by, my dear?” She answered, “I came through the air, not by the road.”

And when they told her, “My dear, those whose cankers are destroyed [the enlightened] come through the air, but how did you come?”

She replied, “As I was standing looking at the shrine in the moonlight a strong sense of happiness arose in me with the Enlightened One as its object. Then I knew no more whether I was standing or sitting, but only that I was springing up into the air with the [mental] sign that I had grasped [apprehended], and I came to rest on this shrine terrace.”

So uplifting happiness can be powerful enough to levitate the body and make it spring up into the air.

98. But when pervading (rapturous) happiness arises, the whole body is completely pervaded [like soap powder suffused with water], like a filled bladder, like a rock cavern invaded by a huge inundation.

99. Now this fivefold happiness, when conceived and matured, perfects the twofold tranquility, that is, bodily and mental tranquility. When tranquility is conceived and matured, it perfects the twofold bliss, that is, bodily and mental bliss. When bliss is conceived and matured, it perfects the threefold concentration, that is,

1. momentary concentration [khanika samādhi],
2. access [neighborhood] concentration, and
3. absorption concentration [full jhana].

Of these, what is intended by happiness in this context is pervading happiness, which is the root of absorption and comes by growth into association with absorption [145].

CHAPTER IV

The Earth Kasina

100. But as to the other word: pleasing (sukhana) is bliss (sukha). Or alternatively: it thoroughly... More: Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga)

• Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Pat Macpherson (eds.), The Path of Purification edit

Why practice Recollection of Death?

I didn't have to suffer? Robert Redford lost both sons: The darkest days of his life

BREAKING: Hollywood legend Robert Redford dead at age 89

.

I am become Death (on TV)

"Recollection of death" (maranānussati) is one of the ten recollections treated in detail in the Path of Purification (Vis.M. VIII):

The Buddha taught: ''Recollection of death, developed and frequently practiced, yields great reward, great blessing, has deathlessness (amata) as its goal and objective. But how may such recollection be developed?

"As soon as the day declines, as the night vanishes and the day is breaking, the meditator reflects:

I'm indestructible and strong.

One reflects, "Truly, there are many possibilities for me to die: I may be bitten by a serpent or be stung by a scorpion or a centipede, and thereby I may lose this life. This would be an obstacle for me. Or I may stumble and fall to the ground, or the food I eat may not agree with my health. Or [the humors] bile, phlegm, and piercing gases [bodily winds] may become disturbed. Humans or ghosts may attack me, and I may lose my life. This would be an obstacle for me."

Then a meditator considers thus: "Are there still to be found in me unsubdued unskillful, unwholesome things which, if I should die today or tonight, might lead me to greater suffering?"

Now, if one understands that this is the case, one should use one's utmost resolution, determination, energy (viriya), effort, endeavor, steadfastness, attentiveness, and clear-mindedness (sati-sampajanna) in order to overcome these harmful, unwholesome things" (A VIII, 74).

What does the Path of Purification advise?

Redford's children die tragically

In the Path of Purification (Vis.M. VIII) it is said: "One who wishes to develop this meditation should retreat to solitude [a private, quiet place], and while living secluded one should wisely reflect: 'Death will come to me! The vital energy will be cut off!' Or [recall,] 'Death! Death!'

"To one who does not wisely reflect, sorrow may arise by thinking about [recalling] the death of a loved one, just as it does to a mother while thinking of the death of a beloved child.

"Again, by reflecting on the death of a disliked person, joy [schadenfreude] may arise -- just as enemies while thinking about the death of their enemies.

"Through thinking about the death of a neutral (indifferent) person, however, no emotion will arise, just as none arises in a worker whose work consists of cremating dead bodies at the sight of a dead body.

"By reflecting on one's own death fright may arise...just as at the sight of a murderer with drawn sword one becomes filled with terror.

Death, be not proud.

"Therefore, whenever seeing here or there slain or other dead [formerly living] beings, one should reflect on the death of such deceased persons who once lived in happiness.

One should rouse one's attentiveness, emotion, and knowledge and consider thus: 'Death will come, and so on.

Only in one who considers in this way, will the Five Hindrances (nīvarana) be repressed. Through the idea of death, attention becomes steadfast, and the exercise reaches [meditative] neighborhood-concentration (upacāra-samādhi).

According to the Path of Purification (Vis.M. VIII), one may also reflect on death in the following various ways:

• One may think of Death [personified] as a murderer with a drawn sword standing in front of oneself;
• or one may bear in mind that all happiness ends in death;
• or that even the mightiest beings on this earth are subject to death;
• or that we must share this body with all innumerable worms and other tiny beings [microbes] residing throughout the intestines and tissues;
• or that life is something dependent on in-and-out breathing, and bound up with it; or that life continues only as long as the elements, food, breath, etc. are properly performing their functions; or that nobody knows when, where, and under what circumstances, death will take place, and what kind of fate we have to expect after death; or, that life is very short and limited. As it is said: 'Short, indeed, is this life of men, limited, fleeting, full or woe and torment; it is just like a dewdrop that vanishes as soon as the sun rises; like a water-bubble; like a furrow drawn in the water; like a torrent dragging everything along and never standing still; like cattle for slaughter that every moment look death in the face" (A. VII, 74).

Path of Purification (Nyanamoli)

The meditator devoted to this recollection of death is at all times indefatigable and gains the realization of disgust with regard to all forms [31 planes] of existence, gives up delight in [samsara, endless rebirth], detests evil [that traps one in experiencing the results of miserable karma], does not hoard up things, is free from stinginess with regard to the necessities of life.

1. And the realization of [radical] impermanence (anicca) becomes familiar.
2. And through pursuing it, the idea of disappointment (dukkha).
3. And the impersonal (anattā) nature of all things becomes present to one....

Free from fear and bewilderment will one pass away at death. And should that person not yet realize the Deathless State [full enlightenment, nirvana, arahantship] in this lifetime, one will at the dissolution of the body attain to a happy course of existence (Vis.M. VIII).

• See Buddhist Reflections on Death by V. F. Gunaratna (Wheel 102/103)
• Buddhism and Death by M.Q.C. Walshe (Wheel 260)
• Ven. Nyanatiloka, Buddhist Dictionary, maranānussati based on Path of Purification (Vis.M. VIII), edited by Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

Alan Watts: Buddhism is not a religion

• alanwatts.org, alanwatts.com
• Religion of No Religion - Alan Watts
• Is it true that "Buddhism is Hinduism stripped for export" as Alan Watts says? What is the general consensus of Buddhists on Alan watts : r/Buddhism
• Thoughts on Alan Watts takes on Buddhism? : r/Buddhism
• Buddhism: The Religion of No-Religion by Alan Watts
• Alan Watts twice weekly on Pacifica Radio (KPFK 90.7 FM)

How Siddhartha became the Buddha

If life is so short, what really matters?

If life is so short, what truly matters? Buddhist wisdom

(Buddhism Podcast) Buddhism Explained. In a world where everything fades—youth, success, even our own identity—what truly matters? This video explores the Buddhist teaching of impermanence (anicca, pronounced /AH-knee-chah/, that everything is in constant flux, hurtling towards destruction) and how it can help us live with clarity, peace, and freedom.

Drawing from the Noble Eightfold Path, the true nature of the self, and the roots of suffering, it offers not just reflection, but a way to live meaningfully—especially in the face of constant change.

• 00:00 - The One Truth No One Can Escape
• 03:32 - The Shadow We Mistake for Ourselves
• 07:46 - Why Letting Go Isn't Loss – It's Freedom
• 11:15 - The Noble Eightfold Path: Living with Clarity, Not Control
• 17:25 - What Truly Matters: Freedom from Suffering

#BuddhistWisdom #Impermanence #EndSuffering

• Buddhism Podcast, Aug. 3, 2025; Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Path to Nirvana (explained)

What path brings us to the summit, awakening and the end of suffering? (Portuguese peak)

.

Enlightened? No? Then meditate.

Interestingly, there is a Path to Nirvana. It can be drawn as a flowchart. It often is at Pa Auk Forest Monastery where we trained. The only problem is that this schematic irks some people, Wisdom Quarterly included, for the massive jump at the beginning.

But it works for others who do not find those initial steps to be stumbling blocks at all due to the natural ability to sit, settle, and reach samadhi. Variations of the chart run something like:

Meditations (Pa Auk Sayadaw)

(Bring store of paramis), sit, take up Breath Meditation (anapana-sati) OR Four Elements Meditation until nimitta (learning sign) appears, take it to attainment of jhana (first meditative absorption with the appearance of the Five Factors of Absorption that displace the Five Hindrances), perfect it;

Move through second, third, and fourth jhanas, hold fourth for a minimum of three-hour sits, pursue fifth through eighth jhanas OR go straight to the Four Foundations of Mindfulness to practice insight (vipassana), discern cittas (mind-moments) and kalapas (particles), which together are called "ultimate mentality and materiality," practice Dependent Origination, reach insight;

Jhanas (Rasmussen & Snyder)

See anicca-dukkha-anatta (the Three Universal Marks of Existence,  the impermanent, unsatisfactory, and impersonal nature of ALL conditioned existence) and let go so that the Eye of Wisdom (stream entry, the first stage of enlightenment that glimpses/touches Nirvana, which is the Deathless State, the Unconditioned Element, Ultimate Bliss, the summum bonum, the cessation of all suffering...) arises;

Focused Fearless (S. Catherine)

Pursue further by eliminating the samyojanas (fetters), kilesas (defilements), and asavas (taints/cankers) until breaking through the various kinds of stream entry  (explained in the Path to Freedom) to once-returning (sakadagami), non-returning (anagami), and ordain to become an arahant (fully enlightened being) and live a good, long life, frequently seeing, touching, experiencing Nirvana until, with the passing of this body comes the end of all further suffering and rebirth (pari-nirvana).

Scholar-practitioner Master Pa Auk Sayadaw

Notice a big, possibly insurmountable, bump in the chart? How does one get to the first jhana? Persistence, slow and steady practice, contentment (santuthi) more than a sense of urgency (samvega), which can lead to too much "efforting," or muscling, when it's better to use saddha (faith, confidence, conviction) to rest the mind/heart and carry on even when it seems hopeless or pointless, too hard or too lofty, doubtful or impossible. It is possible!

COMMENTARY

Now you're getting it. (Kalyani)

This path, strangely, in this day and age, will be a little easier for women. Why should that be? It is because the way we have been conditioned. What arises in "meditation" (the nimitta, jhanas, absorptions, states of piti/bliss) are allowed not strived for, accepted not grasped at, experienced not done. And this receptivity to experience, rather than the "go getter" attitude we disproportionately train males to have, works better in the spiritual realm IF one can establish persistence, discipline, and steadiness of effort over what males are famous for, which is a tremendous amount of effort in bursts and then slacking off for a long time. What works in the world will not work very well here, and perhaps "spirituality" should be treated as "play" (lila) rather than "work" (kammatthana).

The Buddha's life is told as an allegory?

It bears saying that everyone misunderstands the allegory of the Buddha's life, because if we ask someone, "What was the key turning point for Siddhartha that finally enabled him to breakthrough and attain his goal of supreme enlightenment?" Simple question. Where's the volta? Almost universally people will pick the wrong event. Most people will say it was when the wandering ascetic said, "I will not get up from this tree even if my blood turns to dust and I wither away" or something like that. That is the sure way to failure and frustration. It might be better to point at an incident the Buddha credited as the turning point. Remember how he strived so hard that he collapsed? He accepted food from a woman's hand (Sujata), he stopped blaming the body for lust and "sin" and the troubles of the mind/heart.

How did Siddhartha become the Buddha?

He realized the futility of penances, tapas, extreme austerities and wondered what might be the path to awakening. Intuition suggested to him that it was jhana, "absorption," which for so long he feared because it was associated with pleasure. But he reasoned that this is not ordinarily worldly pleasure like the hedonistic pursuits of his youth in the palace in Saka Land/Scythia. In a sense, he surrendered, he let go, he stopped pushing. He recalled that at age 7 he had spontaneously entered absorption under the tree at the Planting Festival and wondered if that might be a better path to pursue. A knowing came over him that it was. He let go and let Nature take its course. "Meditation" is not something we do. What we "do" is perhaps prepare the soil and the circumstances for the plant to arise and send out a flower that blossoms. We didn't do it. It did it. We allowed it, tended it, gardened it, protected it, persisted in protecting it, pursued it, and in that sense "brought it into being," which is what bhavana means. It is about cultivation and development rather than doing and accomplishing.

What's the secret?

I give up, can't do this, too hard!

If anyone needs more proof of this, consider the musician who did his darndest in striving -- even giving up music and becoming a Buddhist monk -- and failed. He slacked off and failed. He redoubled his efforts and tried even harder. And failed harder, so hard he gave up and went to the Buddha to tell him he was leaving. He was shocked when the Buddha did not protest and instead wished him well. "Really, I can just go?"

"Have a good life," the Buddha said, "and, oh, by the way, what are you going to do now?" "Go back to music, of course," he said. "Oh, you play music?" the Buddha asked. The man was a little indignant as he was the most famous musician in the realm, enchanting audiences with his lyre (vina, veena, harp, guitar). Didn't the Buddha know that?

Playing the ancient veena

"Yes, I play it very well." "So, tell me," the Buddha went on. Do you overtighten your strings?" "Of course not! That would produce a harsh and discordant and sound." "Oh, so you leave them very slack?" the Buddha went on. "Of course not! That would produce a dull and discordant sound." "Well, then, how is it?" the Buddha asked. "I tune it -- not too tight, not too loose -- balanced and just so, making sure it doesn't go out of tune..." and as he explained, insight dawned on him and he excused him, not having disrobed, still a monk. He withdrew into solitude and took up his meditation object but this time not too harshly, not with so much effort as before, and feeling himself slacking, he would straighten up a little and pursued his ends in a balanced way. And in no long time, he was successful. And he came back to thank the Buddha, who maybe smiled and winked at him, if the Buddha winked at anybody. It isn't hard, but we make it harder than it needs to be. It isn't easy, but if we apply no effort at all, we will never see it. Not this, not that, then what? Balance. (See the story of Ven. Sona).

• Teachings of Pa Auk Sayadaw and accomplished students interpreted and reported by Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly