The 8 things that control our lives without us noticing | The Eight Worldly Conditions
(Buddha's Wisdom) AI. Aug. 27, 2026:
🔍 THE EIGHT WORLDLY CONDITIONS SHAPING OUR LIVES — EVEN WHEN EVERYTHING IS GOING WELL. More than 2,600 years ago, the historical Buddha described Eight Worldly Conditions or Winds that continually affect human life:
(1) gain and (2) loss
(3) praise and (4) blame
(5) pleasure and (6) pain
(7) status and (8) disgrace.
I'm not bored or lonely. And I'm not a monkey!
Known today as the Eight Worldly Winds, this Buddhist teaching reveals why success, approval, comfort, criticism, disappointment, and reputation can move the mind/heart far more than we realize.
The surprising part? Buddhism doesn’t only warn us about loss, pain, blame, and disgrace. Gain, praise, pleasure, and status can consume us, too.
DISCOVER
Why the Eight Worldly Conditions always appear as four opposing pairs
Why the discourse says the pleasant four consume an untrained mind exactly as the painful four do
What the Buddha actually taught about gain and loss, praise and blame, pleasure and pain, status and disgrace
Why the conditions we want can control us as powerfully as the ones we resist
How a famous psychology experiment about sitting alone with your thoughts became widely misunderstood
Why Buddhism sees freedom not as escaping life’s ups and downs, but as understanding their impermanent nature
Thanissaro Bhikkhu's translation of AN 8.6, which renders the three marks of each condition as inconstant, stressful, subject to change https://amzn.to/4xpbP6g
Thanissaro Bhikkhu on yasa, translated here as "status" rather than "fame"
Wilson, T. D. et al. (2014), "Just think: The challenges of the disengaged mind," Science, Vol. 345
Sun Wukong appears as a story from Journey to the West, referenced as literature rather than as doctrine
Fox, K. C. R., Thompson, E., Andrews-Hanna, J. R. & Christoff, K. (2014), Is thinking really aversive? The authors challenged the popular interpretation of the experiment, noting that many participants who used the shock described curiosity as a motivation.
⚖️ FAIR USE DISCLAIMER: This video references The Social Network (2010, Columbia Pictures) for commentary, criticism, and educational analysis under Section 107 of the US Copyright Act. All rights to the film remain with the copyright holders. No affiliation or endorsement is implied.
🙏 If Buddhism that connects ancient teachings with ordinary modern life is of interest, subscribe and turn on notifications. Buddha's Wisdom publishes twice a week. And after watching, comment on which of the four pairs runs your week most often?
How to win friends: Can an app fix the "friendship recession"?
How to make friends and be an influencer
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I have no idea why people follow me
Amidst what some researchers call a "friendship recession," apps and services have been proliferating to connect Americans. We hear from people who have already tried them or use them regularly to reflect on what about them has worked and hasn't.
TRANSCRIPT
HOST SCOTT SIMON: Many of the old places where friendships formed -- the office, houses of worship, maybe the VFW [Veterans of Foreign Wars, a.k.a. degenerate bars] -- may have become less central to people's lives.
Just react to things with opinions!
It's part of what's been called a friendship recession: Americans spending dramatically less time with friends than they did a decade ago. As Leslie McClurg of member station KQED FM [San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento] reports, a growing number of apps and services are trying to bring people back together.
BYLINE LESLIE MCCLURG: When Jen Hobbs moved to Oakland last summer, she assumed friends would come naturally at the coffee shop or after an exercise class, but six months in...
JEN HOBBS: And on New Year's, I was kind of reflecting on things, and I realized I still don't have any friends.
Talk about fitness on TikTok with a hot bod!
MCCLURG: She made it her resolution to fix that and downloaded every friendship app that she had seen advertised on Instagram. Some are simple, like "BumbleFor Friends" (BFF: Bumble For Friends), which works much like the company's dating app.
But instead of swiping for lovers, you're swiping for pals. Others, like Timeleft [or Friend Cult], go further by matching users with like-minded strangers for a meal. [SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING]
UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR: In restaurants across the country [LAUGHTER] total strangers are gathering for conversation and community over shared meals. More
We’re not a social club, we’re a Friend Cult™ -- a weekly, Oakland-based gathering that makes it easier to see friends. No more text tag, no more calendar Tetris, no more doomscrolling. Just show up and hang out — like it used to be. See friends. Eat food. Feel better. Die happy.
An "influencer" has the ability to alter the attitudes, shopping behavior, or shopping decisions of others through knowledge, position, authority, or the because of an audience relationship.
This ability is either inherent to one's personality or is completely constructed by others for some benefit: social, personal, or economical [1].
The term "influencer" is used in media, business, religion, politics, and communication, referring to folks like social media influencers, podcasters, public speakers, religious influencers, writers, and newsletter writers who have dedicated followings [2, 3].
One writer defines influencers as those "who exercise influence over the organization and its potential customers" [4]. Another defines them as someone "who significantly shapes the customer's purchasing decision" [5]. According to another writer, influencers are "well-connected, create an impact, have active minds, and are trendsetters" [6].
What does every American want?
Just because someone has many followers does not necessarily mean that person has much influence over them [7, 8].
In contemporary usage, it means a social media influencer [9, 10, 11] or an online influencer [12, 13, 14] who builds a grassroots online presence through engaging content such as photos, videos, and updates.
This is done by using direct audience interaction to establish authenticity, expertise, and appeal by standing apart from traditional celebrities by growing a platform through social media rather than pre-existing fame [15, 16].
The modern term is commonly a paid role in which a business entity pays for social media influence-for-hire activity to promote products and services, known as influencer marketing [17].
As such, an influencer effectively acts as a modern salesperson or a marketer. A 1% increase in spending on influencer marketing can lead to a 0.5% increase in audience engagement [18] for a company or corporation.
Types include fashion influencer, travel influencer, virtual influencer, content creators [19, 20, 21], and streamers [22, 23, 24]. More
How to Win Friends and Influence People
How to be an influencer? Keep talking until someone breaks your jaw like Jake? Read a book?
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This classic self-help book written by Dale Carnegie came out in 1936. Worldwide, over 30 million copies have been sold since, making it one of the best-selling books of all time [1, 2].
Dale Carnegie had been conducting business courses in New York since 1912 [3]. In 1934, Leon Shimkin (Simon & Schuster) took one of Carnegie's 14-week courses on human relations and public speaking. He later persuaded Carnegie to let a stenographer take notes from the course to be revised for publication [3].
The initial 5,000 copies of the book sold exceptionally well, going through 17 editions in the first year [3]. In 1981, a revised edition containing updated language and anecdotes was released [4]. The revised edition reduced the number of sections from six to four, eliminating sections on effective business letters and improving marital satisfaction. In 2011, it was Number 19 on Time'sList of the 100 Most Influential Nonfiction Books [5]. In 2022, a newly revised edition was published.
Author Dale Carnegie
I know what people want (Carnegie)
Before How to Win Friends and Influence People, the self-help genre had other successes. Authors like Orison Swett Marden and Samuel Smiles had sold well with their self-help titles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Dale Carnegie began his career teaching night classes at a NY YMCA, later expanding to YMCAs in Philadelphia and Baltimore [6]. He then taught independently at hotels in London, Paris, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, writing small booklets to go along with his courses [7].
When evolution gets us
After one of his 14-week courses, publisher Leon Shimkin of Simon & Schuster approached him [8]. Shimkin urged Carnegie to write a book, but he was not initially persuaded. Shimkin then hired a stenographer to type up one of Carnegie's long lectures and presented that transcript to Carnegie [9], who edited and revised it into its final form [10].
To market the book, Shimkin sent 500 copies to former graduates of the Dale Carnegie Course, with a note that pointed out the utility of the book for refreshing students with the advice they had learned [11]: 141.
Or just work out until you have a hot bod. See?
The 500 mailed copies brought orders for over 5,000 more copies, so Simon & Schuster had to quickly increase the original print order of 1,200 [11]: 142. Shimkin also ran a full-page ad in the New York Times complete with quotes by Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller on the importance of human relations [12].
Originally published in Nov. 1936, the book reached the New York Times best-seller list by the end of the year and stayed on it for the next two years [11]: 141.
Simon & Schuster continued to advertise the book, relying heavily on testimonials as well as the testable approach the book offered [12]. More
(pale blue wave) I stopped her in the park, and what she told me broke my heart. So I photographed her portrait.
If "ugly" is a feeling (an emotion), what is beauty?
Is self-confidence beautiful and self-doubt revolting?
Personality is incomprehensibly important so that even dwarves, Elephant Men, beasts, and hideous creatures are beautiful to some beauties out there.
Beauty is only skin deep. Deep inside the skin are very lovely things -- charm, comeliness, humor, riches! What is any one of us after other than being loved, feeling protected, comforted, understood, accommodated? Some even get off on loving others.
beauty, sadness, loneliness, photography, park, parable of touching a woman, dating, heartbreak, marriage, the four bases of popularity
Long, long ago, there was this cool Swedish band that used to do covers, as most new bands are wont to do. Like nearly everyone else, they covered Black Sabbath standards. They are so catchy, easy, and powerful, that it's a good way to get a rock 'n roll career going. But the band was The Cardigans with an ice princess for a singer, one with a saccharine voice and looks. Some member, possibly the drummer, said, "I know! Let's cover the most iconic and evil Black Sabbath song, a song so evil they named themselves after it!"
"But how can we make it MORE evil?" someone asked. "I know, someone else must've said, 'Well turn it into a love song, maybe throw in some domestic abuse.'" "Yeah!" or "Whatever," the others must've said. (What's worse, the Devil or being trapped in an abusive romantic relationship with a jerk partner?)
And so "Heartbreaker" was born. Now, no Cardigans fan knows it's "Black Sabbath," and no Sabbath fans know who the F The Cardigans are, but evil is evil, and a rock 'n roll classic is a classic for a reason (or it may have something to do with the Devil's note, the tritone).
Now, in Christianity, "Satan" is the source of all evil, all harm, all bad things. He's like the counterpart to a jerk allegedly all-powerful God who is all "good." But satan really means the "adversary," any adversary, as in divorce court.
"Heartbreaker"
LYRICS: "Heartbreaker"
Lovefool Nina Persson, The Cardigans front
[Verse 1] No, not again/ Oh, what a man/ Just who I thought that I wanted to have/ Oh, don't do that/ Don't use that bat/ That's all it takes to make me falling flat/ [Pre-Chorus 1] No, not again/ A loser I am// [CHORUS] I love you tonight/ You are my knight/ Cure and assure and make me feel alright/ Tomorrow you'll find/ I'm not around/ But don't be uptight 'cause I loved you last night// [Verse 2] Vacant and free/ Yeah, that is me/ Just tell me how and I'll please you for free/ Tell me I'm good/ I know I'm bad/ Lies make me feel fine although it is sad/ [Pre-Chorus 2] No, not again/ Not one more man// [CHORUS] I love you tonight/ You are my knight/ Cure and assure and make me feel alright/ Tomorrow you'll find/ I'm not around/ But don't be uptight 'cause I loved you last night/ Right?
LYRICS: "Black Sabbath"
Madman Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath front
[Instrumental Intro] [Verse 1] What is this that stands before me?/ Figure in black which points at me/ Turn 'round quick and start to run/ Find out I'm the chosen one/ Oh, no/ [Verse 2] Big black shape with eyes of fire/ Tellin' people their desire/ Satan's sittin' there, he's smilin'/ Watches those flames get higher and higher/ Oh, no, no, please, God, help me/ [Bridge] Is it the end, my friend?/ Satan's comin' 'round the bend/ People runnin' 'cause they're scared/ The people better go and beware/ No, no, please, no/ [Guitar Solo] [Instrumental Outro]
(The Epic History Vibe) Zarathustra's forgotten religion that secretly invented heaven, hell, and the Devil borrowed by Christianity, Judaism, and Islam
How do I know if I'm becoming a better meditator? Signs of progress with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
(Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche) Premiered Aug. 20, 2024: Although meditation instructions are often simple and easy to understand, knowing whether we are practicing correctly can be difficult. [There's nothing easy about applying the easy instructions, nothing simple about actually doing the practice that sounded to terribly simple that there should have been nothing to it.] How do we know if it is being effective and helping us progress along the path of awakening (enlightenment)? In this monthly teaching, Mingyur Rinpoche gives helpful advice to assess how our "calm abiding practice" (samatha) or "insight meditation practice" (vipassana) is progressing.
🔗 Joy of Living Meditation Program: Learn meditation under the skillful guidance of Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche at own pace.
https://joy.tergar.org/
🔗 Vajrayana Online: Study and practice of the Tibetan Buddhism with Mingyur Rinpoche.
https://learning.tergar.org/
🔗Online events, retreats with Mingyur Rinpoche https://events.tergar.org/
🔗 About Tergar Path: https://tergar.org/programs/
'Monkey-barring' is the latest dating trend wreaking havoc on relationships
Without letting go of one, you grab the next.
(FOX 32 Chicago) Sept. 2, 2025: Certified counselor Love McPherson breaks down why some people jump from one relationship to the next [like a monkey grabbing bars, not letting go of one and already grabbing the next or like a frog waiting for a new pad to jump on instead of getting into the water of singlehood and swimming to find a better pad like a decent person] and offers steps for healing and forming healthier connections. "Fear of abandonment" anyone?
The term "monkey mind" originates from Chinese xīnyuán or Sino-Japanese shin'en (心猿), which literally means "heart-mind monkey."
It is a Buddhist concept that describes a state of restlessness, capriciousness, and lack of control of one's thoughts and emotions, the inability to find soothing stillness, calm, equanimity, poise, or maintain mindfulness.
Others suffer from it, too?
Attempts to suppress tend not to work. It is spurred by caffeine, stimulants, excitotoxins (chemicals), and is frequently followed by a crash, exhaustion, and cyclical dysfunction:
This "mind monkey" metaphor is found in Buddhist writings in Zen, Chan, Mind-only, Pure Land, and Shingon and has also been adopted by Taoism, Neo-Confucianism, Chinese poetry, theater, and literature.
Perfectionism is a mental illness.
The expression "monkey mind" commonly appears in two reversible four-character idioms paired with yima or iba (意馬), which means "idea horse."
Chinese xinyuanyima (心猿意馬) and Japanese ibashin'en (意馬心猿) illustrate the interconnectedness of a restless mind and wandering (discursive) thoughts.
The "Monkey King" Sun Wukong in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West is an iconic personification of feeling indecisive and unsettled. More
Now robots can get pregnant and carry human seed to term, with children naturally clinging and identifying with AI high technology as caretaker entity. (Welcome, Homo sapiens sapiens or Homo technologi to the planet to take their place among the many human species who have lived out their lives on this plane, this simulation, or this tended garden, whatever it may be. The ET gods should be very happy at this "advance" as we get further and further away from our connection to Gaia/Bhumi/Tierra).
I blame Scarlett Johansson-Jost.
(Top Viral) Humans wouldn't really take up with machines, would we? So, say we did, we wouldn't then fall in "love" and get all clingy and attached to machines, computers, AI large language models the way we grasp at and cling to our iPhones, which are built to addict us with their wave resonance frequencies and gaming (gambling) protocols set to reel us in like dopamine fiends, would we? Wouldn't we? We are already doing it. And movies like Her and Ex Machina are normalizing it, with Hollywood ready to release a slew of propaganda films to guide society in either direction, towards sex with robots being totally normalized or considered a perversion, crime, and reason to make perverts outcastes. It's as if we are not safe from the influence of porn (North Hollywood) and propaganda (Hollywood) even in the South in small town Kentucky:
Kentucky sheriff executes judge in chambers, exposing small town's secret sex ring
When does the ScarJo sexbot launch?
(Brian Entin Investigates) Sheriff murders judge in chambers, which reveals secret sex ring, corruption, coerced sex crimes by nominally Christian officials (judges, jailers, deputies, and anyone with power) in small town Kentucky with its drug addicts and accused innocents/convicted criminals, who are fed more drugs at sex parties to have no credibility if they were ever to speak out and blow the whistle on these abuses.
Young men series: How they’re going about courtship
Can I borrow your credit card so that you can buy me a some presents? Then we can go out!
Why do I need to date girls? Honestly!
One recent week on AirTalk, man-loving Host Larry Mantel thought to explore the experiences of today’s young men in America, the issues impacting them, and the trends they’re bucking.
This has led to some interesting data, namely that most young men are single whereas most young women are not single (thehill.com). So what’s going on with the dating scene? Why are young men seemingly struggling with courtship?
Joining Mantle to discuss these questions are Daniel Cox, director of the Survey Center on American Life at the American Enterprise Institute, a right-leaning think tank and Daniel Ellenberg, leadership coach, licensed therapist, and seminar leader.
One of those bucked trends is their views on religion. Historically, women have been more religious than men overall. But recent data from Pew Research suggests that Generation Z men are closing this gender gap and are becoming religious at rates near their women counterparts. So what’s behind the rise in religious young men, and will it last?
Joining Larry to answer these questions and more is associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University where he studies religious identity Ryan Burge and Reformed University Fellowship Campus Minister at the University of California, Irvine Derek Rishmawy.
Larry Mantle, AirTalk (laist.com), July 2025; Psychrypt on Schopenhauer and true love; The Ressurectionists, The 4,000-year-old secret behind the frog prince; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly
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