Huston’s Yogas
I’ve been reading Huston Smith’s World Religions for ordination studies. The book is well-written but dominated by recent academic perspectives of the topic. It offers a general overview of the larger faiths, but I wouldn’t …
Category: Philosophy
What is Devotion?
In this conversation, Kavitha Chinnaiyan speaks with Jacob Kyle of Embodied Philosophy on true devotion. You may recognize his voice from my interview. At first I disagreed with her statements about devotion being required for …
Saoirse
No, not the actress. What she’s named for. “Of all the treasures a person can possess, she says, the most valuable is saoirse [pronounced sear-sha “like inertia”], the Gaelic word for freedom.” Andrew Nikiforuk, interviewing …
Bhedābheda Vedānta
Vedanta means the end of the Veda or final knowledge and is the last of the 6 systems of Indian Philosophy (Yoga is the 4th). We also know these systems as the Vedanga or subordinate …
Who Am I?
This is one of life’s big questions. Most people identify with things like their name, work, background, nationality, skin colour, tastes, and so forth. But these are stories about ourselves or roles we’ve adopted. They …
Meaning and Purpose
Recently, I was invited to submit an article on the Meaning of Life to a website of single focus. They host over 1,100 articles on that single topic from a very wide range of people …
Austerity
In spiritual traditions the world over, austerities have been considered a key requirement for spiritual progress. Shankara, for example, revived the monastic tradition in India and there has been a clear lineage since. Buddha gave …
Preyas and Shreyas
Recently, I read an article by Kavitha Chinnaiyan M.D. on Preyas and Shreyas. It’s not an approach I’ve explored before but one that can shed some insight. Preyas means pleasing, desired, gratifying, a lover; what …
The 10 Bulls
There is a famous series of 10 panels (below) portraying the stages of enlightenment from a Zen Buddhist perspective. They are known as the 10 Bulls or Oxen. I’ve touched on these before but it’s …
The Maaya of Maya
On this blog, I’ve been arguing that the Sanskrit “maya” comes from the root “to build” and means creation, not illusion. We may see the world as an illusion at a certain stage but the …
Chitheads Interview
On December 11, I chatted with Jacob Kyle on the Chitheads* podcast from Embodied Philosophy. He suggested we’d chat for about 45 minutes but we went an hour and a half. Even there, we skimmed …
Inherent Intelligence
When we talk about origins, it’s important to recognize the intelligence embedded in the process of all experience and expression. Pure Divinity seeps into everything. For example, in the origins of consciousness, when liveliness stirs …