Buddha-Sasana

Understanding the aggregates

The aggregates are a foundational teaching of the Buddha, but they are rarely properly understood. This talk shows how to identify all the aggregates in your own experience and explains their role in contemplative practice.

What is the Buddha-Sasana?

The Buddha-Sasana is Buddhism as a living tradition, something that evolves, spreads to new lands, dies out in old lands, rather than Buddhism as the Dharma, which is much more static. A key question for the Buddha seems to be is how well the Buddha-Sasana would retain the authenticity of the Buddha-Dharma.

The story of my ordination

A narrative account of BC's 2009 bhikkhu ordination in Burma. This story appears in his 2012 book, Through the Looking Glass, which can be found on-line.

 

Out from under extrinsic motivation

'Trinsic motivation sermon 4. Our practice has a social foundation, as taught by the Buddha. Social conditions are the primary way we are oppressed by extrinsic motivatons. This talk discusses how we get out from under these conditions. 

 

 

The thunder of intrinsic motivation

'Trinsic motivation sermon 3. This deals with how to encourage intrinsic motivators in our live, how to "follow your bliss," to make our projects more satisfying and meaningful. Projects include hobbies, career, education marriage and religion. The importance of faith and devotion in all of these is discussed.

 

The blunder of extrinsic motivation

'Trinsic motivation part 2. We show how Buddhism predicts the mental and spiritual downside of extrinsic motivation (striving toward personal advantage) in terms of its ethical quality. The antidote is the development of virtue.

 

The wonder of intrinsic motivation

This talk is on the importance of doing things for no particular purpose, in life and in Buddhist practice. It is largely based on evidence from modern experimental psychology, which closely resonates with traditional Buddhist teachings, and which demonstrates that increased well-being, satisfaction, proficiency, understanding and creativity results when we let go of goals.

 

The beauty queen

This talk examines three similes for mindfulness, two of the Buddha's and one of my own, and discusses how our meditation needs to venture beyond the breath. This talk was recorded at Sitagu Buddha Vihara, Austin, TX, October 13, 2018

The seven Factors of Awakening

The seven factors of awakening are an oft neglected causal chain of factors described by the Buddha that arise one by one in meditation practice and link mindfulness and concentration.