Well, I am back in Hobart. Normality has return to life and I am working on my thesis again—currently I am researching the history and development of the notion of the self in ancient Indian philosophy, looking at the Rig-Veda and Upanishads in particular. My retreat went well and was mostly peaceful. New Years Eve was a great night for meditation on impermanence. For most of the day it was hot, then came a massive storm around 9.00 pm. Needless to say, I stopped, opened the windows and doors to let some cool air inside. I took some photos with a low-resolution camera. Here is one in which you can see the tail of a lightening strike.
A pithy turn of phrase, a quip engendering insight, all these linguistic devices are the tools of smarter men (and women) than I. Philosophy, for the most part, is not easy. It is not easy because of the hours spent frustrated by misunderstanding, or, as is more often the case, a sense of not understanding what the hell it is that you are reading. In the end, I must add, it is an experience for which one is better off for having. With the afore written in mind, and as good evidence of my point, I wanted to address the notion of clarity in philosophy.
I would like to explain the meaning of compassion which is often misunderstood. Genuine compassion is based not on our own projections and expectations, but rather on the rights of the other: irrespective of whether another person is a close friend or an enemy, as long as that person wishes for peace and happiness and wishes to overcome suffering, then on that basis we develop a genuine concern for his or her problems – His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
Emptiness or selflessness is widely misunderstood in the West, even among Western Buddhists. There is a general belief that selflessness means no self exists, period. That emptiness equates to a total annihilation of ourselves. Thankfully however, this is not the case as selflessness is more subtle than this. Selflessness and emptiness entail that persons do not possess any kind of absolute ontological status.
For those of us that aspire to meditate well, it can be easy to get caught in thoughts of how wonderful it would be to have flawless concentration. As most of us carry expectations into our meditation sessions, and as we sit with a mind that continues to wander, continues to play the uncontrollable buffoon, it is easy for us to become disheartened by our lack of progress.
Article series: Illumination of the ThoughtNote Taking and Critical Analysis MethodWho was Tsong khapa and Why is He an Important Philosopher?Preface to Tsong khapa’s Illumination of the ThoughtIntroduction to the Illumination of the ThoughtHomage to Compassion Without Dividing its Types Introduction In the introduction of Illumination of the Thought, Tsong khapa pays homage to the Buddha and the Madhyamaka lineage gurus, that is, the Indian pandits who expounded the Middle Way philosophy of emptiness and dependent-arising. May... [Read the full story]
Well, I am back in Hobart. Normality has return to life and I am working on my thesis again—currently I am researching the history and development of the notion of the self in ancient Indian philosophy, looking at the Rig-Veda and Upanishads in particular. My retreat went well and was mostly peaceful. New Years Eve was a great night for meditation on impermanence. For most of the day it was hot, then came a massive storm around 9.00 pm. Needless to say, I stopped, opened the windows and doors to let some cool air inside.... [Read the full story]
Hi Everyone, The migration of the old content to the new website has been completed and most of you signed up. Thank you. However, some of you have not, and so I wanted to send through a reminder as well as to let you know that I will continue to focus on dharma and meditation articles—albeit with a twist of science. I also have exciting news coming up (just waiting on an official document to arrive via email). Think…retreat center in the mountains just North of Hobart. Think…Australian wide institution committed... [Read the full story]
Well, I am back in Hobart. Normality has return to life and I am working on my thesis again—currently I am researching the history and development of the notion of the self in ancient Indian philosophy, looking at the Rig-Veda and Upanishads in particular. My retreat went well and was mostly peaceful. New Years Eve was a great night for meditation on impermanence. For most of the day it was hot, then came a massive storm around 9.00 pm. Needless to say, I stopped, opened the windows and doors to let some cool air inside.... [Read the full story]
Well, I am back in Hobart. Normality has return to life and I am working on my thesis again—currently I am researching the history and development of the notion of the self in ancient Indian philosophy, looking at the Rig-Veda and Upanishads in particular. My retreat went well and was mostly peaceful. New Years Eve was a great night for meditation on impermanence. For most of the day it was hot, then came a massive storm around 9.00 pm. Needless to say, I stopped, opened the windows and doors to let some cool air inside.... [Read the full story]
You may have seen this in the previous iteration. This one is in HD or at least HD internet style and so it should look nice even in full screen mode. if you can’t see the video click here Enjoy :) AKPC_IDS += "840,"; Read More →
Well, I am back in Hobart. Normality has return to life and I am working on my thesis again—currently I am researching the history and development of the notion of the self in ancient Indian philosophy, looking at the Rig-Veda and Upanishads in particular. My retreat went well and was mostly peaceful. New Years Eve was a great night for meditation on impermanence. For most of the day it was hot, then came a massive storm around 9.00 pm. Needless to say, I stopped, opened the windows and doors to let some cool air inside. I took some photos with a low-resolution camera. Here is one in which you can see the tail of a lightening strike. A few new, and I would say, exciting things have taken place over the Australian summer one of which is a new website. The other, I will have more to say about after the what and the why. (note: if you are reading this in an email you will need to follow the links to the website to see all the details). A New Website The new website in a way represents the refocusing of my long term energy—after the PhD, of course. The new website the domain of which is my western name will come at the same problems addressed by the Buddha yet for modern Western culture. It is therefore unlike LodenJinpa.com which is more or less an explanation of the ancient texts. This new website will be a rephrasing of ancient issues pertaining to the human condition coupled with a modern scientific style of inquiry—more on this later. And of course, there will be news and stuff about what I am up to. The reason for returning to the use of my western name is, in part, because western universities—UTas in this case —for legal reasons can not allow the use of my monastic name in their IT systems. I have no problem with this, as a name is really just a label but, it does create confusion over what to call me. For instance, at first people here at UTas knew me as Loden Jinpa, yet my university email address was in my western name. So, at some point, I stopped... [Read the full story]
Hi Everyone, The migration of the old content to the new website has been completed and most of you signed up. Thank you. However, some of you have not, and so I wanted to send through a reminder as well as to let you know that I will continue to focus... [Read more]
Well, I am back in Hobart. Normality has return to life and I am working on my thesis again—currently I am researching the history and development of the notion of the self in ancient Indian philosophy, looking at the Rig-Veda and Upanishads in particular. My... [Read more]
A pithy turn of phrase, a quip engendering insight, all these linguistic devices are the tools of smarter men (and women) than I. Philosophy, for the most part, is not easy. It is not easy because of the hours spent frustrated by misunderstanding, or,... [Read more]
This is a copy of a letter I wrote to my teacher–Geshe Thubten Loden–a few days before leaving for Tasmania. I am publishing it here now as a means to create the merit for Geshe la to continue to stay with us. Please Geshe-la do not leave us now.... [Read more]
Below is a stream-of-consciousness thought and I mean no disrespect to Socially Engaged Buddhists. Today, I heard someone call themselves a socially engaged Buddhist. Isn’t all Buddhist theory socially engaged? As many have already had a lot to... [Read more]
One of the blessings of my visit to India earlier this year was the chance to spend time immersed in Tibetan culture. What I truly believe is a culture of compassion. While there, I gave some lectures on English and computers to several Geshe’s.... [Read more]
It has been a while I know, and given that tomorrow is my weekly supervisory meeting, I should be working on my thesis. Yet I find myself thinking about compassion. So much for not “breakin the chain”. Actually I joke, because Jerry’s... [Read more]
Writing and Meditation Writing a PhD thesis is the largest project I’ve worked on. As I began writing I often found myself feeling slightly uncomfortable. At first I wasn’t sure what it was. Then I twigged! A PhD is a huge project, which... [Read more]
Today is a good day. If only because a book I have been waiting on has arrived ahead of time. Published in 1964 The Self in Indian Philosophy is an scholarly survey of the different notions of self according to the various schools of…well…Indian... [Read more]