A comparative study of early Buddhism and Kantian philosophy by S.G.M. Weerasingh One of the first things that drew me both to Kantian and Buddhist ethics was the notion of a morality that is at once transcendent and imminent. This means that there is a sense in which morality lies beyond our normal conceptions of the world and yet it is accessible to us always. In Buddhism it is beyond our normal conceptions because of egoic ignorance, fed by our clinging... Read more

A comparative study of early Buddhism and Kantian philosophy by S.G.M. Weerasinghe This is essentially the topic of my doctoral thesis, and here it is, all in 88 pages plus a glossary and index. Sadly though, I can’t really recommend the book. Even though it’s short (usually a plus in my world) and covers topics quite dear to my heart, it also has more than its share of flaws. To start, it’s written from something of a Buddhist triumphalist standpoint. Statements... Read more

I just lost an impromptu belching contest with Julie. Oh well. It’s Saturday, and it’s been a good one, so I can suck it up (and yes, Buddhist academics do happily goof around). I managed to run almost 5 miles tonight, and relatively quickly, so I’m feeling good. I worked on the thesis. I blogged – about race (see below), a topic that is well outside my comfort zone, but a topic that definitely deserves attention.  Flowers, received by the above Julie, at... Read more

A couple weeks ago, Firehorse, a new contributor to the Progressive Buddhism Blog, proposed a dialog on race and in Buddhist blogs. He begins by noting his debt in a way to Arun at Angry Asian Buddhist, Nathan at Dangerous Harvests, and Katie at Kloncke, three wonderfully thoughtful bloggers. He goes on to write: At the same time I am concerned by the generally unsatisfactory discussion about race and diversity on many Buddhist blogs. These discussions have been full of misunderstanding, misrepresentation, hurt feelings... Read more

My friend and former meditation teacher Bodhipaksa has recently been collecting and commenting upon interesting “Fake Buddha Quotes.”  This has been a source of occasional comedy, sometimes frustration, and also a bit of wonder. Why is it that people coin these fake new quotes? Why do others pick them up and spread them, unchecked, across the web and other networks? Why are some, like Bodhipaksa and myself, a bit frustrated with them? First a couple of those quotes (click the... Read more

I’m thinking maybe I should start doing something like “photo Mondays” – but, me being me, you’d have to expect them sometime Tuesday afternoon!  Anyhow, before the “thinkin’ big thoughts” resumes for the next couple days, I figure I should toss up some photos from a more-than-lovely day out in Montana. But before that, I should note that I had the pleasure of meeting a very cool monk on Saturday. This guy: Myself, Charlie, and Konchog Norbu(I didn’t get the maroon memo)... Read more

“The Office,” a comedy staring my life. Really, the floor usually is clean(er). Phew. Another chunk of thesis sent off. A momentary pause. Unfortunately I only completed half of my assigned task, so the other half is ahead of me for this week. Fortunately I have an amazing advisor, sympathetic departmental administrators, and a topic I still really love working on. Onward! Well, first some tidying. Then. Onward! Read more

Buddhist Philosophy of Mind: what is it? Does it exist? Does Buddhism do philosophy? Or is all philosophy the kind of metaphysical speculation that the Buddha was famously silent about? The first thing we ought to do is define our terms. Buddhism is the teaching of the Buddha and of his awakened (according to tradition) disciples. Buddhism is not always internally coherent because of the many differing contexts in which the teachings are presented. As a whole though, we can say... Read more

Thanks to Danny Fisher for this: Oh, but it gets better: Oh, and from my new favorite show: After that, youtube gets a bit depressing (mostly personal testimonials about grad school). Sigh. Read more

For all you bloggers who didn’t know that you’re being watched, studied, and analyzed, this is for you: I recall noticing recently in my visit statistics a link to a list of Religion Blogs at the Immanent Frame. I thought nothing of it at the time – except that it was oddly missing many of my favorite Buddho-bloggers – but now it’s back, this time complete with a full report.  Here are some snippits: “This report surveys nearly 100 of... Read more