So I am firmly suggesting that Vikalpa is kind of the thing in the way. It is the thing we need to deconstruct. Vikalpa is like: a wall being continually built, by you, by your mind, by your thinking and discursive activities……kind of all the time; it is the notion that you are something of a constant wall builder. So, it is not “there” as somethin…

Insight meditation is really a critical process. A process of negation – one is trying to actively undermine something; to tear down a solid wall; to uncover something which has been concealed. To find something which is normally hidden. So in most traditions, it is a deconstructive process, not a process of building something up. So a large part o…

In shamatha meditation, nothing is being added, and nothing is really being taken away. It’s just a point where stillness and stability may be discovered as part of the functioning of your mind; alongside all the other crazy, interesting, dirty, strange stuff. It is at precisely such a point where the Dharmic traditions offer a doorway into where a…

In this episode we begin our investigation of the mind by asking ‘how do we know what the mind is?’ And I invite you to examine those often unexamined predicates about how we know what the mind is, by widening and going beyond the sense that brain and mind are simply synonyms. The post 012 Episode Twelve – Knowing the Mind appeared first on Arete H…

When we have an actual technique to work with, such as tonglen, this will only work in the context of intention and repetition. There is no magical panacea, a technique that you find or someone gives you that just kind of magically works. It is by the sheer weight of accumulation that it works. How many times does a top 100 golf player hit a ball w…

Once we steer our thinking away from the notion that love is something innately ‘there’; or that it is something we ‘get’ from other people, or that it is something we choose by swiping left on Tinder or finding someone attractive at the bar. Once we cut through all of that illusion, and realise that love is a state of mind which we can always, con…

The great ethical traditions – the virtues traditions of ancient Greece and Rome, the Shramana traditions of ancient India and the Confucian stream of ancient China – are for all their differences, united in seeing a causal relationship between present mental dispositions, virtues, vices, character and future possible happiness or flourishing. The …

In this episode I make a very strong claim about the relationship between causation and our ordinary lives – it is this: that success and failure, happiness and depression, confidence and fear, enlightenment and ignorance, a good life and a shit life, virtue and vice……all, absolutely, 100% depend on thoroughly mastering causation in the context of …

If you can’t see what kinds of constraints you face, then there is no hope for gaining freedom from them. So, we must find a way to gain that sight – and this implies to simply see, very clearly and nakedly and without excessive embellishment, the exact nature of the causes and effects which are directly ensnaring us. The post 08 Episode Eight Clea…

In this episode we turn from ‘how do we know?’ kinds of questions to one of the most fundamental questions that we can frame: what is reality? And the starting point for answering this is rather down to earth: causation. The post 06 Episode Six The Nature of Reality appeared first on Arete House.By Dr Toby Mendelson

Once we discern where the limits of reason might be, the question becomes: what lies beyond it? In this episode we investigate three modes of knowing that lay outside reason’s domain: intuition, shabda pramana (Skt: verbal testimony) and prajna (Skt: direct insight). In some way or another, all the theory, analysis, knowledge that you acquire throu…

It doesn’t take a Socrates to figure out that there may be some kind of connection between all those tools of knowledge spoken of in the last episode, and reason. In that the process of acquiring good knowledge very often entails using logic to determine truth from falsity, consistency from inconsistency, and contradiction from non-contradiction. B…

Intellectual diligence, patience, hermeneutical awareness, basic insight into the discipline of epistemology and balance between excessive naivety and caution are all essential tools of knowledge that anyone can cultivate and utilise. They are not just for philosophers or scholars. To quote Shantideva, the great Indian master of bodhicitta, if whol…

One of the most well known stories about Socrates is the one where he went to the Oracle of Athens and asked her, ‘who is the wisest person in all of Athens.’ To which she replied ‘Socrates.’ And he thought, ‘that can’t be right, because I don’t know anything…..’ This episode is about the inherent complexity and uncertainty that arises when one rej…

In essence, the series is about making the case that a range of philosophical tools, disciplines and practices are necessary in order to live a fruitful spiritual life – which is something many of the ancients east and west basically took for granted, but which I suspect we have lost sight of. The basic premise is that we – as human beings – are hi…

In this episode two Buddhist philosophers – Martin Kovan and Toby Mendelson – continue their formal dialogue around the relationship (and tensions) between philosophy, Buddhism and meditation practice. Topics covered in part II include: karma and rebirth, pitfalls and possibilities in ‘western’ Buddhism, anatman/atman, comparative philosophy east &…

In this episode two Buddhist philosophers – Martin Kovan and Toby Mendelson – conduct a formal dialogue around the relationship (and tensions) between philosophy, Buddhism and meditation practice. Topics covered in part I include: the role and task of philosophy, idealist experiences, modernist/secularist vs traditionalist approaches to Buddhist pr…

In this episode we are joined by young film maker and lifelong Tibetan Buddhist practitioner, Freeman Treblicock. With beautiful candor and openness, Freeman talks about the profound influence of his spiritual teachers, the relationship between myth and psychology, and his transition from child monk to mature film maker. Please Donate—It takes less…

Prejudice and fear alone prevent the person entering into foreign domains of knowledge. The cocoon of the familiar is a prison of contempt. Wisdom is born from understanding; understanding is born from knowledge; knowledge is born from entering into the unfamiliar in a spirit of openness and with a willingness to learn. This is an axiom on the path…

In this episode we ask two questions which are highly elusive: what does ‘spiritual’ mean and what does it mean to live a spiritual life? Although we do not arrive at a clear and concise answer to these questions, we do uncover some fascinating connections (and disconnections) between spiritual life and freedom, work, religion and happiness. Please…

Being anchored in bodhicitta is the only true insurance. It is the only uncorrupted thing you can hold. It is at once the path and the telos, the reality of causation and the freedom of its cessation. It is at once emptiness and phenomena, morality and transcendence, compassion and wisdom. Parting from it ensures being utterly lost in the sea, whic…

In this episode we speak with Carl Asuruf about the discoveries he has made about techniques of embodiment and how they coalesce indivisibly with emotional, psychic and intellectual habits. We explore this particularly through the lens of Feldenkrais and Traditional Chinese Medicine, and discover that both are less about treating specific ailments …

When imbalance is experienced, the common error is to attempt to create or construct balance. And these attempts of control are endless and fruitless. The art of balance is ruthlessly simple: hold nothing. The mind that abandons holding itself dissolves the cause of imbalance. It co-emerges into the emptiness of appearance and so everything is auto…

To recognise the reality of emptiness, one has to find the thing to be relinquished. It cannot be found in any text, philosophy or teaching. It is the grip itself, the part of you that holds the mind and holds the body. Do not look for an ego, a self, an essence, a false consciousness. Do not look at all. Feel for the part of you that grips. You ca…

In this episode we are joined by Matthew Sharpe – Associate Professor of Philosophy at Deakin University – in order to explore the tremendous richness of ancient western contemplative techniques and practices. In particular, we explore the views and practices of the Stoics and rescue the ancient meaning of the philosopher as he or she who loves wis…

The loftiest goals are actualised on the wings of perseverance and patience. With those two attributes any goal – worldly or spiritual – can be attained. Patience is the sky and space around the jumbo jet, perseverance is the engine power. Without the sky there is no possibility of moving forward, without the power there is no momentum. The two uni…

Being true is a verb not a logical statement. Truth is living, porous, manifest. The search for truth is the search for refreshing water in a desert. A necessity which is nonetheless hard to find. Truth is distinct from inclination, instinct, habit, language. It is hard enough to encounter that few persist. Those that do must unravel themselves, st…

Everyone knows about yoga, and many people participate in it. But as we mentioned in the earlier episodes, there seems to be a rather large abyss between the Indian tradition of yoga – which has its roots in the early Upanishads (perhaps even earlier) and flowered especially under the hand of Patanjali in the 8th century – to what we see and maybe …

This podcast explores a classic text The Art of Loving (1956) by Eric Fromm a renowned psychoanalyist, social theorist and Marxist of the 20th century. Fromm regards love, not as something that simply happens, or that we fall into, but the crowning achievement of a mature individual, demanding of us the greatest of human qualities and attention. Fr…

Simplicity is synonymous with clarity, elegance and precision. A tamed, concentrated mind always expresses itself in this way. Complexity is never ignored or covered up. It is seen clearly, directly, precisely. But nothing much is done with it – it is not grasped by the mind and turned into a complex conceptual-symbolic order. It is just seen and r…

There is nothing quite so dangerous on the spiritual path as abiding in mere belief. Such a danger lurks in every tradition and on every path. Abiding in mere belief is always a choice. One does not know, so one chooses to cross the gap with mere belief – usually built out of the currents of fear, hope, desire, wish fulfillment, pride or weakness. …

This is a small clip from a longer podcast exploring Erich Fromm’s masterpiece The Art of Loving (1956). This small segment explores a trinity of ideas not usually associated with each other — Activity, Love & Meditation — which are far more deeply integrated than most imagine. Please consider donating the cost of your coffee or lunch. It means we …

True compassion arises out of the mirror-wisdom, the seat of Truth. Those who act compassionately before such an attainment are indeed acting. They are mistaking their sentiments and affections for compassion, disguising their attachments and aversions as altruism. The world is filled with compassion actors, but is almost entirely bereft of the gen…

Such a truth [that yogic life entails immense will] goes deeply against common opinion, which associates spiritual life with passivity, and meekness, and the surrender of ambition. It mistakes the silence of the heart and the serenity of samadhi for the dissolution of will. But in truth, the will becomes devastating, potent and intoxicatingly inten…

The mind’s eye is used to gazing ahead. It looks horizontally, through the immanent tides of the day. It knows the conditions and tries to discover the causes. It sees the unfolding of time and intuits the final decay. Always, it looks ahead, like the driver of a car. What happens when the driver stops, lays upon the grass and lets his focus fall u…

Imagining or conceiving of subtle luminosity is radically distinct from perceiving it, from basking in its delightful actuality. The act of imagining or conceiving is the very thing in the way of perceiving it. For subtle luminosity dawns precisely in the same way as the sun rising – one does not need to do anything to perceive and experience a sun…

The world of causation is immutable. The successful and accomplished know only one truth, and it is thus. Paying heed to causation, they are precise and meticulous. Being precise and meticulous, they undertake good actions and accumulate a manifold of virtues and success. Because they understand the nature of the process, they always master the pro…

The lost mind is untamed, unruly, uncontrollable – these are effects of the cause. The cause is that the mind is lost. The mind that is lost apprehends objects, but not itself apprehending. This is like seeing an orange and forgetting that it is the eyes which look. Most of us look this way, we have lost our eyes. Most of us apprehend this way, we …

Avidyā (basic ignorance) is the ontological space of ordinary mind. It is not an absence of knowledge or a lack of intelligence. It is the background, ever-present, all-encompassing lived experience of reality. Its character is heaviness and dullness – a comforting shade which always blocks the radiant sun…… Please Donate—It takes less than 2 minut…

The knot of the heart is the root cause of constraint. So long as it is there, freedom cannot be. The knot of the heart is made of an unwillingness to serve others. It is tied by the ropes of self concern. Where there is concern with the self, the knot tightens. Where there is concern for others, the knot loosens. This is the oscillation of human l…

Relinquishing desire is not a giving up of pleasure for the morality of temperance and moderation. Nor is it an asceticism for its own sake. It is analogous to giving up gambling for a fruitful investment. The pay off is immense. When nothing is needed, the mind is freed from chasing empty phantoms and in that freedom, the possibility of bliss dawn…

Tranquility Meditation for turning inward This practice aims to cultivate tranquillity and concentration by drawing one’s attention inward to a single object of meditation. Potentially effective in helping for people experiencing mental distraction, hyper-activity and insomnia. The guidance provided here is deeply indebted to and drawn from Tibetan…

A Light Touch (Heart) A simple and very short technique to help reconnect to your body, your heart and your calm mind, to adopt in a short space throughout your day, to connect with your heart, to energise and to stabilise. This episode combines description, inspiration and direct guidance for the meditation. Please Donate—It takes less than 2 minu…

Meditation beyond the cushion Keeping your meditation alive throughout the day One of the greatest frustrations regarding meditation, beyond what actually happens on the cushion, is rapidly loosing one’s presence of mind after leaving the cushion. This episode presents a very simple and effective way to keep elements of your meditation practice and…

Healing Meditation For letting go of anxieties, desires, obsessions. For healing body and mind and for cultivating a radiant and peaceful mind. Involves visualisations and contemplations. Please Donate—It takes less than 2 minutes and means we can keep producing Free content for you! Want to go deeper? Do so by taking the following course: .fusion-…

The desire-body seeks peace, rest, happiness. It works like a factory to achieve this, but only rarely finds brief moments of respite. The soft milky sweetness of maitri melts away all such ceaseless ambition, because it is the purified energy of desire itself. But when you need and want this elixir of the gods, how is it found? Please Donate—It ta…

True thinking is a dance with the sword of prajna. The dirty mess of conceptual proliferation is sliced open, and whatever jewels of knowledge and insight exist are strung into the necklace of understanding. The swordsman engages – he enters into the terrain of thinking, unafraid to touch ideas with his blade. But he never grasps an idea. He lets h…

This is not a task of philosophy. It is a task of speaking of things which arise out of true silence. To attempt to give voice to the ineffable is obviously fraught with tension – silence itself is always the truest way. But words can be like a gentle breeze or even a gale – they can lead the mind towards and into silence and those ineffable truths…

East-West Spiritual Encounters—Historical Reflections Contemporary spiritual life is unimaginable without yoga mats, Buddha statues and mindfulness practices. In order to unmask this, we undertake a brief recent history of East-West dialogue or transmission. Beginning in the 19th century, we examine the way Indian and East Asian spiritual tradition…

East-West Spiritual Encounters in the 21st Century Where Are We Now? In this episode we (mostly) leave aside the history of east-west spiritual transmission, and ask ‘where has it actually led us to?’ We examine the relationship between Buddhism and science, Yoga and the body and the New Age connection to ‘wellness.’ In doing so, we uncover a vexin…