BookTalk: Figure carving - the ethnic style

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In Today’s book talk I am going to discuss about my book “Figure carving = the ethnic style”.

Real teacher Vs False teacher

We come across many teachers – some real, interested in our welfare, and some in their own. Buddha gives a nice simile to differentiate between these two categories of teachers.

Right way to look at sensuality

 

Buddha’s ‘No’ ‘No’ to sensuality confuses some people. Lot of questions get raised in their mind. “Can it ever be done?”, “What is wrong in going after sense pleasures?”, “Is the happiness derived from sense pleasures not worth it?”, "Is there something beyond these pleasures?",  and so on.

Have you ever tried living alone?

Many of us dread the idea of living alone, even for a day, let alone whole life. Loneliness scares us. We always want to be surrounded by people who are dear to us. At least we need to keep interacting with the world either through phone, TV or internet. Why is that so? 

How essential is right way of living?

We often come across people who live a unwholesome life, but talk high about their spiritual achievements. There are many modern Gurus who live a lowly life, while preaching spirituality to others. They even say that Yama and Niyama of Yoga are not at all needed and one can straight away jump to meditation or ‘other limbs’ of Yoga. 

I have ridiculed them in my post ‘tail wagging the dog’. What does Buddha say about this attitude?

Deeper insights into body and Mind

In the previous post, we saw how Buddha explains a way of coming out of the association with our bodies. This is part of Vipassana or often called ‘Insight meditation’ talked about by Buddha. 

We are not just body. We have a mind too, and the Buddhists recognize that fact. Buddha says that we have to understand the reality of this mind too and come out of its association. That is the Vipassana of the mind.  How does one do that?

How to come out of body consciousness?

Most of us are so deeply conscious of our body that we can’t think of anything without involving the body. So much so that we almost take it for granted and don’t even realize it. Beyond a limit, this can be a great impediment to our further progress. Is there a way out? Buddha has a way.

How to improve mental concentration?

Whether it is our day to day life or be it professional life, good mental concentration is a must for achieving best results. So also for meditation. Without first developing good mental concentration, you cannot successfully meditate even. 

How does one improve mental concentration? Let us hear that right from the horse’s mouth.

Why are we born?

That probably is a question that intrigues some of us. At a superficial level, the answer to this question is quite simple – “because of mating of our parents” ;-). But if we look deep, that does not answer the question completely.

Should a realized person preach others?

Is it wrong for a realized individual to propagate what he has experienced? Or should he keep away from the world without getting into the entanglement of Guru-disciple relations?

A real Guru needs no false propaganda

Today we see many Gurus trying to lure prospective disciples by posting internet ads, uploading vague YouTube videos, giving discourses in reputed organizations, visiting rich countries, getting interviewed by celebrities, displaying or talking about miracles, and so on.

Here and now (Buddha’s soul….)

 Many religions hold the promise of better life in the next birth or merry time in the heavens after death, in reward to your good deeds. Faithful accept these promises unquestioningly. But none of these things can be verified “here and now”.

A sinner becomes a saint (Buddha’s soul….)

 

There is a nice story in the Sutta Pitaka (DN 2: Samaññaphala Sutta) that says how even a worst sinner can get himself elevated through repentance and good deeds.

Baskets full of wisdom (Buddha’s soul….)

A disciple always looks up to his Guru for wisdom. He needs Guru’s guidance when he moves on the path of spiritual; quest. But the Guru can’t be there forever. So the disciples meticulously record whatever the Guru says, to look back when the Guru is no longer around.

Buddha’s soul

Did Buddha have a soul? An interesting question, but a question that may offend some Buddhists. Buddhists firmly believe that no such thing like soul exists.

Why is the Upanishadic concept of oneness relevant? (Upanishads…)

In the previous several posts, I discussed some interesting views expressed by one of the most ancient of the scriptures namely the Upanishads. Whether one agrees with whatever is discussed in the Upanishads or not, I personally feel that their core messages are very relevant today. 

Who is 'self' ? (Upanishads...)

In the previous post we said that only 'Self realization' can give eternal peace. Who is this 'self'? How do Upanishads view an individual? As I said earlier, Upanishads employ nice allegories to explain subtle concepts. In this post we will see one such well known allegory. 

Only self realization can give eternal peace (Upanishads...)

Many of the narratives in the Upanishads really amaze me! Not because I consider them to be ultimate truths but because of their simplicity and ‘the matter of fact’ style of conveying profound ideas.

Where is the silver screen? (Upanishads...)

There is an interesting allegory given by one Swami of Rämakrishna order (successors of Swami Vivekananda). The allegory tries to explain how Turïya is the substrate of the entire world we see around, but still it is not apparent. The allegory goes as follows.

Is Turïya a state or reality? (Upanishads...)

In the previous posts I talked about Turiya as a state – one of the four states of cognition. That is my understanding of the Mändükya Upanishad in which it is described. But Advaita philosophers don’t agree. What do they say?