Weekend Stories
I enjoy going exploring on weekends (mostly). Here is a collection of stories and photos I gather along the way. All posts are CC BY-NC-SA licensed unless otherwise stated. Feel free to share, remix, and adapt the content as long as you give appropriate credit and distribute your contributions under the same license.
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Buddha-Nature (Tathāgatagarbha) and the process of awakening
In Mahāyāna Buddhism, the concept of Buddha-Nature (tathāgatagarbha) has long served as a powerful metaphor for the innate potential of all beings to awaken. It affirms something simple but profound: that we do not need to become something else in order to attain liberation. We only need to see clearly what is already the case. Yet what exactly is Buddha-Nature? Does it imply a hidden essence beneath our everyday consciousness? Is it a kind of eternal self, contradicting the Buddha’s teaching of anattā (non-self)? Or can it be understood in a way that harmonizes with the process-based, selfless ontology that runs throughout Buddhist thought? In this post, we explore these questions and clarify the meaning of Buddha-Nature in light of the core teachings of Buddhism.
Tathatā: Buddhism’s view on reality as it is
In the Buddhist tradition, few concepts are as subtle, elusive, and yet foundational as Tathatā, commonly translated as suchness, thusness, or thatness. At first glance, the term may seem abstract or even redundant, but it plays a profound role in both philosophical inquiry and spiritual practice within Buddhism — especially in Mahāyāna thought. Tathatā refers to the ultimate nature of things, perceived directly, unmediated by conceptual thinking, dualistic judgment, or emotional overlay. It is not a description of something particular, but rather the way things are in their bare, uncontrived being.
The Middle Way: The balance between extremes in Buddhist thought
The concept of the Middle Way (Majjhimā Paṭipadā) represents a central idea in Buddhist philosophy. It refers to a path of moderation that deliberately avoids the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification. Rather than a simple lifestyle recommendation, the Middle Way serves as a philosophical framework with implications for ethics, mental training, and epistemology in various Buddhist traditions. It is presented as the pathway toward the cessation of suffering (nibbāna). In this post, we take a closer look at the Middle Way, its historical roots, and its implications in Buddhist thought.
Meditation as the liberation from suffering
In the Buddhist tradition, meditation is not an isolated technique but the living heart of the path to liberation. It embodies the experiential core of the samādhi section of the Noble Eightfold Path — comprising right effort, right mindfulness (sati), and right concentration (samādhi) — and serves as the necessary foundation for the development of liberating insight (vipassanā). The task of Buddhist meditation is not merely to calm the mind but to transform the entire way we experience and respond to reality. This transformation unfolds through the interplay of two inseparable dimensions: calming meditation (samatha), which stabilizes attention and fosters inner stillness; and insight meditation (vipassanā), which investigates the impermanent, unsatisfactory, and selfless nature of all experience. Meditation is thus the bridge between Buddhist philosophy and lived understanding — where abstract teachings become concrete and embodied. In this post, we approach meditation not simply as a spiritual or psychological tool, but as a method for liberating the mind from its conditioned patterns. We explore how it addresses the fragmented nature of untrained consciousness, how it refines attention through deepening stages of absorption (jhāna), and how it opens the way to ethical transformation and wisdom. Meditation here is not just a practice — it is a reorientation of the entire self toward clarity, compassion, and freedom.
The role of compassion and loving-kindness in Buddhism
Compassion, or karuṇā, occupies a prominent position within Buddhist thought and practice. It is regarded not simply as an emotion, but as a cultivated disposition toward relieving the suffering of others. Unlike empathy, which involves resonating with another’s pain, Buddhist compassion is seen as an active and intentional commitment to alleviate suffering. It is often discussed in conjunction with related concepts such as mettā (loving-kindness), anattā (non-self), and bodhicitta (the aspiration toward awakening for the benefit of others), and is considered instrumental in the development of moral conduct (sīla) and insight (prajñā). In this post, we explore the role of compassion in Buddhism, its philosophical underpinnings, and its practical implications.
Nirvana: The cessation of suffering in Buddhist thought
Nirvana occupies a central position in Buddhist philosophy as the ultimate goal of the spiritual path. Often translated as ‘extinction’, ‘cessation’, or ‘liberation’, Nirvana signifies the end of suffering, ignorance, and the cycle of rebirth known as samsāra. Rather than being a state of bliss in the conventional sense, Nirvana is characterized by the complete extinguishing of the fires that sustain cyclic existence: craving (tanha), clinging (upādāna), and delusion (moha). However, the conceptualization of Nirvana within Buddhism is intentionally elusive, resisting precise definitions and instead inviting reflection through negation, contrast, and experiential insight. In this post, we explore the multifaceted nature of Nirvana, its historical development, and its implications for Buddhist practice.
The Noble Eightfold Path: The Buddhist path to liberation
The Noble Eightfold Path (Ariyo Aṭṭhaṅgiko Maggo) constitutes a central framework in Buddhist thought, outlining a methodology for ethical and mental cultivation aimed at the cessation of suffering (dukkha) and the realization of enlightenment (nibbāna). It synthesizes core aspects of Buddhist doctrine into a structured approach that integrates cognitive insight, moral behavior, and mental training. Rather than prescribing rigid rules, the Eightfold Path offers a flexible, context-sensitive model applicable across diverse cultural and historical settings.
Dependent Origination: The interdependent nature of existence
The doctrine of Dependent Origination (Paṭicca-samuppāda in Pāli, Pratītya-samutpāda in Sanskrit) is one of the central tenets of Buddhist philosophy. It provides an explanation for the arising and cessation of suffering by illustrating the interconnected and conditional nature of all phenomena. This teaching negates the notion of a permanent, independent self and instead presents reality as a web of interdependent causes and conditions. The understanding of Dependent Origination is crucial to Buddhist thought and practice, as it directly relates to the cessation of suffering and the attainment of liberation (nirvāṇa).
The Three Poisons: The roots of suffering in Buddhist thought
Buddhist philosophy offers a systematic framework for analyzing the origins of suffering, attributing its persistence to three fundamental mental afflictions commonly referred to as the Three Poisons (akusala-mūla in Sanskrit and Pāli). These defilements — greed (lobha), hatred (dosa), and delusion (moha) — are understood within the tradition as the core drivers of suffering (dukkha) and the dynamic forces that sustain the cycle of rebirth (samsāra). Rather than being regarded as metaphysical absolutes, the Three Poisons function as psychological and ethical categories used to explain recurring patterns in human thought and behavior. In this post, we examine their characteristics, their role in Buddhist cosmology and soteriology, and the conceptual tools developed to counteract them.
The Five Aggregates: Deconstructing the illusion of self in Buddhist thought
The concept of the Five Aggregates (pañcakkhandha in Pāli, pañcaskandha in Sanskrit, with khandha and skandha both meaning ‘aggregate’ or ‘heap’) lies at the heart of Buddhist psychology and metaphysics. It serves as Siddhartha Gautama’s response to the age-old question of personal identity: What constitutes the self? Unlike many religious and philosophical traditions that posit a permanent, unchanging essence — often referred to as the soul or ātman in Indian thought — Buddhism presents a radically different view. The doctrine of anattā (Pāli) or anātman (Sanskrit) asserts that there is no fixed, independent self. Instead, what we conventionally call a ‘person’ is merely a dynamic interplay of five psychophysical aggregates. In this post, we explore the Five Aggregates in detail, their role in sustaining the illusion of self, and their implications for achieving liberation (nirvāṇa) from suffering (dukkha).