What are the core values of Confucianism? The core idea isren (“humaneness,”“benevolence”), signifying excellent character in accord with li (ritual norms), zhong (loyalty to one's true nature), shu (reciprocity), and xiao (filial piety). Together these constitute de (virtue). ...
What are the three anchor points of rationalism? What are the three ideas of metaphysics, according to Descartes? What are the Four Noble Truths in Buddhism? What is spiritual humanism? What are the three realms in Taoism? Are the three treasures of Daoism religious or philosophical?
This is a natural enough question to ask, as since I “came out” as a Daoist many people have been genuinely interested. What the question really asks is, “Please can you encapsulate the concepts of Daoism into a single sentence?” The person then normally looks a little askance as I ...
In each living being the Sun represents the core underlying energy around which all of the personality traits, needs, passions, and experiences revolve. The Sun animates our being in the physical world, the more we connect to our Sun and its powers, the more fulfilled we feel, and the ...
I saw theses on some Instagram political meme pages (don’t ask, Herald and Newsline aren’t around and this is how satire gets passed around once the world and the economy make magazines un-viable) and I was left with some questions. My query was: Are Hindu nationalists jealou...
Given everything else Śāntideva says in his writings, do we really think that, faced with the evidence against rebirth, Śāntideva would have responded: “welp, I guess the Buddha’s teaching is crap, I’m just gonna go spend the rest of this only life out drinking and whoring now...
“religion” and “science” (and that those two domainsmust overlapto some degree). Having done a degree in religious studies, I’ve thought through the concept of “religion” a lot – mostly to identify what amisleading categoryit is, though of course the phenomena it typically points to...
One should be aware of all too rapid identifications and remember to allow the texts to claim something different than the categories one would instinctively like them to represent. For instance, if you have just found out that X’s philosophy of language is “identical” to Grice’s, pause ...
What David is Working on? 22/02/2024 30/01/2024
Tradition is there to serve you, and it would be silly to throw away the collective development of mystics over millennia and try to reinvent the wheel. Find a wisdom tradition that speaks to your heart, then study and practice the core of it. Just don’t outsource your spiritual journey ...