Sam Harris
Book Bits

What Are We Calling “I”?

We often identify ourselves with the events that have happened to us and the things we have done, rather than the subjective center of experience itself. In an echo of the Buddhist teaching of the absence of a permanent self, Harris asserts that when the absence of this self is found, then 'the feeling of being a self disappears.'

Buddha Sabbasava Sutta
Sutra Excerpts, Sutras

Which are the Unanswerable Questions?

Although the spirit of inquiry is at the heart of Buddhist practice, there are some questions that the Buddha deemed to be unanswerable, and discouraged his followers from asking. These are the deeply existential questions that seek answers about the nature of the self, the origin of the self and the state of the self… Continue reading Which are the Unanswerable Questions?

Book Bits

Aldous Huxley on Cleverness and the Perennial Philosophy

Aldous Huxley published The Perennial Philosophy in 1945, just after the end of the Second World War, sending into a divided world a much needed work of unification. His book is grounded in the idea of the 'philosophia perennis', the idea that all religions in the world have in common the human yearning to experience the… Continue reading Aldous Huxley on Cleverness and the Perennial Philosophy

Book Bits, Texts, The Masters

Nagarjuna’s Verses from the Center: When Buddhas Don’t Appear and Their Followers Are Gone

Nagarjuna was a 2nd century master often credited with establishing the Mahayana tradition. His landmark collection of 448 Verses from the Center are the first known Buddhist texts to be written in the author's voice and not as a repetition of Buddha's teaching. As presented by Stephen Batchelor in his book on Nagarjuna, this verse… Continue reading Nagarjuna’s Verses from the Center: When Buddhas Don’t Appear and Their Followers Are Gone