The Three Jewels of Buddhism are also known as the Three Refuges because when you commit to a spiritual practice you can take what’s called the Refuge Vow. This is where you take refuge in the Three Jewels to support and guide you on the path of liberation from suffering. The Three Jewels are: The… Continue reading Spiritual Glossary: Three Jewels
In Buddhism, the precepts form a basic code of ethics or minimum standard of morality. There are various numbers of precepts, depending on the teaching, but the most common are the Five Precepts found in the Paramitas. They’re designed to help you achieve liberation from suffering and illusion – if you can stick to them!… Continue reading Spiritual Glossary: Buddhist Precepts
The word dharma has various meanings in different cultures, but in Buddhism it has two. As dharma it refers to cosmic law and the natural order of life, and as Dharma it refers to the teachings of the Buddha. But as we’ll see, these two things are not so far apart. The Sanskrit root is… Continue reading Spiritual Glossary: Dharma
The Five Remembrances come from the Upajjhatthana Sutra, which means ‘Subjects for Contemplation.’ The Buddha recommended reciting these verses every day to help you remember that life is precious and time is short. The Five Remembrances are simple statements of the facts of life and death. So meditating on them is about accepting reality as… Continue reading Spiritual Glossary: the Five Remembrances
After my rant on Free Your Pen about censorship and ISP filters we come rather predictably to the TED controversy. TED is a non-profit organisation which runs conferences and talks about ideas that may end up changing the world. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and their stated mission is Ideas Worth Sharing. But recently TED was engulfed in an online spat over censorship… Continue reading The War on Consciousness
Jessica Davidson 