A Fistful of Sand

Many of us have made poor decisions throughout our lives. I’m no exception. I made an unskillful decision just yesterday — probably everyday, at least once. This morning I thought about why I had done what I did. As the thoughts arose surrounding the action I realized it came up from my childhood. I was reacting to someone who died many years ago. Was it because I chose to make the choice? Possibly that choice was not so much a choice but an automatic response predetermined because I was conditioned in some predetermined way.   Neither free will nor predetermination explains how any of us make our decisions and choices. Free will cannot be the cause of of our choices because the term implies a truly self-existent and autonomous “me” that makes both skillful and unskillful decisions moment-to-moment independent of and unaffected by causes and conditions that create our environment. It also implies that even the decisions we make have an independent being all their own — like c...

Greed, Aversion, Delusion, Anger, Contempt, and Conceit I recently gave a Dhamma talk at a friends Sangha where I was asked the same question I am usually asked when I teach at Christian and secular events. It always seems that the same question arises, “Why are we here?” I then have to ask for clarification, “Do you mean what is the meaning of life or do you mean what was the cause of your birth?” The answer to the “meaning of life” question is always easy – there is no meaning inherent in life. You decide what meaning you believe you have to your life. This is the great secret of the universe. Philosophers, especially in the West have been pondering this question for thousands of years. Why waste your time pondering when all you have to do is open your eyes. The answer to the second question requires more thought. I don’t think many people are interested in the mechanism that brought us into existence at the time of our conception, if indeed, th...