What Is Buddhism? A Few Scattered Afterthoughts

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Taking Responsibility for the Mind: When Meditation Gets Difficult

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Artist — Lim Chung Hee When we sit in meditation, thoughts arise. That’s not a problem—it’s natural. Thoughts, feelings, and sensations are the raw material of our practice. They are not interruptions; they are the very field in which mindfulness and insight develop. Often, a practitioner has a session that feels clear, balanced, even luminous. There may be a sense of accomplishment, ease, or emotional release. Then, perhaps the very next day, the mind shifts. A wave of negative emotions appears—anger, jealousy, anxiety, irritation, or despair. The contrast can be jarring:  “Yesterday I was calm. Today I feel poisoned.” And then comes the fork in the path. The Habitual Move: Projection For many, the default response is projection. Instead of meeting these inner states directly, we unconsciously look outward for a cause. The discomfort is disowned and relocated onto someone or something else:  “It’s because of her.” “He made me feel this way.” “They are the problem.” This is no...
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Buddhism Without Meditation in the Age of Appearances

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Mushin  "no-mind" In an era of collapsing attention spans and spiritual branding, it has become common to hear people claim the title of “Buddhist” while disavowing or bypassing the core practices of the Dharma. Meditation is often seen as optional. Dharma quotes adorn social media posts alongside self-help slogans. “Mindfulness” is marketed like a weight-loss product. But can someone truly be called a Buddhist if they do not meditate? Is compassion alone enough? The Threshold: What Makes Someone a Buddhist? In traditional Buddhism, one becomes a Buddhist by taking refuge in the Three Jewels: the Buddha (teacher), the Dharma (teaching), and the Sangha (spiritual community). This act is a conscious turning of one’s life toward liberation. In this view, practice may begin small, and perfection is not the measure — sincerity is. So yes, a person who has taken refuge, who aspires to walk the Path and live ethically — even without formal meditation — can be considered a Buddhist. ...
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The World Is Not Degenerating — We Are Not Seeing Clearly

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Rohitassa Sutta, Dzogchen, and Pure Land Echoes In the  Rohitassa Sutta  (Saṁyutta Nikāya 2.26), the Buddha makes a revolutionary statement that challenges our assumptions about the world, suffering, and liberation: " In this very fathom-long body, with its perception and mind, I declare is the world, the origin of the world, the cessation of the world, and the path leading to the cessation of the world. " This “fathom-long body” — roughly the height of a person, from fingertip to fingertip — is not just the locus of personal identity. It is, in the Buddha’s words, the world itself. This is not a metaphor. It is a radical pointing out that the entirety of our suffering and the path to its end is found within our own mind-body system — perception, feeling, intention, consciousness. So, when people say we are in the Dharma Ending Age, that the world is falling apart, we may ask: What exactly is ending? Is the Dharma itself fading? Or is it our ability to see the Dharma that...
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