by Chade-Meng Tan | Nov 17, 2023 | Buddhism for All
The five higher fetters can actually be surprisingly subtle when operating at the level of someone getting close to full enlightenment. One story that illustrates this involves the last obstacles to full enlightenment for Anuruddha, one of the Buddha’s ten main...
by Chade-Meng Tan | Nov 16, 2023 | Buddhism for All
The prospect of working towards full enlightenment can be very daunting. Fortunately, there is good news, and there is even better news. The good news is that the path towards full enlightenment can be broken down into four stages, and reaching stage one...
by Chade-Meng Tan | Nov 15, 2023 | Buddhism for All
But wait, is there more to nirvana? Is nirvana simply extinguishing (of greed, hatred, delusion and all things uncool), or is nirvana also some reality? The ancient texts strongly suggest the latter. As the wave analogy in the last post suggests, the...
by Chade-Meng Tan | Nov 14, 2023 | Buddhism for All
“I’m trying to extinguish his greed, hatred, and delusion.” First, it’s useful to know the literal meaning of the word nirvana. Nirvana literally means “going out”,[1] as in the extinguishing of a flame, so in that sense, nirvana means...
by Chade-Meng Tan | Nov 13, 2023 | Buddhism for All
Once upon a time, a fish and a turtle were friends. The turtle returned from a visit to dry land, and the fish had a lot of trouble trying to understand this “dry land” place where the turtle had been. So, the fish asked a series of questions, such as, “Is...
by Soryu Forall | Nov 12, 2023 | Buddhism for All
Not everyone can lift a hundred-pound weight. Some people can, and some people can’t. Some people will never be able to, however hard they try. Similarly, some people can lift a ten-pound weight, while others can’t. But everyone can put the weights down....
