by Chade-Meng Tan | Mar 3, 2024 | Buddhism for All
There is an island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean called Easter Island that is famous for having hundreds of statues of giant heads carved from stone. Some of my friends make jokes about them, but I tell them, “Whatever you say, those statues still come out...
by Chade-Meng Tan | Feb 15, 2024 | Buddhism for All
Let us re-cap the Four Noble Truths. In short, the Four Noble Truths are: First noble truth: Birth, aging, illness, death, to be with what you do not want, to be separated from what you want, and to not get what you want, are suffering (dukkha). Specifically,...
by Chade-Meng Tan | Jan 28, 2024 | Buddhism for All
The five hindrances are mental obstacles that hinder the mind from meditative concentration. Beyond that, they also hinder the mind from wisdom in general, which means that they don’t just operate during meditation, they also operate in daily life. The five are:...
by Chade-Meng Tan | Nov 3, 2023 | Buddhism for All
Imagine living in a weird world where cars come with a self-destruct button that you can order as an add-on. It’s a big red button right beside the cupholders that says, “Self-destruct, DO NOT PRESS”. If you press the button, the car blows up, with you in...
by Chade-Meng Tan | Nov 2, 2023 | Buddhism for All
It is common among Buddhists to erroneously claim that the First Noble Truth proclaims, “Life is suffering.” That mistake is understandable, I catch myself doing it frequently too. There are two problems with that claim. First, according to the...
