Tag: Are There Moral Absolutes
Sin… Missing the Noble Path
The most renowned Buddhist insight, or prajna, concerns what is often called The Noble Eightfold Path (Pali: ariya aṭṭhaṅgika magga; Sanskrit: āryāṣṭāṅgamārga). This comes from Pali and Sanskrit Buddhist texts which preserve ancient teachings of Gautama Buddha. The Sutta Pitaka sums up The Noble Eightfold Path, highlighting that ‘right concentration’ (the samadhi state) is a…
Now Corrupted… Like Orcs of Middle-Earth
We saw how the Bible portrays ourselves and others – that the Creator God originally made us in His Image. But the Hebrew Scriptures record how we then disobeyed the Creator God, giving rise to Kleshas in all of us. The Psalms are a collection of sacred songs and hymns used by the ancient Hebrews…
Mankind’s Duhkha Curse
We saw that ancient Hebrew scriptures record how cravings (Tanha) and wrong thoughts (Kleshas) arose at the beginning of history. But what about the suffering, pain or unhappiness, known as Duhkha/Duhkka? Duhkha and Tanha form the basis of the Four Noble Truths articulated by Gautama Buddha. Similarly, what about Impermanence, called anicca (Pāli) or anitya…
Origin of the Three Poisons and First Kleshas
The Three Poisons (Sanskrit: triviṣa; Tibetan: dug gsum) or the three unwholesome roots (Sanskrit: akuśala-mūla; Pāli: akusala-mūla), refer to the three root mental states that give rise to other mental states, or kleshas. Kleshas cloud the mind, resulting in harmful actions. Sages and monks have long understood the destructive power of the Three Root Poisons,…