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Higher training in morality, in meditation, and in wisdom. The teaching on the Four Noble Truths, which was the Buddha’s first teaching following his attainment of full awakening, represents the foundation for the practices of emptiness and the cultivation of compassion. This teaching underpins everything that the Buddha taught subsequently and helps us to establish…

Self-awareness is ranked as Level 5 information integration and above according to the following criteria: Level 0 – Inanimate Objects Note: At this level, there is no capacity for experiencing pain or suffering. No information integration: Inanimate objects; objects that do not modify themselves in response to interaction – e.g., rocks, mountains. Level 1 –…

In Buddhism, one speaks of three different levels of understanding, which are sequential—an understanding arrived at through learning and studying, an understanding developed as a result of deep reflection and contemplation, and an understanding acquired through meditative or religious experience. There is a definite order in the sequence of this three. So on the basis…

When we use such terms as “consciousness” or “mind” it often tends to give the impression that we are talking about a single, monolithic entity; but this is misleading. Our own personal experience reveals that the mental world is tremendously diverse. Moreover, when we examine each moment of cognition or mental experience, we realize that…

A key principle here is dependent origination. This fundamental principle of Buddhism states that everything arises and ceases in dependence upon causes and conditions. The fourth-century Indian Buddhist thinker Asanga identified three key conditions governing this principle of dependent origination. First is “the absence of designer condition,” which pertains to the issue of whether or…

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]Let us return to our discussion of the Buddhist view that all experiences and things come into existence in dependence upon causes and conditions. What does this imply for our own world or experiences, such as the experiences of pain, pleasure,…