Glossary

Sunyata

Śūnyatā (/ʃuːnˈjɑːtɑː/ shoon-YAH-tah; Sanskrit: शून्यता, romanized: śūnyatā; Pali: suññatā), translated most often as "emptiness", "vacuity", and sometimes "voidness", or "nothingness" is an Indian philosophical concept. Within Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and other philosophical strands, the concept has multiple meanings depending on its doctrinal context. It is either an ontological feature of reality, a...

The evolutionary roots of suffering.

There are few experiences more universal than suffering. It transcends species, cultures, and individual circumstances, manifesting uniquely in entities capable of complex behaviors and emotional states. Yet, despite its universality, understanding the nature and nuances of suffering remains a complex endeavor. This invites us to explore the intricate web of life that led to the emergence of consciousness. As we...

Toxic positive psychology

What is toxic positivity? It is a "pressure to stay upbeat no matter how dire one's circumstance is", which may prevent emotional coping by feeling otherwise natural emotions. Toxic positivity happens when people believe that negative thoughts about anything should be avoided. Even in response to events which normally would evoke sadness, such as loss or hardships, positivity is encouraged as a means to cope, but...

Short Definitions

Abhidharma Literally meaning “higher knowledge,” Abhidharma refers to a collection of Buddhist scriptures that pertain to psychology, phenomenology, and cosmology. anatman Literally meaning “no-self,” anatman refers to an important Buddhist teaching according to which any notion of an eternal principle that is thought to constitute the real self of our existence is rejected. arhat Literally “foe...

The Chinese Room Argument

The argument and thought-experiment now generally known as the Chinese Room Argument was first published in a 1980 article by American philosopher John Searle (1932– ). It has become one of the best-known arguments in recent philosophy. Searle imagines himself alone in a room following a computer program for responding to Chinese characters slipped under the door. Searle understands nothing of Chinese, and yet, by...

Minsk 3

3rd times the charm Based on a consultation of the trilateral contact group on joint steps aimed at implementation of a ceasefire plan for president zelensky and president of russia v. putin. Based on the results of considerations and discussion of the proposals made by the participants of the consultations in minsk, the trilateral contact group, composed of representatives of ukraine , the russian federation, and...

Absurdism

This article is about the philosophy. For an extremely unreasonable, silly, or foolish thing, see Absurdity. For absurdist humour, see surreal humour. For the literary genre, see Absurdist fiction. Sisyphus, the symbol of the absurdity of existence, painting by Franz Stuck (1920). Absurdism is the philosophical theory that existence in general is absurd. This implies that the world lacks meaning or a higher purpose...

Eight Verses on Training the Mind

n essence, the short text entitled Eight Verses on Training the Mind presents the practices of cultivating both conventional bodhicitta, or the altruistic aspiration to attain buddhahood for the benefit of all beings, and ultimate bodhicitta, the profound insight into the ultimate nature of reality or “the ultimate mind of enlightenment.” The first seven stanzas present the practices related to the former while the...

Reality

Also known as "meat space" to differentiate it from cyberspace and regular space, which is a vacuum. “How can this chair be a chair and also a quantum probability and also mostly empty space?   How do those different realities co-exist? How can the same “object” follow one set of physics at a conventional scale and another set of physics at the quantum scale?” Let’s start by breaking down the matter we’re...

THE THREE HIGHER TRAININGS

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 a fundamental understanding of the way...

Table of Contents

Sunyata

Śūnyatā (/ʃuːnˈjɑːtɑː/ shoon-YAH-tah; Sanskrit: शून्यता, romanized: śūnyatā; Pali: suññatā), translated most often as "emptiness",...

read more

Toxic positive psychology

What is toxic positivity? It is a "pressure to stay upbeat no matter how dire one's circumstance is", which may prevent emotional coping by...

read more

Short Definitions

Abhidharma Literally meaning “higher knowledge,” Abhidharma refers to a collection of Buddhist scriptures that pertain to psychology,...

read more

The Chinese Room Argument

The argument and thought-experiment now generally known as the Chinese Room Argument was first published in a 1980 article by American...

read more

Minsk 3

3rd times the charm Based on a consultation of the trilateral contact group on joint steps aimed at implementation of a ceasefire plan for...

read more

Absurdism

This article is about the philosophy. For an extremely unreasonable, silly, or foolish thing, see Absurdity. For absurdist humour, see...

read more

Reality

Also known as "meat space" to differentiate it from cyberspace and regular space, which is a vacuum. “How can this chair be a chair and also...

read more

THE THREE HIGHER TRAININGS

Higher training in morality, in meditation, and in wisdom. The teaching on the Four Noble Truths, which was the Buddha’s first teaching...

read more

The 7 Levels of Sapience

Self-awareness is ranked as Level 5 information integration and above according to the following criteria: Level 0 – Inanimate Objects Pain...

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