Blog
Hello and welcome to my blog!
This blog will be about Buddhism. ‘Oh! not another one,’ I hear you say. Well, yes but…
There are many great blogs on Buddhism as a religion and even more on Buddhism as a philosophy. I am writing about Buddhism as a way of life, which means there is no Buddhist jargon or dogma. It is not based in the metaphysical world, but has its feet planted firmly on this planet. It is easy to follow and practical. I use the Buddha’s early teachings as the blogs foundation, and explain them in a way that is relevant to your life today. You will find some of what I am going to write about in my books, ‘The Best Way To Catch A Snake’ and ‘Life’s Meandering Path.’ You may also follow Buddhism Guide on Facebook and Twitter. I hope you enjoy the blog. Feel free to give me feedback, as I love to hear other people’s views.
Mindful Communication
Now, I am not one of those people who think things were better in the past. Of course, some things were and other things weren't. However, where social media is concerned, I feel troubled about the way it is making us communicate these days. I am not against social...
How to reduce your suffering
In Buddhism, there is a practice called Mind Training and within this practice there is a section on reducing one’s suffering. Now, suffering here means a dissatisfaction with life, an unease, a discontentment and a feeling that life could be better. The following...
Hindrances on the spiritual path
When we do our meditation practice, mindfulness or a reflection/daily review, it will not always be plain sailing. There are five things that Gautama Buddha taught that will interfere with, obstruct and impede our progress. These are called the five hindrances and...
What is the cause of birth, old age, sickness and death?
To understand the Buddhist view point on this topic, first one must understand cause, condition and effect. Buddhists believe nothing arises on its own. There must be a cause, then conditions and then the effect will be that something arises. So, for example, a rice...
The brain’s reality
Let me ask you a question, ‘Do you live in reality?’ I expect you will say yes, but I would beg to differ. Why is that? Well, our brains do not allow us to live in reality. Over the last few million years our brains have evolved to deal with four huge problems. They...
The Undeniable Truth
Impermanence is an undeniable and inescapable fact of human existence. Buddha stated that in this world nothing is fixed and permanent. He further stated that decay is inherent in all component things. Nothing will remain the same and that includes human life, trees,...
Working with intense emotions
About twenty years ago Michele McDonald coined the acronym R.A.I.N, which is an easy to remember, four step mindfulness practice, which helps you deal with intense, destructive emotions. R.A.I.N stands for Recognize, Allow, Investigate and Non-identification. Over the...
Cultivating Patience
These days we are living in an ‘instant’ world, where we have fast-food, high speed internet and social media. We are told that time is money and productivity and efficiency have taken the place of well-being. Without knowing it our expectations have risen and we have...
A Helping Hand along the Spiritual Path
If you do your best to follow these suggestions, I believe you will find your journey along the spiritual path smoother and more fulfilling.. Remember, these are just suggestions and not rules. You will have to find what works for you, and what doesn’t. 1. Try your...
Two Poisonous Emotions
Two of the most poisonous emotions are aversion and anger. Aversion is the opposite to attachment and anger leads to hatred, discrimination, aggression and a lack of compassion. Neither are helpful emotions. With desire, we want to cling to objects, but with aversion,...