 In this teaching, I share how Buddhists can use the teachings of Buddhist Right Speech and Mindfulness to offer unsolicited advice to others, skilfully and kindly, and in ways that promote harmony, mutual respect, and appreciation from and for the people whom we have around us. These days there is a wealth of information available to us on the internet and an abundance of people who do and don't take advantage of it. As a result, there are many people who feel compelled to offer unsolicited advice to others. Although unsolicited advice can be beneficial at times, if not done skilfully it can result in hurt feelings or disharmony between peers and friends; this is unfortunate and avoidable. Offering advice and constructive feedback like a Buddhist means doing so from a heart of compassion and loving-kindness rather than from a mind of ego or aversion, and doing so will pave the way for your feedback to be heard and appreciated. It may be worth mentioning that, from the recipient's perspective, advice is generally best received from two different groups of people:
When we receive unsolicited advice from those who fall beyond the confines of these two groups, we tend to do so with shields and skeptical minds engaged. This is something worth keeping in mind when considering to offer advice to others. OFFERING ADVICE AS A FORM OF BUDDHIST PRACTICE As Buddhists, it is important to seek every opportunity to practice the Path and apply the teaching if we wish to cultivate the views and skills that make measurable progress along the path possible. Giving feedback is just such an instance.
The act of offering advice can become a Buddhist practice if the act is approached skilfully and with the dharma in-mind. If giving-feedback is to be a proper reflection of our desire to apply our Buddhist practice to our everyday lives then we have to ensure that our motivations and intentions are coming from wholesome, compassionate, and skilful wellsprings. Not only does this ensure that the act of offering feedback helps us to cultivate the views and practices that enable progress along the Buddhist path, but it also paves the foundation for feedback to be viewed and received with an open heart and a clear mind by those to whom we offer it. So how do we begin?
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 In this article, we will cover what the Eight Worldly Concerns are and how they relate to your pursuit of happiness and your freedom from worry, stress, and anxiety. We as sentient beings, every single one of us, have two basic desires in common that drive and motivate absolutely everything that we think, say, and do: the wish to be happy and the wish to be free from suffering.
Within Buddhism, it's taught that the greed that we feel for the things that we want, the aversion that we feel to the things that we don't want, and the confusion that we have about where stable forms of happiness are actually found are the fundamental obstacles to our attainment of true happiness, peace, and well-being. These three factors are so common to the human experience that they are referred to as The Three Poisons within Buddhism and everyone struggles with these three obstacles, and so as a result, humanity as a whole struggles to move forward. Our pursuit of happiness and our aversion to being unhappy leads us to pursue or avoid what are referred to as The Eight Worldly Concerns; eight concerns which are ever-present in our lives that seem to always be at the foundation of our motivation to do anything. These eight concerns come in four rhyming and easy to remember, yet opposing, pairs:  What is Karma really? Is our life predetermined or do we have agency? And what does it have to do with who we are or what we experience? In this short article, we will cover what Karma is and what it isn't; how it relates to destiny and free-will; and, its relationship to your happiness and your peace-of-mind. Before I start, let me get this out of the way right upfront: Karma is not a universal morality system; it's not a bad behaviour boomerang. In Buddhism, there is no deity watching over anyone, rewarding do-gooders and smiting wrong-doers.
So, what is Karma then?  In this teaching you will find a detailed explanation, complete instructions, and a rich example recitation script of the equalising Mettā Meditation on Loving-Kindness and Compassion. Plus, a bonus sutta that can be used to close your meditation session. WHY MEDITATE ON LOVING-KINDNESS? Before we begin, it's important to understand the difference between compassion and loving-kindness. Compassion is the desire for others to be free of pain and suffering, and loving-kindness is the desire for others to be happy. Without cultivating these fundamental limitless qualities within ourselves, progress toward awakening, streamentry, or enlightenment will forever be out of reach.
Mettā meditation, or more colloquially, meditating on loving-kindness, is a core Buddhist practice that is practiced within all three of the main Buddhist traditions. It is so effective, that is has even made its way into the secular mainstream mindfulness movement. At its core, Mettā meditation is a necessary practice for cultivating the proper motivation and views that make progress along the Buddhist path toward enlightenment possible. Without this practice, and practices like this, it becomes too difficult to generate pure compassion and unbiased loving-kindness for ourselves and for others, especially given the angst-filled world in which we find ourselves living today. The purpose of meditating on loving-kindness (mettā) is two-fold: Each one of us has the seed to be unshakeably happy and peaceful; and you don't have to be a Buddhist to have it. (Alt. Title: Recognising and connecting with your inner-goodness cultivates happiness)  In this article, we will cover what Buddha Nature is, how to recognise it, nurture it, cultivate it, and leverage it for happiness and Enlightenment. Buddha nature is not extensively covered in most popular Dharma books and many practitioners have only a loose understanding of the topic.
As with all of the "big" topics in Buddhism, Buddha nature is deep and profound and entire volumes are written on this topic. This article serves to introduce and re-enforce the concept for those who are newer to the idea or would like to learn a bit more about it and how it can benefit their practice. The more you practice, the more you will come to recognise the qualities of Buddha nature flowing from you and the clearer and more practical your Buddha nature will be to you. So what is "Buddha Nature"?  In this Q&A, we will learn about how Buddhists view and approach the teachings on kindness, tolerance, acceptance, and patience with others. Q1: Unalome tattoos are gaining in popularity among non-Buddhist women, and though it is a beautiful symbol with a very powerful meaning I was wondering if people within the Buddhist community find offence with non-Buddhists getting these sacred symbols tattooed on their bodies? Q2: I guess I'm wondering where the balance is between personal significance and cultural appropriation for you and if seeing these images on non-Buddhists is offensive? Hi Lily,
Thank you for your email and your interesting questions. Let's dive right in...  Great question, compassion and pity are quite commonly misunderstood. And this is equally relevant to both Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike.
While entire schools of Buddhism are anchored on the concept of compassion, and many compendia have been written on the topic, here's an easy way to spot the difference: The Altruistic Intention: What People Get Wrong About Buddhism, Enlightenment, and Bodhisattvas.11/2/2020  In this article we will (1) learn about the Buddhist Altruistic Intention: what it is, what it isn't, and how it applies to Bodhisattvas and to your practice. We will also briefly (2) review what Buddhist enlightenment is and what it means to be "enlightened." Before we start, let's knock down some misbeliefs right now.
Mahayana Bodhisattvas and Nirvana: What People Get Wrong Three Common Misbeliefs I Hear About Mahayana Bodhisattvas and/or the Mahayana Dharma:
These are remarkably common misunderstandings of the Mahayana Bodhisattava Path and the Altruistic Intention to guide others, and spending some time to understand the root texts and commentaries can help us to better understand the intent and esoteric meanings of the teachings on this concept that hold us back from true progress along the Path. But short of doing that—and before we jump into the concept of the Altruistic Intention—it's helpful to understand at a very high-level what enlightenment is to a Buddhist practitioner and what the implications are of attaining it, even partially. So let's jump right in and begin!  Forgiveness is really not about someone else’s harmful behavior; it’s about our relationship with our own past. When we begin to work on forgiveness, it's firstly a self-care practice for ourselves.
Forgiveness and patience are critical to being able to cultivate your ability to develop inner peace-of-mind and happiness.  I had intended to write about something else entirely, but I experienced something that reminded me that compassion is seeing beyond actions and understanding that all people have problems and are trying to be happy, and I wanted to share this story.
To set the context to some extent: I am an American expat and Buddhist practitioner currently residing in Prague, the Czech Republic. Prague is known to be one of the safest large-cities on the planet, and certainly ranks near the top of the safest cities in Europe list. I always feel safe in this city, regardless of time of day or location. |
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Michael Turner is a pre-monastic ācariya, ariya-puggala, and a full-time Buddhist anagārika; and he is also a deeply accomplished streamentry mentor and applied-dharma teacher. He emphasises and teaches the practical application of the Buddha's teachings in our everyday lives to overcome our human problems that stand in the way of making measurable progress toward Buddhist enlightenment and he is particularly adept at explaining them in ways that can be easily understood and practiced by Western Buddhists. He has been meditating and cultivating the views and techniques that generate indestructible resilience, inner-strength, and direct experience for more than 25 years and has helped countless numbers of students and peers enhance their practice to make clear progress along the path toward Nibbāna.
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