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The Sagacious Buddhist Blog.
practical dharma teachings. questions|answers. essays.

answering your questions and teaching on buddhism, dharma, and enlightenment

- new teachings posted every 4 to 16 weeks, please subscribe to receive notifications -
update: I did it! :)


In the Spring of 2021, I left for Southeast Asia to renounce and ordain as an ascetic Theravada Buddhist forest monk, with a special emphasis on Early Buddhist doctrine and discourse.  I am no longer accepting students and I may be slow to respond to emails and contact form submissions; I apologise.

I will check-in periodically if I can when I post new teachings to my blog.

Much love & thank you.

How to Nurture Your "Buddha Nature" to Develop a Strong Sense of Happiness.

3/8/2021

11 Comments

 
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)
Photo of a group of happy and being peacefully people.
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"?

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Patience: How Buddhists Should Respond to Inconsiderate Acts of Others.

2/10/2021

0 Comments

 
Patience isn't a reward that is granted by praying for it, it's a skill that is cultivated by practicing it.
Buddhist meditator with a sky galaxy painted above
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...

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Pity vs Compassion. How to spot the difference - Buddhism Explained Q&A

1/8/2021

6 Comments

 
Be a compassion expert by learning to stop pity at its root.
Compassion Versus Pity Heart Love Lamp Light
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:

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6 Comments

The Altruistic Intention: What People Get Wrong About Buddhism, Enlightenment, and Bodhisattvas.

11/2/2020

6 Comments

 
Dispelling a very common myth about the Altruistic Intention and the Mahayana Bodhisattva Path; and how it applies to your practice and attaining enlightenment.
Picture of Budda, Enlightenment, Alavaka, Triple Gem
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:

  1. Belief #1: Bodhisattvas vow not to enter into nirvana until they have helped all beings to liberation.  This is not true.
  2. Belief #2: Mahayana Buddhists must not directly pursue stream-entry or enlightenment.  This is not true.
  3. Belief #3: Being motivated to attain enlightenment-in-this-life is both selfish and Hinayana.  This is not true.

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!

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What is Karma and What isn't Karma? - Buddhism Explained Q&A

7/22/2020

5 Comments

 
Perhaps one of the most widely misunderstood concepts in all of buddhism and eastern philosophy.
Photo: Buddha statue meditating on karma and buddha nature in a field of yellow tulips
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.
Karma is one of the most widely misunderstood concepts in all of Buddhism and Eastern philosophy.

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 God watching over anyone, rewarding do-gooders and smiting wrong-doers.

So, what is Karma then?

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5 Comments

Forgiveness: it's about our relationship with ourself.

4/6/2020

1 Comment

 
Forgive others, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace.
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.
1 Comment

Buddhist Perspective: A purse-snatching in Prague.

3/30/2020

0 Comments

 
prague-charles-bridge-czech-czechia-praha
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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    Mike Turner Photo Buddhist Analytical Meditation Trainer
    Hi! My name is Mike Turner. I'm a Buddhist Ariyapuggala and I've spent over 25 years learning and cultivating what I do, and what I do goes far beyond meditation and dharma. 

    I work with dedicated Buddhist practitioners to help them attain streamentry. This kind of one-on-one training isn't readily available to lay practitioners and I hope to do my part. 

    I'm available for advanced and intermediate practitioners of meditation-and-dharma to help them significantly advance their practice and their progress toward Buddhist enlightenment.

    Please visit my home page to see what my streamentry and enlightenment training can do for you.
    "The only thing that prevents people from attaining Enlightenment and experiencing Nirvana directly is insufficient instruction and/or practice."
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    I offer authentic and transformative steamentry training and dharma life coaching and I encourage you to message me to learn more.
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Photo Michael Turner Buddhist Philosopher, Dharma Coach, Meditation Instructor, Business Leader, Sales Trainer, and Mentor
Michael Turner is a pre-monastic Buddhist Ariyapuggala and a deeply accomplished streamentry trainer and dharma life coach. He emphasises and teaches the practical application of Buddhism in our everyday lives to make real progress toward enlightenment and 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 techniques to generate indestructible resilience and inner-strength for more than 25 years and has helped countless numbers of people enhance their practice to make clear progress along the Path.
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