Two Buddhas

This episode of the Deep Dive offers a comparative overview of the earliest known guided meditation instructions originating primarily from the first millennium BCE in India and China. It contrasts the methods, aims, and structure of contemplative practices found in the Upaniṣads, Jain Āgamas, Daoist Nèiyè, and early Buddhist Suttas. The text highlights that while earlier traditions focused on achieving union with the cosmic absolu...

This episode of Deep Dive explores "Compassion Beyond Violence: The Bodhisattva Captain and the Wisdom of Self-Protection" by Nichiryu Mark Herrick, challenges the simplistic notion that Buddhist nonviolence requires passive submission in the face of harm. The author argues that true Buddhist compassion is nuanced and requires wisdom (prajñā), emphasizing that self-protection and defending others can be an expression of s...

This episode draws a sobering parallel between the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist monk Nichiren and the 21st-century American political activist Charlie Kirk, despite their vastly different contexts. The author argues that both figures exhibit absolutist conviction and a powerful tendency toward an "us vs. them" framework, asserting that only their specific path—the Lotus Sutra for Nichiren and Christian identity for Kirk...

This episode of Deep Dive explores an essay by Nichiryu Mark Herrick, focuses on Nichiren's perspective regarding the supremacy and necessity of the Lotus Sutra within the entirety of the Buddha's teachings. The text establishes that the true significance of the Lotus Sutra cannot be grasped unless it is studied in the context of all previous sutras, which serve as preparatory and provisional teachings leading to the ultima...

This episode of Deep Dive explores "Treatise on All Phenomena as Ultimate Reality," discusses Nichiren's reinterpretation of the Tendai Buddhist practice of Shikan, which consists of calm (shamatha) and insight (vipassana). Historically, Shikan required lengthy, structured monastic meditation, but Nichiren made this path accessible to everyday people by teaching that single-minded chanting of Namu Myo Ho Ren Gay Kyo i...

In this episode of Deep Dive we explore the Buddhist concept of rebirth, distinguishing it from the Western notion of reincarnation by emphasizing causal continuity without a fixed soul. It highlights how the historical Buddha prioritized ethical living in the present moment over metaphysical speculation about the afterlife, a pragmatic approach mirrored in Western ethical philosophies like Kantianism and secular humanism. The docu...

In this episode of Dep Dive we explore Nichiryu Mark Herrick's , "Fear of Death and the Dharma of Liberation," examines the pervasive human anxiety surrounding mortality, contrasting modern psychological perspectives with ancient Buddhist teachings. It highlights how Terror Management Theory in psychology identifies fear of death as a core driver of human behavior, often leading to defensive and selfish actions. The a...

This episode of Deep Dive explores "Dopamine, Aversion, and the Four Noble Truths in the Age of Technology," explores the intersection of neuroscience and Buddhist philosophy, specifically focusing on how modern technology exploits innate human drives. The author argues that dopamine, often misconstrued as a pleasure chemical, primarily fuels anticipation and craving, a concept mirrored in the Buddhist idea of taṇhā. Conv...

This episode of Deep Dive explores the concept of "Receptivity and Response" (Kanno Dokkyo), a central idea in Buddhism describing the mutual interaction between a sincere practitioner and Ultimate Reality. It emphasizes that this relationship is reciprocal and dynamic, not a one-sided appeal, where the practitioner's earnest "calling" (Kan) is met by the Buddha's compassionate "response" (No) ...

In this episode of Deep Dive we explore the concept of non-local consciousness by drawing parallels between modern scientific inquiries and ancient Buddhist philosophies. It specifically references the Yogācāra and Madhyamaka schools, using their perspectives to illuminate the nature of consciousness. The Yogācāra view, emphasizing consciousness-only and mind-dependent experience, aligns with the idea that consciousness extends bey...

This episode of Deep Dive explores the Buddhist Threefold Truth, a foundational concept stating that all phenomena are simultaneously empty of fixed essence, possess provisional existence through interdependence, and embody the Middle Way where these two aspects interpenetrate. The author contrasts this perspective with Robert Saltzman's "feedback loop" model of the self, which, while acknowledging the self as a proce...

In this episode of Deep Dive we explores the Threefold Truth of Buddhism, articulated by Zhiyi, which posits that reality is understood through emptiness, provisional existence, and the middle way. Emptiness signifies that all phenomena lack inherent, fixed essence, arising instead through interdependence. Provisional existence acknowledges that despite this emptiness, things manifest and function in the world. The middle truth uni...

We are often told that empathy is the highest of human virtues, the ability to feel another’s joy or sorrow as though it were our own. But empathy can be treacherous. It begins as resonance with another’s suffering, yet if we remain caught in that resonance without perspective, empathy can curdle into hatred. The more vividly we feel the victim’s pain, the more easily we project blame and hostility toward the supposed perpetrator. ...

All things begin in sound. From the great silence of śūnyatā, the boundless womb of potentiality, vibration arises as the first tremor of manifestation. The universe itself can be heard before it can be seen. In many traditions this is expressed with a single phrase: “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1). The Word, or Logos, is not a literal syllable but the primal resonance, the first arising of form from emptiness. In Buddhi...

In this episode of Deep Dive we explore "Defilements Are Awakening: Ritual, Affliction, and the Planetary Roar" by Nichiryu Mark Herrick, Renshi, explores the Buddhist principle that challenges and difficulties are integral to spiritual enlightenment. Herrick draws upon the teachings of Tiantai master Zhiyi and Nichiren to illustrate how engaging directly with afflictions, rather than suppressing them, leads to deeper und...

In this episdoe of Deep Dive we explore a transformative reinterpretation of suffering and personal "brokenness" within the context of Buddhist practice and Western therapy. The author, after fifty years of spiritual effort, challenges the conventional "repair paradigm" that views illness and emotional struggles as individual failures to be fixed. Instead, drawing inspiration from the Vimalakīrti Sutra, the text...

In this episode of Deep Dive we explore the intersection of mindfulness meditation and sleep improvement, specifically for better sleep quality and as a treatment for insomnia. It compares the efficacy of meditation practices with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), which is highlighted as the clinical gold standard. The text integrates scientific evidence from randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses with Budd...