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The mechanisms of karma and rebirth are contentious for many modern people. This talk examines their various presentations in the early texts on the basis of their (1) viability as natural phenomena (2) benefit as a support for the practice of Dhamma. I argue that (2) is the overriding consideration, given that Buddhism is a practice tradition, not science. The Buddha did not make claims of absolute truth, but rather provided working assumptions to guide our practice. The meaning of these teachings differs between mundane and supramundane levels of practice, and are often misunderstood in a way that can be detrimental to practice.

The Culture of Awakening Project is an ongoing exploration of the Buddha's teachings from a socioculltural perspective. Given the naturalistic method of my research, this exploration engages a lot of scholarly disciplines besides Buddhist studies, including linguistics, sociology, anthropology, evolutionary science, primatology, philosophical ethics, social psychology and others. The claims made here are provisional; some are likely to be revised as the exploration proceeds, until the results are published. Please visit me at cintita.org to participate in discussion. The present talk introduces the Buddhist practice of "purifying the mind," and compares it to the ethics of Aristotle and Confucius as a practice of acquiring the "skill of virtue." We look at human nature as a dualism, the "inner chimp" and the "inner human." The latter is hyper-social and cooperative, almost bee-like (arguments for this in future episodes).

This is the fifth talk delivered by Bhikkhu Cintita at the Satipatthana Rethought retreat held at the American Bodhi Center in Hemstead, Texas, May 24-27.

This is the fourth talk delivered by Bhikkhu Cintita at the Satipatthana Rethought retreat held at the American Bodhi Center in Hemstead, Texas, May 24-27.

This is the third talk delivered by Bhikkhu Cintita at the Satipatthana Rethought retreat held at the American Bodhi Center in Hemstead, Texas, May 24-27.

This is the second talk delivered by Bhikkhu Cintita at the Satipatthana Rethought retreat held at the American Bodhi Center in Hemstead, Texas, May 24-27.

This is the first talk delivered by Bhikkhu Cintita at the Satipatthana Rethought retreat held at the American Bodhi Center in Hemstead, Texas, May 24-27.

Non-self is a practice more than it is a philosophical viewpoint. However, this practice begins with a conceptual investigation of the presumed experiential manifestations of the constructed self. (February 16, 2024)

This talk reviews what the early texts say about samādhi 'concentration', much of which may surprise you. This talk was originally presented on July 2, 2023 broadcast from Minnesota via Zoom to the English Dharma Group at Jade Temple in Houston Texas. (February 2, 2024)

“If consciousness were not to descend into the mother's womb, would name-and-form take shape in the womb?” "No." The most common traditional interpretation of this famous passage (from DN 15) is that consciousness travels into the womb to unify with the fetus of name-and-form at con­ception. I argue that this interpretation is untenable. (Rebroadcast 1/26/2024, originally broadcast 9/25/2020)

The Buddha-Sāsana is Buddhism as a living tradition, something that evolves, spreads to new lands, dies out in old lands, rather than Buddhism as the Dharma, which is much more static. A key question for the Buddha seems to be is how well the Buddha-Sāsana would retain the authenticity of the Buddha-Dharma.

The teaching of emptiness is often considered to be an innovation of Nagarjuna or of the Prajnaparamita Sutras. However this important teaching had been expounded by the Buddha many centuries before, but has become obscured. But how? (Rebroadcast 1/12/2024, originally podcast 7/16/2021)

The Buddha clarifies an explicit methodology which is nonetheless often overlooked by students of the Dharma. Much of this has to do with the practical and experiential orientation of the Dharma. The Buddha's methodology furthermore involves regarding the world as both insubstantial and conditional. (Repodcast 1/5/2024, originally podcast 7/30/2021).

The Buddha clarifies an explicit methodology which is nonetheless often overlooked by students of the Dharma. Much of this has to do with the practical and experiential orientation of the Dharma. (Repodcast 12/29/2023, originally podcast 7/23/2021).