This is an extemporaneous question-and-answer episode. Do you know the difference between a parami and a paramita? Do I still like to think of mindfulness as "undivided presence?" What about when Buddhists use the idea of karma as an excuse not to take compassionate action? Why can't our practice include more activities aimed at the cultivation of joy, creativity, and other positive experiences?

In this episode I extemporaneously answer questions listeners have submitted by email, including: Why doesn’t Buddhism endorse veganism if the first moral precept is “do not kill?” What does it really mean to “let go” of a thought? And: Isn’t taking action – including compassionate action – always the result of being dissatisfied in some way?

This is my third and final post during my 2023 sabbatical month. I'll be back soon with a full episode, but in the meantime I wanted to share two past episodes with you that multiple listeners have said were important to them.

In this episode, I share with you questions and answers from my 2020 written interview for Eastern Horizon, a tri-annual magazine of the Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia (YBAM). There are some basic questions about Zen, and then some questions about what Buddhism has to offer with respect to understanding and coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. Thought you might enjoy hearing a different kind of presentation, where I have kept my answers very succinct.

I share and answer three questions from listeners about practicing with mental illness. I talk about when still, silent meditation might be unhelpful and propose alternative practices, and the Buddhist take on medication for mental illness. I also give an example of how to approach a particular condition as practice, even while you receive treatment for it from mental health professionals.

This episode answers four listener questions: 1) What is enlightened behavior – can someone be “awakened” and still do immoral or harmful things? 2) I had a profound experience in...