Reverse-engineering, almost
How should I practice? This is an important question, and its answer is made somehow fuzzy by the multitude of different methods,...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
Jan 8, 20232 min read
Scaffolds
Force develops against resistance. Growth demands constraints. When constraints work systematically and methodically, they create a...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
Nov 6, 202214 min read
The art of playful action
In the beginning of the Bhagavad Gītā (2.50) we encounter the following short definition: yogaḥ karmasu kuśalam, which might be...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
Oct 30, 20225 min read
Spontaneity
There is a condition in which life flows by itself. It does not matter what exactly is experienced, but whatever happens seems to unfold...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
Oct 23, 20228 min read
Where to start? Where to end?
We might encounter teachings, practices, and other aspects of contemplative traditions in a pretty random way: a Buddha Head looking out...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
Oct 16, 20223 min read
Seeking freedom
Whatever feeling is felt (pleasant, unpleasant or neutral), do not indulge in craving for the pleasant, or in aversion for the...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
Oct 2, 20223 min read
Embodiment
In the Udana 3.5 there is this short stanza: “Sati kāyagatā upaṭṭhitā, Chasu phassāyatanesu saṁvuto; Satataṁ bhikkhu samāhito, Jaññā...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
Jul 24, 20226 min read
The art of hermenutics
As any pianist would know, there are two boundaries within which any interpretation has to move. On the one hand, one is confronted with...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
Jul 17, 20223 min read
Everybody can, but not everybody will
The discourses present the teachings of the Buddha as potentially addressed to everybody, although they also make it clear that not...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
Jul 3, 20222 min read
By force of taking away
Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) said: 'by sculpture I understand that which one does by force of taking away' ('per scultura io...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
Jun 26, 20223 min read
Neutrality traps
A core business of the practice presented in the discourses is to reach a form of dispassion and emotional neutrality. This means that no...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
Jun 19, 20226 min read
Belief, truth, and practice
Even superficial familiarity with the history of philosophy and ideas (especially from a global perspective) immediately reveals that...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
May 29, 20223 min read
Yoking and unyoking attention
In Sanskrit and Pāli, yoga literally means 'yoke.' Like the yoke put by farmers on the neck of oxen. In a more metaphorical sense, yoga...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
May 1, 20224 min read
Assume you’re wrong
In They Live (1988, directed by John Carpenter), the world is ruled by an invisible alien elite. Everything looks normal and fine, but it...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
Apr 10, 20226 min read
Is awakening a form of depersonalization disorder?
Very often, the Buddha describes awakening as the extinction of greed, aversion, and ignorance. On some occasions (e.g. MN 72 and SN...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
Apr 3, 20224 min read
Neither my own, nor another's
A core notion in the discourses of the Buddha concerns one's attitude towards experience, and in particular the ability of not...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
Mar 27, 20224 min read
What is the meaning of life?
In today's Western culture, it's fairly common to raise the question 'what is the meaning of life?' The reason for raising this question...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
Mar 20, 20225 min read
Sublimation: from friendship to friendliness
It is common in the discourses to come across seemingly ordinary qualities (recollection, energy, effort, tranquility, to mention but a...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
Feb 20, 20221 min read
All realities are suitable for surfing
On one occasion (MN 37), the Buddha is asked to summarize his teaching in a brief statement. And this is what he came up with: sabbe...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
Feb 7, 20222 min read
Dhammavicaya: Investigation leads to awakening
Dhamma-vicaya is a Pāli (compound) word that is usually translated as 'investigation (vicaya) into Dhamma.' Most translators are...
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