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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
Jun 12, 20224 min read
A day worth living
The term 'awakening' (and even more 'enlightenment') is commonly used in relation to a wide range of diverse experiences, usually...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
Jun 5, 20222 min read
Top-5 anthologies of the Buddha's discourses
The Pāli discourses of the Buddha are roughly two-and-half millennia hold, and yet they still provide an incredibly precise guide to...
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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 22, 20224 min read
Breath recollection (ānāpānasati): the basics
Ordinarily, attention tends to be absorbed in this or that. Or rather, it tries to be absorbed, it seeks absorption, it craves for it....
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Andrea Sangiacomo
May 15, 20222 min read
Mental disobedience
Meditation is a training in mental disobedience, based on four main points: (1) Keep the context in mind. Don't focus on things, don't...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
May 8, 20222 min read
Dispassion or dispassion*?
The discourses of the Buddha are fond of emphasising attitudes of dispassion, weariness, absence of desire and craving, equanimity,...
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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 24, 20223 min read
Integrating practice in daily life
A common worry that arises in the beginning of practice is how to best integrate it within one's life and circumstances. There are...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
Apr 17, 20222 min read
Last-breath meditation
Admittedly, death is one of the most scary topics for most people since people are around. In archeological records, fully modern human...
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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
Mar 13, 20222 min read
Safety is the intention
All living beings are afraid of death, they all seek to protect themselves and their life. Safety can be physical, but it can encompass...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
Mar 6, 20222 min read
Right Activism: a checklist
Actions can be based on greed, aversion, and ignorance. Or they can be based on the absence of greed (generosity), on the absence of...
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Andrea Sangiacomo
Feb 27, 20222 min read
(Un)sustainable happiness
Almost two years into the COVID-19 pandemic. These days a new opening. Back to normal? When it started, it seemed a short-term crisis. It...
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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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