Apramāda

Buddhist perspectives on society and culture

Chapter 10 of The Destructivists by William Collins, in which he explains why the 'elites' - the privileged, the established, the influential, the powerful - have most to gain from the imposed Moral Infantilism of society.
Rick Bradford
8 May 2023
Posted in: Politics

Latest Articles

Wolf2
Calls for 'Social Justice' seem to be getting shriller, and the demands made in its name stranger. Vidyaruchi explains what the terms have come to mean, where the ideas underlying their current use originated, and why they are so dangerous.
Vidyaruchi
Posted in: Politics
Woman holds two fingers or Victory Sign
A message from the editorial board on the occasion of Apramada's second anniversary, explaining something of what motivated us to start a new online publication, and what we hope to achieve.
Vidyaruchi
Posted in: Buddhism
angry annoyed woman, getting mad asking question you talking to
Ratnaguna discusses the rise of offence-taking in our culture and argues that, just because someone gives offence, doesn't mean you have to take it.
Ratnaguna
Posted in: Buddhism, Politics
happy-birthday-g3ce996eb1_1920
An extract from Nagapriya's book The Promise of a Sacred World, in which he argues that cultivating a sense of gratitude for all we've received is transformative.
nagapriya
Posted in: Buddhism

Politics

moralinfant
Chapter 7 of The Destructivists by William Collins, in which he explains how supposed moral rectitude functions as a form of power.
Rick Bradford
Posted in: Politics
defund
Many people, including some Buddhists, now believe that black lives are 'systematically and intentionally targeted for demise' by the police. In the second instalment of 'An Immoral Panic', Subhamati examines the evidence.
Subhamati[1]
Posted in: Politics
the destructivits
Chapter 2 of The Destructivists by William Collins, in which he ascribes the divisions in our society to a form of moral corruption which must be countered in moral terms.
Rick Bradford
Posted in: Culture, Politics
Prajnanandi read ‘a good heart is not enough’, and wrote to the author to say, 'I absolutely agree with the principles you outlined, but when I applied the principles, I came to the opposite conclusions. Can we talk?’
Achara
Posted in: Culture, Politics

Psychology

Ratnaguna interviews Advayacitta about how recognising and transcending various patterns from the past is an important aspect of psychological and spiritual development.
Advayacitta
Posted in: Buddhism, Psychology
selwa
Ratnaguna explains what a spiritual community is and is not, and makes a case for spiritual communities changing the world for the better.
Ratnaguna
Posted in: Psychology
Anywheres
As unenlightened human beings, we all have predispositions – patterns of desire, perception and feeling – that often lead us astray and generate suffering. Whole societies can split into mutually unintelligible ‘tribes’, blind to one another’s pain or anger.
Vaddhaka2
Head in Hands
Advayacitta, a clinical psychologist, explores how political ideologies can undermine psychological functioning, thereby harming individuals and whole societies.
Advayacitta
Posted in: Politics, Psychology

Culture

the destructivits
Chapter 2 of The Destructivists by William Collins, in which he ascribes the divisions in our society to a form of moral corruption which must be countered in moral terms.
Rick Bradford
Posted in: Culture, Politics
Prajnanandi read ‘a good heart is not enough’, and wrote to the author to say, 'I absolutely agree with the principles you outlined, but when I applied the principles, I came to the opposite conclusions. Can we talk?’
Achara
Posted in: Culture, Politics
Red Pill Blue Pill concept. The right choice the concept of the movie matrix. The choice of tablets
The concluding part of the series on wise policymaking introduces the fifth principle: ‘hone your truth-seeking ability’. This far-reaching and challenging principle includes some concrete suggestions as to how policymakers can free themselves of groupthink
Achara
Posted in: Culture, Politics
Vaccination
Policy creation is an important activity, rich with possibilities for beneficial action. But how to bring a clear head, as well as a good heart? This second part introduces two further principles of wise policymaking.
Achara
Posted in: Culture, Politics

Philosophy

Popper-3
Vidyaruchi considers the limitations of Popper's political thought, and argues that the liberalism that he espoused needs a framework of higher values such as is found in Buddhism.
Vidyaruchi
Posted in: Philosophy, Politics
In this interview - the first in the new series Books Worth Reading - Ratnaguna interviews Jñanavaca on The Master and His Emissary by Iain McGilchrist, and finds out why he thinks it is a book well worth reading.
Jnanavaca
Posted in: Philosophy
The Lovers Whirlwind
An account of Popper's thinking on politics, including his critique of 'historicism', his demolition of Marxism, and his own theory of how to bring about social change.
Vidyaruchi
Posted in: Philosophy
Popper
Karl Popper is arguably one of the foremost philosophers of the 20th century. Here, Vidyaruchi considers his theory of scientific method, and attempts to formulate a Buddhist response.
Vidyaruchi
Posted in: Philosophy

science

sun over trees
In this article Advayacitta describes the process of how he came to alter his opinion about climate change.
Advayacitta
Posted in: Science
Einstein
In this second article on Buddhism and physics, Advayacitta explores an important parallel between Relativity Theory and the Buddhist doctrine of śunyata.
Advayacitta
Posted in: Science
A Burning House?
In ‘The Burning House’, a Buddhist shares his Dharma insights, promising practical resources for those moved to respond to a perceived climate emergency. This review explores the author’s depiction of the problem, and his solutions.
Achara
Posted in: Science
In this interview Silavadin discusses the materialist view of evolution and, following the philosopher Thomas Nagel, proposes a different paradigm: that there is a cosmic predisposition to the formation of life, consciousness and value.
Posted in: Science

Buddhism

budhakingbimbasara
Another in our series Thus Have I Heard: Brief Essays on Buddhism, this one explores an apparent contradiction in the Buddha's teaching
Ratnaguna
Posted in: Buddhism
Ratnaguna interviews Advayacitta about how recognising and transcending various patterns from the past is an important aspect of psychological and spiritual development.
Advayacitta
Posted in: Buddhism, Psychology
the impartite dharma
An exploration of the crucial twofold distinction of the Dharma into doctrine and method, as found in A Survey of Buddhism and Sangharakshita's later thought.
Vidyaruchi
Posted in: Buddhism
mole3
Another in the series Thus Have I heard, about facing danger, and how we should resist attempts from our risk averse culture to shield us from it.
Ratnaguna
Posted in: Buddhism

Articles

A conversation on the series 'A Good Heart is not enough'.
Subhamati takes a closer look at Stephen Batchelor's Tricycle article on Brexit.
The first article in a series on Sangharakshita's magnum opus A Survey of Buddhism.
Advayacitta interviewed about the importance and meaning of music in general, and in particular of the chanting of mantras.
Why the Modern Left Loathes the Working Class
In this article Ratnaguna makes a case for spiritual communities changing the world for the better.
Advayacitta describes the process of how he came to alter his opinion about climate change.
Ratnaguna marks Apramda’s first year by discussing why the objective truth is crucial for the health of society
Jñanavaca on The Master and His Emissary.
If you are a Buddhist, are you bound to be a Remainer?
Cass Sunstein argues that groups, and society, need dissenters to prevent them from making bad decisions.
Whole societies can split into mutually unintelligible ‘tribes’.
Ratnaguna interviews Advayacitta about the nature of consciousness, and how this relates to the question of rebirth.
Apramāda has been accused of trying to 'delegitimize and derail racial justice work'.
Part 2 of Achara's series on wise policy making.
In this short but powerful piece Nagapriya argues that gratitude is transformative.
In this second article based on his celebrated 'Eros and Beauty' talks, Subhuti examines the nature of aesthetic experience.
Devamitra's account of his treatment of prostate cancer. Inspiring, and thought-provoking.
What is ‘racial equality’? What should Buddhists make of it?
This is the first in a new series we're calling Thus Have I Heard: Brief Essays on Buddhism.
The importance of Buddhists transcending political ideologies.
An investigation into truth, delusion, justice and race in the USA.
Subhuti explores the pursuit of beauty as a spiritual path. Part 1 of 2 parts.
In this article - the first of a three part series - Ratnaguna examines the nature of tribe.
The powerful have most to gain from the imposed Moral Infantilism of society
Aryajit interviews Ratnaguna on Walking with the Wind by the Civil Rights activist John Lewis
Vidyaruchi examines Popper's thinking on politics, his critique of 'historicism' and his demolition of Marxism.
This article is intended for those who are curious about Buddhism but as yet knows little about it.
Thomas Hamilton-Shaw talks about two books: The Road to Somewhere and Head Hand Head Hand Heart.
Maitreyabandhu's latest volume of poetry, After Cézanne.
Another short Dharma essay, Gotama, Mole, and the Wild Wood.
Ratnaguna and Advayacitta discuss aspects of Buddhism and psychological therapy - their similarities and differences.
This review explores ‘The Burning House’, a response to a perceived climate emergency.
Advayacitta begins to explore interesting parallels between two core Buddhist principles, and modern physics.
Ratnaguna argues that if someone gives offence you don't have to take it
Sravaniya says why he thinks classical music is important.
Vidyaruchi explores what 'Social Justice' has come to mean.
Moral rectitude functions as a form of power.
The parallel between Relativity Theory and śunyata.
Part 3 of Achara's series on wise policy making.
Part 1 of Achara's series on wise policy making.
How can we really know anything, and how often are our opinions based on a lack of real knowledge?
What is the root of our suffering and how can it be quenched? What did the Buddha discover?
Ratnaguna looks at instances from ancient texts of the Buddha debating, and draws out lessons that we can learn from him.
Is unconscious bias training free from bias?
Are black lives 'systematically and intentionally targeted for demise' by the police?
A Buddhist response to Karl Popper’s theory of scientific method.
Political ideologies can undermine psychological functioning.
Silavadin discusses the materialist view of evolution and, following the philosopher Thomas Nagel.
Vidyaruchi argues Popper's political thought needs a framework of higher values such as is found in Buddhism.
The second part of Vidyaruchi's series on A Survey of Buddhism.
The Buddha was aware of the dangers of engaging in debates, and he had some observations about how to conduct discussions.
Part 2 of the series Breaking Free of Tribalism and Becoming an Individual.

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