Apramāda

Buddhist perspectives on society and culture

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
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
Conformity
Cass Sunstein argues that groups, and society, need dissenters to prevent them from making bad decisions
Ratnaguna
Posted in: Psychology

Culture

Road to somewhere
In this very stimulating interview Thomas Hamilton-Shaw talks about two books by David Goodhart: The Road to Somewhere and Head Hand Heart. Tom is a friend of David and was his research assistant for the second book.
Hamilton-Shaw
Posted in: Culture
Ratnaguna asks guitarist Nick Gauntlett about his love of progressive rock music, and what it has to do with his Dharma practice. We also hear some of the music he has recorded, including a song he wrote as part of a concept album on the Buddha.
Nick
Posted in: Culture
Maitreyabandhu is an award-winning poet, and in this illuminating interview he tells Ratnaguna about his latest volume of poetry, After Cézanne.
Maitreyabandhu
Posted in: Culture
Director and conductor of the New Hampshire Philharmonic Orchestra, and member of the Triratna Buddhist Order Sravaniya (Mark Latham), tells Ratnaguna why he thinks classical music is important.
Sravaniya
Posted in: Culture

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
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
A Binocular Vision
An examination of Sangharakshita's teaching on the progressive trend within reality, especially as regards its implications for the doctrinal unity of the Buddhist tradition.
Vidyaruchi
Posted in: Buddhism

Articles

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

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