Before we explore the remaining forms of subtle deception in the mind, let’s briefly recall what we covered in Part 1. There we looked at how unwholesome states can masquerade  as wholesome qualities: how attachment to lust might feel  like loving-kindness, how grief can appear  as compassion, how even equanimity can be shadowed by indifference and so on. The Buddha’s teachings point out these deceptions so that we become more aware of how easily the mind can be led astray wh

The Buddha said: “Pāpasmiṃ ramati mano — the minds of people delight in what is unwholesome.” Pāpa does not only mean unwholesome deeds; it can also mean the mind delights in the unwholesome qualities that arise within it.  If you look honestly, you will notice this in yourself. The mind delights in lobha, but not in alobha. It delights in dosa, but not in adosa. It delights in moha, but not in amoha. These are all unwholesome qualities. And when māna (conceit), issā (envy) a

The story begins during a time when everyone, devas, brahmas and humans alike, were obsessed with figuring out what counts as a maṅgala — blessing . They wanted to know the signs, conditions, or qualities that genuinely bring welfare, happiness and good fortune. Not the superstitious kind, but the real blessing. For twelve long years, perhaps even longer, the beings of both the deva world and the human world turned the question of maṅgala over and over in their minds. They wa

“Therefore, bhikkhus, one should often reflect upon one’s own mind thus: ‘For a long time this mind has been defiled by lust (lobha),...

Every Buddhist has some understanding of the law of kamma: action and its results. Most are familiar with the general notion that if you...

Different beings have different mental inclinations and tendencies, which influence how they think, speak, act, and interact with others....