“Since I and other beings, both, in wanting happiness are equal and alike, what difference is there to distinguish us, that I should strive to have my happiness alone?” In this podcast Professor Thurman discusses the ideas, advanced by Buddhist teachers, in this case skillfully expressed by saint and scholar Shantideva: it’s by abandoning self-preoccupation and by cultivating concern for others, that we can experience happiness, and not by ignoring other beings, as we are much more used to doing. By expanding our field of attention to thinking of how what we do affects others, we can shift our habit of self-concern for “others-concern”, and that can make us happier.
This episode was recorded on October 27, 2015 in a class taught by Professor Thurman.
Love Your Enemies
Life has a way of thwarting our plans, leaving even the most sainted of us frustrated and fearful at times. But losing our cool causes more problems than it solves. So when people and circumstances …
