21 December 2024
comments
|
archives
subscribe
Programs
Culturally Determined
Mind-Body Problems
Psychopolitica
Sophia
The Wright Show
Archived Programs
Conversations@Union
Love-Driven Politics
MeaningofLife.tv Asks…
Science of Spirituality
Sixty-Second Sermons
Series
Ancient Wisdom
Emotions and the Brain
The Meaning of Future Life
The Weirdness of Physics
Popular Tags
evolution
consciousness
meditation
Buddhism
mindfulness
philosophy
Donald Trump
science
spirituality
Christianity
religion
human nature
politics
cognitive science
death
psychology
physics
ethics
technology
ancient philosophy
MeaningofLife.tv videos
Subscribe to MeaningofLife.tv videos via podcast or email
◀ newer
1
2
3
older ▶
Jan 19, 2017 — Robert Wright & Dale Wright
Dale’s book
What Is Buddhist Enlightenment
?
Why is Vipassana getting more press than Zen?
What is distinctive about Zen?
Dale’s meditation practice
Using mindfulness for good—and evil
A naturalistic conception of karma
How Buddhism adapts to Western culture
TAGS
Buddhism
|
Christianity
|
compassion
|
consciousness
|
enlightenment
|
meditation
|
mindfulness
|
perception
|
philosophy
|
politics
|
religion
|
spirituality
|
war
|
Zen
Jan 16, 2017 — Robert Wright & James Currier
Why James started a new spiritual community, Blue
Coming-of-age in the Blue community
Blue’s startup spirituality
What’s a Blue service like?
The future of Blue
TAGS
atheism
|
Buddhism
|
empathy
|
family
|
Hinduism
|
human nature
|
identity
|
meditation
|
philosophy
|
religion
|
ritual
|
science
|
spirituality
|
Sunday Assembly
Dec 29, 2016 — Josh Summers & David Barash
David’s book
Buddhist Biology
Where Buddhism and biology converge
The interconnected world
Karma in Buddhism and biology
David’s “existential-bio-Buddhism”
TAGS
biology
|
Buddhism
|
consciousness
|
evolution
|
free will
|
perception
|
philosophy
|
psychology
|
science
|
self
|
spirituality
Dec 20, 2016 — Stephen Asma & Nick Sousanis
Unflattening
, a doctoral dissertation in comic book form
Why academics tend to distrust images
Visual literacy as a way to understand the world better
Imagination and mysticism in Edwin Abbott’s
Flatland
How images can help authors overcome intellectual alienation
Why everybody should learn to draw
TAGS
aesthetics
|
ancient philosophy
|
Buddhism
|
creativity
|
perception
|
philosophy
Dec 12, 2016 — Josh Summers & Sara Lazar
Are the benefits of mindfulness exaggerated?
Meditation and our “neuroplastic” brains
How meditation alters the fear response
Why studying mindfulness is hard
Mindfulness is about more than being in the moment
Advice for the anti-Trump crowd from meditation teachers
TAGS
Buddhism
|
cognitive science
|
fear
|
meditation
|
mindfulness
|
psychology
Dec 6, 2016 — Robert Wright & Paul Bloom
Paul’s brand new book,
Against Empathy
The damage empathy can do
The difference between empathy and compassion
Why our moral intuitions aren’t so moral
Are low empathy people more likely to hurt others?
Empathy as moral jet fuel
The costs and benefits of feeling other people’s pain
TAGS
altruism
|
anger
|
Buddhism
|
cognitive science
|
compassion
|
empathy
|
enlightenment
|
ethics
|
human nature
|
meditation
|
moral imagination
|
Peter Singer
|
psychology
|
science
Dec 2, 2016 — Robert Wright & Jay Michaelson
Jay’s anti-Trump appeals
How the election unleashed hate
When “love your enemy” just won’t work
Is empathy a limited resource?
Jay’s spiritual toolkit for coping with a Trump presidency
Trump, the anti-Buddha
Can mindfulness help save the world?
TAGS
anger
|
Buddhism
|
Christianity
|
compassion
|
democracy
|
Donald Trump
|
empathy
|
ethics
|
happiness
|
human nature
|
identity
|
Islam
|
Judaism
|
love
|
meditation
|
mental health
|
mindfulness
|
moral imagination
|
politics
|
psychology
|
religion
|
sadness
|
spirituality
|
tribalism
|
Zen
Nov 27, 2016 — Nikita Petrov & Robert Place
Anticipating Trump
How to read cards
The Renaissance and the birth of Tarot
Basics of neoplatonism
Neoplatonic and Buddhist philosophy in the Tarot
Tarot as a philosophical card game
Card reading, therapy, and meditation
The Great Work of alchemy
How art revived the occult
TAGS
ancient philosophy
|
Buddhism
|
Christianity
|
consciousness
|
enlightenment
|
meditation
|
mysticism
|
mythology
|
occult
|
philosophy
|
politics
|
psychology
|
religion
|
self
Nov 13, 2016 — Robert Wright & Keith Frankish
Consciousness as an illusion
How would a belief look in the brain?
Two kinds of dualism
What if you and I see blue differently?
Is it like something to be Keith Frankish?
Why thinking about consciousness is so hard
TAGS
Buddhism
|
cognitive science
|
consciousness
|
ethics
|
evolution
|
human nature
|
memory
|
mind-body problem
|
panpsychism
|
perception
|
philosophy
|
psychology
|
self
|
technology
Nov 12, 2016 — David Bryce Yaden & Scott Barry Kaufman
From positive to humanistic psychology
Must one risk madness to achieve genius?
How creativity and spirituality overlap
The light and dark triad of personality traits
Mindfulness as the link between creativity and spirituality
TAGS
Buddhism
|
cognitive science
|
consciousness
|
creativity
|
ethics
|
meditation
|
mindfulness
|
psychology
|
spirituality
Nov 4, 2016 — Robert Wright & Christof Koch
The search for non-human consciousness
Consciousness in the organic and inorganic worlds
Measuring consciousness
Lucky us: The universe breeds consciousness
How scientific and spiritual worldviews can enrich each other
Artificial intelligence is not (necessarily) artificial consciousness
The Allen Institute for Brain Science and its mission
TAGS
Buddhism
|
cognitive science
|
consciousness
|
ethics
|
evolution
|
panpsychism
|
physics
|
science
|
spirituality
|
technology
|
the future
Oct 30, 2016 — Daniel Kaufman & Robert Wright
Hume: Reason is a slave of feelings
Feelings and reason in evolutionary psychology
Why Kant wanted ethics to be rational
The evolution of moral intuitions
Morality is subjective, but it’s in our nature
Why seeing purpose in evolution freaks scientists out
Hume’s Buddhist view of the self
TAGS
Buddhism
|
ethics
|
evolution
|
philosophy
|
psychology
|
self
Oct 25, 2016 — Philip Menchaca & Benjamin Zeller
The link between “new religious movements” and violence
The suicidal cult Heaven’s Gate
Suicide as a religious act
Why Heaven’s Gate matters
The thin line between Heaven’s Gate and mainstream religions
Donald Trump, American messiah?
TAGS
Buddhism
|
Christianity
|
death
|
Donald Trump
|
economics
|
psychology
|
religion
|
science
|
spirituality
Oct 20, 2016 — Robert Wright & Daniel Ingram
What is “mindfulness?”
Suffering: Can’t live without it!
The pathology of our wandering minds
Seeking the chaos of impermanence
Do all thoughts have feelings?
What’s the relationship between your mind and your brain?
TAGS
Buddhism
|
consciousness
|
enlightenment
|
meditation
|
memory
|
mind-body problem
|
mindfulness
|
psychology
|
religion
Oct 19, 2016 — Robert Wright & Sam Harris
Sam Harris, mystic and atheist
The mystery of consciousness
Is mysticism more like science than like religion?
How religion makes progress
Sam’s case for intolerance
The root causes of extremism
Religious and secular reasons to do good
Ways religion may be closer to the truth than atheism
A secular approach to death
TAGS
agnosticism
|
atheism
|
Buddhism
|
Christianity
|
cognitive science
|
consciousness
|
death
|
empathy
|
ethics
|
evolution
|
history
|
Islam
|
meditation
|
mind-body problem
|
mindfulness
|
mysticism
|
nationalism
|
New Atheists
|
perception
|
poverty
|
psychology
|
religion
|
science
|
self
|
spirituality
|
tribalism
Oct 10, 2016 — Robert Wright & Jonathan Gold
The seminal Buddhist philosopher Vasubandhu, hero of
Paving the Great Way
Buddhist and Darwinian arguments for reality not being as it seems
The ‘hyper-reductionism’ of Buddhism
Meditation and the doctrine of emptiness
Does the Buddhist view of causality leave room for agency?
Are the past and the future real?
Hindu and Buddhist versions of non-duality
TAGS
Buddhism
|
evolution
|
free will
|
Hinduism
|
human nature
|
meditation
|
mindfulness
|
perception
|
philosophy
|
psychology
|
religion
|
self
|
spirituality
|
time
Oct 9, 2016 — Robert Wright & Wesley Wildman
Wesley explains “transreligious theology”
What’s religious about religious naturalism?
Can science help us understand ultimate reality?
Bringing religious thought and philosophy together
Be skeptical of spiritual experiences
Don’t just love your enemies, understand them
Wesley: “Purpose” isn’t a useful category
TAGS
atheism
|
Buddhism
|
Christianity
|
consciousness
|
meditation
|
Paul Tillich
|
philosophy
|
physics
|
psychology
|
religion
|
science
|
spirituality
|
tribalism
Oct 1, 2016 — Robert Wright & Stephen Batchelor
What Buddhim really is (and isn’t) about
What various Buddhist traditions have to offer
The Buddha as a practical philosopher
How the Buddha revolutionized meditation
The idea of not-self, and its connection to an ethical life
Why death is not the end even if there’s no rebirth
The ethical dimension of enlightenment
TAGS
Buddhism
|
Christianity
|
death
|
enlightenment
|
Hinduism
|
meditation
|
secularism
|
spirituality
Sep 21, 2016 — Robert Wright & Erik Braun
Erik’s book
The Birth of Insight
and its hero, Ledi Sayadaw
Three marks of existence: impermanence, suffering, and not-self
Origins and characteristics of American Buddhism
How Burmese politics shaped Western Buddhism
Ledi’s take on how meditation leads to enlightenment
The ethical side of Buddhist practice
Erik’s meditation practice
TAGS
Buddhism
|
consciousness
|
enlightenment
|
history
|
human nature
|
meditation
|
mind
|
mindfulness
|
philosophy
|
politics
|
psychology
|
religion
|
science
|
self
Sep 14, 2016 — Robert Wright & Vincent Horn
Can smartphones help you meditate?
Bringing virtual reality and meditation together
Vincent’s experience teaching meditation online
Circumventing the rational mind via inquiry meditation
Becoming conscious of consciousness
Vincent’s “modular” approach to meditation
Is Vincent enlightened?
TAGS
Buddhism
|
consciousness
|
meditation
|
science
|
technology
|
the future
Sep 10, 2016 — Josh Summers & Chip Hartranft
An intro to the yogic philosopher Patañjali and the
Yoga-Sutra
The metaphysics of the
Yoga-Sutra
How does a yogi become awakened?
Comparing yogic and Buddhist teachings
Does yogic philosophy encourage isolation?
Advice for new meditators
TAGS
Buddhism
|
consciousness
|
enlightenment
|
Hinduism
|
human nature
|
meditation
|
mindfulness
|
philosophy
|
religion
|
spirituality
|
yoga
Aug 19, 2016 — Robert Wright & Douglas Osto
Doug’s book
Altered States: Buddhism and Psychedelic Spirituality in America
Psychedelics as gateway drugs to Buddhism
Common ground between Buddhism and psychedelic spirituality
What is Psychedelic Buddhism?
When are psychedelics unhealthy?
Compare and contrast between Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism
TAGS
Buddhism
|
consciousness
|
drugs
|
enlightenment
|
happiness
|
meditation
|
mental health
|
mindfulness
|
religion
|
spirituality
|
Zen
Jul 27, 2016 — Oliver Burkeman & Susan Piver
When rage intrudes on meditation
The internal logic of bad acts
Susan explains the uses of lovingkindness meditation
Resisting the temptation to take pleasure in anger
Seeing terrorists as humans
Susan: don’t flee from bad feelings
TAGS
anger
|
Buddhism
|
compassion
|
Donald Trump
|
empathy
|
evil
|
fear
|
happiness
|
love
|
meditation
|
mindfulness
|
moral imagination
|
psychology
|
tribalism
Jul 10, 2016 — Robert Wright & Kenneth Folk
The bell-curve of awakening
Being enlightened feels “meta-okay”
The benefits of experiencing life impersonally
Does enlightenment have to have a moral dimension?
Awakening as growing up
The lenses and filters through which we see life
TAGS
altruism
|
Buddhism
|
consciousness
|
drugs
|
enlightenment
|
ethics
|
happiness
|
meditation
|
mindfulness
|
perception
|
psychology
|
religion
|
sadness
|
self
|
spirituality
Jul 5, 2016 — Robert Wright & Steven Nadler
What made Spinoza a heretic?
Why Spinoza matters today
Perspectives on the purpose, if any, of nature
Religion: a source of morality, meaning, and fear
Spinoza’s mysticism—or lack thereof
Parallels between Spinozan and Buddhist thought
TAGS
ancient philosophy
|
atheism
|
Buddhism
|
Christianity
|
Donald Trump
|
enlightenment
|
ethics
|
evolution
|
Judaism
|
meditation
|
mysticism
|
philosophy
|
politics
|
religion
Jun 25, 2016 — Robert Wright & David Bryce Yaden
David’s recent research on “self-transcendent experiences”
Causes and effects of self-transcendence
Is the loss of self real?
Evolutionary explanations of mystical states
The neurology of meditation
Revisiting the mind-body problem
TAGS
Buddhism
|
consciousness
|
meditation
|
mind-body problem
|
psychology
|
science
|
self
|
spirituality
Jun 20, 2016 — Robert Wright
The Cliff Notes version of Bob’s first four talks
Must a spiritual worldview include a “higher purpose”?
How non-zero-sum games shaped religion
Is God like an electron?
Everyone is deluded (but salvation is possible)
An ancient theology compatible with a modern mindset
Questions from the audience
TAGS
Buddhism
|
Christianity
|
consciousness
|
game theory
|
Islam
|
meditation
|
religion
|
spirituality
Jun 17, 2016 — Josh Summers & Kamala Masters
Mahasi Sayadaw, grandfather of the modern mindfulness movement
How he opened meditation to lay people
Mahasi’s approach to “insight meditation”
Focusing on the breath and the practice of “noting”
The process—not progress—of insight
Pitfalls on the path
TAGS
Buddhism
|
enlightenment
|
meditation
|
mindfulness
Jun 14, 2016 — Ben Casnocha & Dina Kaplan
Dina’s startup The Path teaches meditation in a modern way
Meditation sessions as networking events
Does God need to be involved?
Dina’s path to founding The Path
Dina’s personal practice
The best meditation app may be a timer
TAGS
Buddhism
|
meditation
|
spirituality
May 16, 2016 — Robert Wright & Anantanand Rambachan
The Hindu philosophy of Advaita Vedanta
The nature of reality according to the
Upanishads
Anant explains “not-two is not one,” the subtitle of his book
Is “unity” in Hinduism the same as “emptiness” in Buddhism?
Comparing Hindu and Buddhist views of suffering
The meaning of “liberation”
Caste in India as an example of religion gone wrong
TAGS
Buddhism
|
Hinduism
|
meditation
|
self
May 15, 2016 — Annabella Pitkin & Alyson Prude
The
delog
: Himalayan Buddhists who return from the dead
The horrors of Buddhist hell realms
Telling stories about the Buddhist afterlife can be dangerous
Why most
delog
are women
How a
delog
death experience changes your life
What Alyson learned while living among
delog
TAGS
Buddhism
|
death
|
religion
Apr 2, 2016 — David Kyuman Kim & Rebecca Solnit
Why Rebecca calls herself an essayist
Rebecca’s commitment to telling stories that don’t fuel cynicism
“People love certainty more than they love hope”
Buddhism and activism
The necessity of political compromise
What the Occupy movement achieved
TAGS
Buddhism
|
love
|
politics
Mar 30, 2016 — Robert Wright & Emily Sigalow
Meet the American Jubu
How far into Buddhism do Jubus go?
Fusing Judaism and Buddhist practice
A brief history of Jubus
Is meditation a lefty thing to do?
Varieties of Jubu experience
TAGS
Buddhism
|
Judaism
|
meditation
Mar 17, 2016 — Robert Wright & Chris Impey
The unique weirdness of light
Time travel and the theory of relativity
Comparing “emptiness” in physics and Buddhist philosophy
Why Einstein never accepted quantum physics
Can physics really explain why there’s something rather than nothing?
Teaching science to Buddhist monks
TAGS
Buddhism
|
cosmology
|
physics
|
science
|
time
Mar 12, 2016 — Robert Wright & Stephen Asma
The Western encounter with Buddhism
Divine beings and supernatural forces in Buddhism
Why Stephen finds Buddhism appealing
Drawing as meditation
Does neuroscience support the Buddhist view of the self?
What the New Atheists get wrong about religion
TAGS
Buddhism
|
cognitive science
|
consciousness
|
meditation
|
New Atheists
|
religion
Mar 6, 2016 — Robert Wright & Daniel Ingram
What is it like to be an arhat?
Perspectives on the self: It’s nothing, it’s everything
What enlightenment is, and what’s so great about it
Dwelling in enlightenment is easy, but getting there can be hard
Does enlightenment entail moral improvement?
Can meditation save—or impede salvation of—the world?
TAGS
Buddhism
|
Christianity
|
consciousness
|
enlightenment
|
happiness
|
Hinduism
|
meditation
|
mysticism
|
psychology
|
religion
|
self
|
spirituality
Jan 19, 2016 — Robert Wright, Roger Haight & Paul Knitter
Jesus, Buddha, Roger and Paul: friends in conversation
How do you say “nirvana” in Christian?
The perennial philosophy
Religious pluralism as a political imperative
Why Paul will not live for eternity (and Roger will)
When Christian mysticism feels pretty Buddhist
TAGS
Buddhism
|
Christianity
|
mysticism
|
peace
|
religion
Jan 6, 2016 — Robert Wright & Annabella Pitkin
Buddhism in a nutshell
The meaning of life according to Tibetan Buddhism
The key to liberation
Talking about tantra
If science is power, what happens to religion?
What does renunciation mean for Buddhists?
TAGS
Buddhism
|
meditation
|
psychology
Nov 30, 2015 — Robert Wright & Steven Pinker
Why humans are becoming less violent
The dark side of our moral sense
Just how deluded are we?
Bob tries to get Steve to say something nice about religion
How science gives Steve’s life meaning
The problem with “evil”
TAGS
altruism
|
Buddhism
|
empathy
|
ethics
|
evil
|
psychology
|
spirituality
|
violence
|
war
Nov 22, 2015 — Robert Wright & Greg Snyder
Greg’s work teaching Zen meditation to Brooklyn teens
How Greg went from anger to Zen
What young people learn from meditation
Comparing Zen with other branches of Buddhism
The experience of “emptiness” through meditation
What’s the purpose of Zen koans?
TAGS
anger
|
Buddhism
|
education
|
mindfulness
|
Zen
◀ newer
1
2
3
older ▶
Archives
all videos
November 2021
(2)
September 2021
(4)
August 2021
(3)
July 2021
(1)
June 2021
(2)
May 2021
(4)
April 2021
(3)
March 2021
(4)
February 2021
(5)
January 2021
(4)
December 2020
(7)
November 2020
(5)
October 2020
(3)
September 2020
(4)
August 2020
(5)
July 2020
(8)
June 2020
(6)
May 2020
(5)
April 2020
(5)
March 2020
(7)
February 2020
(6)
January 2020
(3)
December 2019
(6)
November 2019
(5)
October 2019
(6)
September 2019
(7)
August 2019
(3)
July 2019
(9)
June 2019
(13)
May 2019
(5)
April 2019
(9)
March 2019
(3)
February 2019
(4)
January 2019
(9)
December 2018
(11)
November 2018
(12)
October 2018
(9)
September 2018
(6)
August 2018
(9)
July 2018
(7)
June 2018
(12)
May 2018
(10)
April 2018
(6)
March 2018
(9)
February 2018
(9)
January 2018
(11)
December 2017
(9)
November 2017
(4)
October 2017
(7)
September 2017
(7)
August 2017
(8)
July 2017
(5)
June 2017
(8)
May 2017
(3)
April 2017
(6)
March 2017
(5)
February 2017
(8)
January 2017
(27)
December 2016
(33)
November 2016
(12)
October 2016
(18)
September 2016
(13)
August 2016
(12)
July 2016
(8)
June 2016
(14)
May 2016
(15)
April 2016
(8)
March 2016
(10)
February 2016
(16)
January 2016
(8)
December 2015
(11)
November 2015
(11)
October 2015
(14)
September 2015
(11)
August 2015
(11)
July 2015
(10)
November 2014
(1)
August 2014
(2)
July 2014
(1)
May 2014
(1)
January 2014
(3)
October 2013
(2)
September 2013
(1)
July 2013
(1)
May 2013
(1)
January 2013
(1)
December 2012
(1)
November 2012
(2)
June 2010
(1)
August 2003
(12)
July 2003
(8)