Articles posted in 2012
January 2012
Introducing HappinessMy book on happiness has just been published by Icon books.
Articles posted in 2011
December 2011
Gautama Buddha: Interview with Vishvapani BlomfieldMyth and history in the biography of the Buddha…
August 2011
Pick and MixWestern Buddhists and the spiritually sweet-toothed.
July 2011
The Trouble with HappinessHappiness, politics, and focussing on the good bits.
February 2011
A World Made of Stories?“The universe is made of stories, not atoms”: discuss…
Articles posted in 2010
December 2010
The Myth of Re-enchantmentEnchantment, disenchantment and the mind’s spinning of stories.
Advertising-free ZoneSome thoughts on advertising, the internet, and breakfast cereal.
September 2010
EffervescenceA few notes on Ernst Bloch’s “The Principle of Hope”
The Godly, the Godless, and the question of ethicsThoughts on the Pope’s visit to the UK.
August 2010
Judgement and ExperienceTesting judgements against the fine-grain of experience.
Having more than one nameA few fragmentary thoughts on names.
Out of sight of landDoes travel broaden the mind?
July 2010
Scriptural protection?A quick and easy method for dealing with fake monks.
Buddhist? Buddhish? Non-Buddhist?I’m almost five years old!
Part Time Vegetariantofu and flesh – matter and anti-matter?
Mortification of the flesh, with some thoughts on Buddhist logic and the consumption of cakeCake, Empress Dowagers and a visit to the Temple of Longevity.
June 2010
On the MoveI’m off to China!
Mindfulness of CoffeeHow to carry a full cup of coffee without spillage…
May 2010
A Strange CocktailA recipe for concocting Western Buddhism.
On the dangers of being too philosophical...On the closure of Middlesex philosophy department.
April 2010
A Hedge of Roses: thoughts on ethics and aestheticsEmmanuel Levinas’s Nine Talmudic Readings, and the pleasures of coffee.
Throwing Away the LadderThe New Scientist and the ladder of consciousness.
March 2010
Ethical FriskinessWhen ethical philosophy meets caffeine…
January 2010
Something is happening here, but you don't know what it is...Bob Dylan and the cognitive unconscious.
A Viable WayWisdom from the bestselling book “How to Marry a Western Woman”…
Meditating and KnowingThe limits of the mind, and meditation.
Articles posted in 2009
December 2009
The Storm Before the CalmComputer meltdown…
The Dramatic and the BlandPoets and monks!
Curfew!How to find time to read more books.
November 2009
Ethics is like navigation... stories are like the sea.Thoughts on storytelling and ethics.
Sidling up to ThingsThinking about obliqueness…
October 2009
On (Not) Debating the Existence of GodGod, godlessness and the good life.
Questions we cannot go throughHeidegger, meditation and questioning.
September 2009
Thinking About Free WillDecisions, decisions, decisions…
Mind in the Balance?A review of B. Alan Wallace’s new book.
Altruism, selfishness and purityCan there ever be such a thing as pure altruism?
August 2009
The Weaving and the UnweavingTelling stories about telling stories.
Without authority...Blogs, mainstream media and the idea of authority.
Wouldn't it be a lovely headline?Finding heaven in a MacDonald’s hamburger? Even William Blake might struggle…
Things Worth KnowingThe stuff we know (or claim to know) and a few thoughts on ethics.
SettlingThe books are sorted, the cat is asleep on his beanbag, and I’m back to my meditation cushions.
July 2009
Saltwater BuddhaA review of Jaimal Yogis’s “Saltwater Buddha”.
No One Wins?Philosophical discussion, and those monsters lurking underneath our chairs.
The Invisibility of GoodnessMaybe we’re not doing that badly after all…
June 2009
CosmopolitanismThought’s on Anthony Appiah’s Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers.
Clamour, and the Love of the WorldReligion, science and the clamour of the world.
KluginessThought’s on Gary Marcus’s book “Kluge”
May 2009
The Wisdom of the Ancients?Golden ages, and the magnificence of the past.
KnotInterpretation, and what makes a classic?
Get Real...Some thoughts on tragic storytelling.
Scholars and MeditatorsMeditation, scholarship and the mind’s many functions.
April 2009
Loopiness, and not Taking Oneself too SeriouslyAm I a strange loop?
Unnatural PracticesAh, those sexy beasts!
The Demon-Haunted WorldWhy those pesky demons are going away any time soon.
Mountains? What Mountains?Tintin, meditation and the mountains of the mind…
March 2009
Slip Slidin' AwayThoughts on experience
What's It All About?Something about something…
Written on the WaterThoughts on the the clamorousness of the traditions of Buddhism.
February 2009
A Short Note on ErrancyWayward education.
A Problem with BandwidthA few late-night thoughts on consciousness
Darwin's Dharma?Darwin the crypto-Buddhist?
Darwin DayDarwin’s 200th birthday – time to don your false beard and get partying.
The Madhyamaka Bus?Let’s hit the road on the Buddhist bus.
NotThoughts on the Heart Sutra.
January 2009
Blogging Philosophy Part II: Hanging Out with the PeasantsBlogging, the Gutenberg parenthesis, and how to establish the colour of a bear.
Blogging Philosophy Part I: AmateursThe paradox of the professional philosopher.
Mistrust, Indebtedness and HospitalityHospitality by the Indus!
On Advertising“There are a lot of things in this world / You are going to have no use for…” Tom Waits.
Shocking Revelations, Radical Changes and Dramatic EventsDrama, the news, and the latest shocking revelations.
Fluidity and ThoughtThe snagging of thoughts
Articles posted in 2008
December 2008
MysteryMysteriousness, mysticism and the sciences.
The Fine GrainA few thoughts on attention, judgement and the fine grain of things…
Slippery truthsToughts on Mark Siderits’s Empty Persons.
Rebirth? No. Rebecoming? Yes.The incoherence of rebirth
November 2008
VirtuosiThoughts on meditation and virtuosity.
Car Crash JournalismArt, the Daily Mail, and the culture of the car.
RiskOn the pleasures of bad Health and Safety induction films.
Zen, Brains and Making Friends With Your Own HeadIt’s a complicated business having a brain.
One Man BandsGirls Aloud and Buddhism. No, really…
October 2008
Texts, Bones and Early BuddhistsLife and literature in accounts of early Buddhism.
Dragons and Levitating MonksOn the elusiveness of the miraculous.
An Afternoon in Gateshead, or The Idol in the DesertReligion and financial crisis
Michael Frayn on Uncertainty and MotivationUncertainty in Copenhagen.
The Transitive Theory of WeirdnessJohnny Wilkinson and quantum physics
September 2008
Literature and LaughterWhy Momus was banished from Olympus.
The Poetry of DeathJapanese Death poems
The Sciences, the Humanities and the Human ImaginationThoughts on consilience and the unity of knowledge.
Is this it?Surely there must be more to life…?
Lies in Which not Everything is FalseStories – they are nothing but a pack of lies.
Lightness of TouchGoverning oneself the way one cooks a small fish.
August 2008
On Gods and NationsThoughts on A.C. Grayling and David Miliband.
NeuroethicsConcerning my review of Glannon’s “Defining Right and Wrong in Brain Science”.
Speaking With Inanimate ThingsThe curious tale of a bronze bull and its many secret worshippers.
John Ruskin and the PenguinPenguins – a cure for the wrathful.
Finding Peace in the Eye of the StormOne must cultivate one’s garden.
July 2008
Death, at IntervalsAnother book worth reading…
Some Books I LoveThree of my favourite books – Comet in Moominland, Lucretius and Calvino’s Invisible Cities.
Writing ToolsContinuing to write, amid the chaos…
June 2008
Animal PleasuresDo animals experience pleasure? And if so, what are the implications of this?
Ethics and the Public Understanding of ScienceSome thoughts on ethics, public understanding, and scientific research.
Karma, Retribution and the ActressThoughts on Sharon Stone and the Chinese earthquake.
May 2008
Meditation and TechniqueAjahn Sujato and meditation techniques.
Noble Silence?Silences, both noble and ignoble (and a Buddhist joke!)
The Ocean of ExistenceOn life out of sight of dry land.
April 2008
Strokes of Insight?Jill Bolte Taylor, neuroplasticity and turning off those anger circuits.
Without IlluminationThe fog of philosophy
On DesireLink to online review of William B. Irvine’s On Desire
Unconscious Decision MakingMore research into free will.
Free Will and EthicsDo we need free will to make us good?
The Pragmatic BuddhistSome reading matter!
March 2008
Putting Shantideva to the TestHappiness and ethics – a simple experiment.
Just WarFive years in Iraq, and the crassness of Prince Harry’s headgear.
Kindness and PhilosophyWhere are our philosophies of kindness?
Knowledge, Freedom and LimitationThe pleasures of not knowing.
February 2008
The Hard Truths of Science?Rebelling robots, gene machines, and the utter, hideous meaninglessness of everything.
Vain, Deluded, Pigheaded, Secretive, Bigoted...That’s the trouble with the mind – it has a mind of it’s own.
Meditation as UnphenomenologyMeditation, cartography and the territory of the mind.
January 2008
The View from the ChariotThe Buddha: bad psychologist?
Philosophy and PracticeStoicism, Foucault and philosophy as a practical pursuit.
A Secular AgeA review of Charles Taylor’s monumental book A Secular Age
Studying HappinessThe metta bhavana, and meditation on happiness.
Meditation as Natural HistoryMeditation, natural history, and medieval books of beasts.
Articles posted in 2007
December 2007
Buddhists in Bars with BalloonsWho’s that over there making balloon sculptures? It must be a Buddhist monk.
Worldly TranscendenceDo we need God if we are to be happy?
MatteringMore thoughts on materialism
The Middle Way?A snippet of overheard conversation.
Clarity and ConfusionAnalytic philosophy, continental philosophy and mollusc-based diets.
November 2007
Nutters?Religion, politics and Tony Blair.
More on the Transhumanist DebateMore on Marvin Minsky, Transhumanism and the New Scientist.
Real MagicWhere is the real magic?
Stumped by ConsciousnessI admit it: I’m utterly flummoxed!
Human things with human voice...Wallace Stevens, Martha Nussbaum and philosophy.
October 2007
The Sutras of Abu GhraibAidan Delgado on Buddhism, ethics and the war in Iraq.
A Little Light ReadingA handy resource for consciousness studies….
Ethics of the In-BetweenEthics between absolutes, and the Hello Peace project.
Transhumanism, Journalism and EthicsMore on ethics and transhumanism.
Marvin Minsky's Dreams of ImmortalityTranshumanism and the salvation of the world.
HappinessAccording to recent reports, children in the UK suffer from “pervasive anxiety”.
A few brief thoughts on reductionismNumskulls, reductionism and the human mind.
Aung San Suu Kyi and BurmaThe root of the three root poisons.
September 2007
Numskulls, Dumskulls and the Evolution of the MindOut of the dumb came forth… the slightly less dumb.
Religion, Violence and DualismIs the problem religion, or is it something more subtle?
Informed Ignorance, Spinoza and ScienceSpionza, ignorance, understanding – all that, and I’m still two hundred miles from the nearest decent cappuccino.
August 2007
Doing NothingHanging around, doing nothing.
The Lure of the Cloister?Where are the secular cloisters?
Our AncestorsThoughts from the Bulgarian national history museum.
Meditation in Schools?Should meditation be taught in schools?
Thinking Out LoudBlogging as a practice.
July 2007
My New BrainA note on the pleasures of having a new brain.
O, Unhappy Philosopher!Why so glum, you philosophers?
Not seeing the trees for the wood...Attention, meditation and some tasty chocolate muffins.
June 2007
TrustCountering mistrust with trust.
Knowledge, Wisdom and IgnoranceThere is no such thing as esoteric wisdom.
The Worst Type of BuddhistDamn those ignorant Buddhists…
Ouch!Reflections upon pain.
Open Source ReligionReligion goes Open Source
May 2007
What Attention Lays BareHusserl, meditation and the quest for certainty.
Violence and the Mind's ClimateDoes media violence unbalance the mind’s delicate climate?
Mindfulness and the BreathEight ways of looking at the breath…
Murals Found in Mustang, NepalArchaeology? Boring? Never!
Meditation and IntimacyMeditation and reflection on the Mahamudra.
April 2007
This mind, this mind...The mind’s chaos…
Groundlessness, not RelativismThinking ethics without grounds…
The Inferno of the LivingCatholicism, Calvino and life in the inferno.
Liking Your NeighboursMust we like people to love them? Can we dislike them also?
March 2007
Lift Off!Of book launches and demons.
MiscommunicationThe Buddha’s first, failed teaching.
Uncertain Times?We are living in uncertain times, but is this sufficient justification for renewing Trident?
Are You Buddhish?Buddhish. Adjective: Not quite Buddhist; Spuriously or falsely claiming to be Buddhist;
Oi! Are You Looking at My Triangle?Attachment to triangles.
The Path to Earthly RichesTemple loyalty cards for kids.
February 2007
Self Evident Experience?What’s going on… and what we think is going on…
Emotional Weather ReportCaught up in bad weather?
A Little Knowledge...Knowledge, ignorance and scepticism.
January 2007
Insulting the BuddhaSri Lanka’s draconian new legislation.
Human PracticesThings lost – and gained – in translation.
No Faster Than a Camel Can WalkTrains, camels and other alternative means of transport.
The Mind's DramaUnpredictability, impermanence, and the insubstantiality of the mind’s dramas.
ElephantsElephants and monks in Sydney zoo.
Nepal's Buddha Boy Takes up the SwordRam Bomjon, Nepal’s “Buddha Boy”, once again…
People are Natural Disasters TooEarthquake, fire, flood… and our fellow human beings.
A Grammar of HypothesisThoughts on scepticism and knowledge.
Articles posted in 2006
December 2006
A Global Christmas?Santa training academies in Vietnam? Elephants dressed as Santa in Thailand? Confucius with reindeer?
Religious OffencesReligion, offence and public life.
ReconciliationMaking friends with the world again…
Interfaith DialogueReligion, identity and dialogue and why I am not a Buddhist.
The Woal of ItHiedegger, Riddley Walker, and how to make friends with your own head.
The Problem of LifeSolving and dissolving the problems of life.
November 2006
YesThoughts on the affirmation of life.
Doing the Right ThingWe want to do the right thing. But what is the right thing to do?
Dennett's Modest ProposalDan Dennett, religion and science.
Lest We ForgetThoughts on Armistice day.
The Wind That Blows Through MeReflections on an evening meditation.
In Praise of Emmanuel LevinasThe 100th anniversary of the philosopher of ethics and responsibility, Emmanuel Levinas.
October 2006
Nothing but...?The world is enough…
Buddhist ConversionsCaste, untouchability and conversion in India.
The Meaning of the Meaning of LifeLife has no meaning; but that doesn’t mean it is meaningless…
On Holy BooksRichard Dawkins on ethics and religious texts.
Turning off the LightsThe sad loss of the night sky…
Mindfulness and the Enigma of LifeThere’s more to mindfulness than washing the dishes very slowly…
September 2006
CriticismThoughts on book reviews…
Lose Weight: Convert to BuddhismForget that diet – change your religion instead!
What is This Thing?The myth of authenticity.
What do Buddhists Look Like?This post includes a handy field-guide for identifying Buddhists…
Awakening to AwakeningSlippery metaphors and debased coinage…
Cutting off Our HeadsThinking, feeling and Buddhist practice.
More on Life Without Free WillFreedom from free will and fredom from disturbance.
Life Without Free WillThe lights are on, but there’s nobody at home…
August 2006
Dramatic EnchantmentsOn being a drama queen…
History as Natural HistoryFrom the social contract to the natural contract.
The Demon, ImpermanenceComputer failure at thinkBuddha.org
DifferenceThe wisdom of difference and the wisdom of sameness…
East is East and West is WestThinking between Levinas and Shantideva, East and West.
Philosophical Cross Currents Shiny BuddhaSri Lankan Buddha images have bene recently reported to be emanating golden light…
Unpacking the SelfThoughts on selfhood and its absence.
July 2006
Purity? What purity?On the virtues of being mixed-up!
Tangled BranchesThoughts on the so-called “vandalism” of the Bodhi Tree.
On Moral EvolutionismAre we better than we used to be? Are we worse? Thoughts on morality and history.
A Shortcut to Nirvana?Research from the frontline of the discipline that is becoming known as neurotheology…
In the Cool of the EveningEvening meditation.
The Rhetoric of NecessityA thought on Thought for the Day.
Dalai the Cat - Photo ExclusiveWhatever happened to Dalai Lama, the Buddhist moggy?
Today at NoonTwo minutes of silence.
The Sheer Astonishing Remarkableness of it AllIn praise of David Attenborough.
June 2006
Reflections on Sociality and SolitudeThoughts on solitude and friendship.
Buddhism for PetsInspire your dog with readings from the Dhammapada… No, really…
Football and RenunciationDo football and Buddhism mix?
Mental DiscontentsCan we eradicate mental discontent?
BaboonFeeling like a grumpy old baboon?
Messianic HopesWe don’t need another messiah!
May 2006
TintinThe boy reporter and the Dalai Lama.
IdlenessThe virtues of laziness.
Buddhists in BikinisLooking for something to wear on the beach this summer?
Muddling ThroughGary Snyder, attentiveness and knowledge
TortureIs it ever right to torture? The problem with ticking bombs.
PoliticsThe relationship between Buddhism and politics
The Pope's AstronomerAn evening with the Vatican’s full-time star-gazer!
April 2006
Walking/MeditationWallace Stevens, Rebecca Solnit, Korean Zen, walking and meditation.
The Strange Case of Dalai the CatA mysterious feline with golden whiskers, spotted on Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh.
What is This?Thoughts on meditative inquiry.
Western Buddhism and Other Capitalist AvatarsŽižek and Western Buddhism.
The Mountain RoadLife, death and a bag full of cherries.
March 2006
On Cultural ConditionsCultural conditions, separate selves, and the oddness of the English…
Conditions...On conditionality and the four noble truths…
The Irrepressible Monkey and the Gorillaz!Gorillaz promote monkey magic…
The Twilight of Atheism or the End of Faith?Are we witnessing the end of faith… or the twilight of atheism?
Carrying Forth, Carrying Away...Dōgen, death and the ten thousand things.
February 2006
Martial ThoughtsOur warrior culture.
Easy Does It...What if ethics was easy?
TurnipsMeditate like a turnip…
Who Knows?Another post from thinkBuddha… But who is doing the posting? And who is doing the reading?
January 2006
Wild GeeseImperfect Buddhists…
The Game of LifeA Buddhist board game…
Final ThoughtsOn planning your own funeral…
Composing our LivesReflections on blogging from Woodmoor Village
PathfindingWhat does it mean to tread the Buddhist path? Where is the path to be found?
Articles posted in 2005
December 2005
Buddhism and Philosophy Part IV - Practices of AttentionPhilosophy, language and the practice of attention.
Buddhism and Philosophy Part III - Practices of Wisdom and LovePhilosophy: the love of wisdom… or the wisdom of love???
Buddhism and Philosophy Part II - Practices of FreedomPhilosophy and Buddhism as practices of freedom.
Buddhism and Philosophy Part IWhat has philosophy got to do with Buddhism? Practice, that is what!
November 2005
The Machineries of AnxietyDoes our 24-hour news society merely fuel anxiety? But don’t we also have a responsibility to know what is happening in the world to which we are so intimately connected?
On Going Without Food.Ram Bomjon, the Buddha and the virtues of a good, hearty breakfast.
Ram Bomjon - the New Buddha?Is the fifteen year old Nepalese boy, Ram Bomjon, the new Buddha, or is there more afoot?
Open InvestigationMore on the Dalai Lama and Brain Science.
Me, me, me, me, meme...Review of Susan Blackmore’s “The Meme Machine”
This Material Frame...More on materialism!
PeaceIs it true that non-violence cannot deal with the crises in the present-day world?
Fixing It.The world is beyond fixing, and perfection forever out of reach. Why should such a thought be liberating?
A Retreat HaikuA short retreat haiku
October 2005
A Handful of Simsapa LeavesHow much do we need to know for the liberation of heart and mind?
Buddhist Soldiers?The MoD has just appointed an army chaplain? But should Buddhists be involved in the business of warfare?
Does Religion Need Defending?Is the proposed new offence of Incitement to Religious Hatred helpful?
The Dull Monk in the Third Row Theory of the Evolution of Buddhist DoctrineAre we too pious in our reading of Buddhist texts?
The Dancing Buddhist BearA Buddhist dancing bear? Surely that’s cruel?
Buddhism and ScienceWhy Buddhism needs science.
The Trouble With EthicsIs the trouble with ethics that there is simply too much of it?
Holding BackEthics begins in holding back…
September 2005
Blogging as PracticeIs blogging just an idle pursuit, or is it a form of practice? Thoughts from Seneca to Basho on the value of writing journals.
Tigers, Mushrooms, Money and MonksA fashion for tiger-skin in Tibet is threatening to hasten the extinction of the Indian tiger.
Mystic India?Is the film Mystic India an inspiring tale of a spiritual land? Or is there something more disturbing going on?
A Dog Called HippopotamusDo dogs meditate? And who would call a dog by the name ‘hippo’?
Good GriefWhat place does grief have within Buddhism?
Re:awakeningsWhat is this Enlightenment business all about anyway?
Moral LuckHow much of ethics is down to pure luck?
Disillusionment Dharma (Part II)Is Buddhism the cause of disillusionment? And what are the rewards of this disenchantment?
Disillusionment Dharma (Part I)Reflections on disillusionment and Buddhism.
August 2005
Findings.Kathleen Jamie’s book Findings – a hymn to the virtues of attentiveness.
Eating, Sleeping and Shitting.Shantideva – the saint who ate too much…
Unwholesome Imaginings.Buddhism, and the invention of hell.
Hurrah for Materialism! (Part II)What is materialism? And why is it considered such a terrible thing?
Hurrah for Materialism! (Part 1)Can a Buddhist be a materialist?
Music in the Sky: Book ReviewAn account of the early life of the 17th Karmapa, and a collection of his teachings…
The RoninThe bloody story of a freelance samurai.
Blue Poppies: Book ReviewA novel in which a Scottish radio operator leads an entire Tibetan village into exile.
The Life of Shabkar: The autobiography of a Tibetan YoginThe anarchic autobiography of a Tibetan yogin.
The Dalai Lama and Brain ScienceScientists protest against Dalai Lama’s invitation to a conference on neuroscience. Is such a protest justified?
For All My Walking: ReviewFree-form haiku from the cantankerous wandering poet, Taneda Santoka.
The Buddha and the Sahibs: ReviewCharles Allen goes in pursuit of the British orientalists
Can Yogis Fly?Can yogis fly? And how are we to deal with accounts from Buddhist biographies of the past that detail ‘miraculous’ events.
July 2005
Longing for Certainty: Meditation Book ReviewBhikkhu Nyanasobhano’s poetic reflections on meditation.
Zen and Philosophy: Book ReviewA review of Michiko Yusa’s impressive book on the life of Nishida Kitaro.
Buddhism Without Buddhism?From Buddhism without Beliefs to Buddhism without Buddhism…
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Today's Most Popular
Buddhist Soldiers?: Wednesday October 19, 2005
The MoD has just appointed an army chaplain? But should Buddhists be involved in the business of warfare?
Baboon: Tuesday June 6, 2006
Feeling like a grumpy old baboon?
Ethical Friskiness: Monday March 1, 2010
When ethical philosophy meets caffeine…
Thinking Out Loud: Wednesday August 1, 2007
Blogging as a practice.
The Madhyamaka Bus?: Friday February 6, 2009
Let’s hit the road on the Buddhist bus.
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Random Articles
The Hard Truths of Science?: Saturday February 23, 2008
Rebelling robots, gene machines, and the utter, hideous meaninglessness of everything.
Buddhist? Buddhish? Non-Buddhist?: Monday July 26, 2010
I’m almost five years old!
Throwing Away the Ladder: Saturday April 3, 2010
The New Scientist and the ladder of consciousness.
A Hedge of Roses: thoughts on ethics and aesthetics: Saturday April 24, 2010
Emmanuel Levinas’s Nine Talmudic Readings, and the pleasures of coffee.
Out of sight of land: Sunday August 8, 2010
Does travel broaden the mind?
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Featured Articles
Zen, Brains and Making Friends With Your Own Head: 10 Nov, 2008
It’s a complicated business having a brain.
Lies in Which not Everything is False: 10 Sep, 2008
Stories – they are nothing but a pack of lies.
The Sutras of Abu Ghraib: 30 Oct, 2007
Aidan Delgado on Buddhism, ethics and the war in Iraq.
Baboon: 06 Jun, 2006
Feeling like a grumpy old baboon?
Meditation as Unphenomenology: 07 Feb, 2008
Meditation, cartography and the territory of the mind.