The Buddha repeatedly taught that we should regard ourselves and others by the consequences of our actions (including our speech) and not by our appearances. And yet, most of us evaluate and compare ourselves by our appearances all of the time. Why is that? In this podcast, we will talk about the association of power and appearance, and especially how the nature of being human, of being homo sapiens, involves us relentlessly comparing ourselves to others, typically finding ourselves lacking, and then feeling resentful. As Leonard Cohen famously said in his hymn “If It Be Your Will”:
Draw us near, and bind us tight, all your children here, in their rags of light. In our rags of light, all dressed to kill, and end this night, if it be your will.
In this podcast we will talk about both our “rags of light” and the power of appearance in human relationships.
How are passive and active essentially biological and hard-wired through our mammalian brains? What does the limbic system have to do with our sense...
In part two of this episode, we will talk about the theory offered by contemporary cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman to explain why our natural...
Humiliation is the experience of being exposed in our weaknesses and losing our social status in a couple or group. Being humiliated naturally evokes...