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.
In 1958, psychologist Fritz Heider originated “attribution theory” in psychology. This theory tried to answer the question: How do people make sense of what...
On earlier podcasts, we have talked about what it means to be a human being, an individual person who has a complex experience of...
There are many public debates about “free speech” in terms of limiting “hate speech” that includes insults, hostility, or slander against others, especially “vulnerable...