Category: Soliloquy

Maitri, mudita, karuna, and upeksanam

Rich Pav 10 Comments

The Buddhist definition of true love, which to me sounds a lot like true friendship.

  1. Maitri: Loving kindness; the ability to make someone happy. That “someone” can be:
    1. Yourself
    2. Someone you’re very fond of
    3. Someone you have sympathy for (I forgot to mention that one)
    4. A neutral person
    5. An enemy; someone you perceive as the cause of your suffering
  2. Mudita: transformation of pain
  3. Karuna: joy
  4. Upeksanam: equanimity, freedom, the opposite of imprisonment or forcing yourself on another person.

What I find interesting is what’s not on the list: passion, obsession, lust, obedience, dominance, jealousy…lots of things I’ve known people from all over the world define as true love (especially jealousy) but to me never seemed right.

And if you don’t believe it, that’s OK, because there is no dogma in Buddhism. There’s nothing that Buddha taught that you must believe or else be damned for all eternity. If it’s true for you, then it’s true.

Podcast (audio): Play in new window | Download (6.8MB) | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

The lost episode that wasn’t lost

Rich Pav 6 Comments

It turns out I did hit the record button.

Temporary Punker
My annual mohawk. It only lasts for about ten minutes. Just long enough to freak out my wife and kids.

Without facial hair
Bonus photo: Me without the goatee. I started growing it back right after I took the pic.

Podcast (audio): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:34 — 9.3MB) | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

The Ass Hair Burger Festival

Rich Pav 21 Comments

The underreported reason behind Mixi’s stock taking a nosedive less than a month after its stock went supernova on its first day of trading.

Please don’t post any personal details about the people involved, or even links to information. If you feel the need to know more, Google it.

Music by Plastic Soul Band

Podcast (audio): Play in new window | Download (17.7MB) | Embed

Subscribe: RSS