The insights of Darwin and those who have succeeded him in developing the theory of evolution have helped immensely our understanding of the world. For over a century and a half since the 1859 publication of his seminal work On the Origin of Species scientists have accumulated evidence in support of his thesis. By the […]

“What cannot be seen with the eye, but that whereby the eye can see: know that alone to be Brahman, the Spirit, and not what people here adore. What cannot be heard with the ear but that whereby the ear can hear: know that alone to be Brahman, the Spirit, and not what people here […]

Augustus walked along the path meditating as he went. His young friend Lu-Wie had asked him to visit. He had said he needed some advice. Augustus was loathe to give advice. His natural inclination was to lead people to their own understanding. It was not long before he arrived at Lu-Wie’s little hut. There was […]

Early one morning Augustus was awoken by a shaking of his bed. After the initial dismay he concluded that it must have been an earth tremor. He meditated awhile and with his equanimity restored soon went back to sleep. He awoke at dawn as usual. After his ablutions he decided he would go for a […]

One day, Augustus found himself on a path that the locals told him led to a village called Elderton. The landscape now was one of open woodlands and grasslands. The ground was reasonably flat with just a few low hills and isolated rocky outcrops. Around noon he came to a small stream that meandered slowly […]

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mystery.” Albert Einstein It is easy to get disenchanted with a mundane, physical, secular world. This is a world of scientific determinism where one thing follows after another and things are predictable and it is only a lack of intellect and rationality that allows any room […]

Buddhism has a realistic outlook on the human condition. It emphasises the ephemeral nature of our lives. It also cautions us via the First Noble Truth that life unavoidably entails suffering. If suffering is unavoidable then we must be prepared to deal with it. In this sense we are all victims and it is futile […]

I read recently that in the USA, 40,000,000 people from the current population of almost 320,000,000 are diagnosed as mentally ill. What’s more 30% of the population have seen or are currently seeing, mental health professionals or psychological therapists of one form or another. While Australians don’t seem to have the same appetites for therapists […]

It is interesting to map the progress of philosophy. In the last half a dozen centuries we have been assailed with classicism and romanticism which contrasted the rational with the intuitive and the idealistic. But in recent times we have had to deal with the New Age movement. Some have suggested that Freud was the […]

I am going to put to you, in this essay, a difficult philosophical issue. How serious is the universe? We all know that Malcolm Fraser famously said, “Life wasn’t meant to be easy.” Most of us would reluctantly agree with this statement. But even in the face of this I ask you, “Was life meant […]