The Middle Way Between Extremes

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In this episode, I explore the sixth and final pāramitā—prajna, or wisdom—the one beyond words and concepts. True wisdom isn’t about knowledge but about recognizing the interdependence of all things and walking the Middle Way between eternalism (“something lasts forever”) and nihilism (“nothing matters”).

We revisit the first five pāramitās—generosity, discipline, patience, exertion, and meditative absorption—and see how they lead us to the spacious awareness that meditation reveals. Mindfulness is only half the path; the other half, awareness, brings love, creativity, and compassion.

We also look at the three forms of wisdom—worldly, beyond worldliness, and beyond even dharma—and the essence of the Heart Sutra: “Form is emptiness, emptiness is form.”

I close with a piece of music I love, John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman’s “My One and Only Love,” a perfect expression of what I call undone and refined.

Highlights:

• Prajna as direct, wordless knowing
• The Middle Way between extremes
• Emptiness as fullness and interconnection
• Mindfulness vs. awareness in meditation
• The three forms of wisdom
• The Heart Sutra’s simple truth
• Closing reflection: Coltrane and Hartman’s timeless duet
  
  
  

Watch this episode on video
 If you’d like to see me share my reflections, the video version is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wdpt80EJvOc

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Produced by Citizens of Sound

Music by: Derek O'Brien

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