Dive into the nuances of truth with a fascinating exploration of 'Right View.' Discover three types of truth—objective, subjective, and intersubjective—and how they shape our reality. With creative analogies like traffic lights and Tetris blocks, the discussion emphasizes humility and curiosity in our perspectives. Learn how understanding these concepts can lead to personal growth and reduce suffering, fostering empathy in our conversations. It's an invitation to reconsider how we see the world and interact with others.
30:28
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
Three Types of Truth
Truth comes in three types: objective, subjective, and intersubjective.
Recognizing these helps us see reality more skillfully and reduce confusion in understanding.
insights INSIGHT
Right View Embraces Multiple Perspectives
Right view is not about having the correct opinion but about skillfully understanding the type of truth at hand.
It requires humility and openness to multiple perspectives, not insisting on absolute correctness.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Blind Men and the Elephant
The story of blind men describing an elephant illustrates limited personal perspectives.
Each person's experience is right but incomplete, showing the need for recognizing partial truths.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI
Yuval Noah Harari
In 'Nexus', Yuval Noah Harari delves into the long-term history of information networks, examining how the flow of information has made and unmade our world. The book takes readers from the Stone Age through significant historical events like the canonization of the Bible, early modern witch-hunts, Stalinism, Nazism, and the resurgence of populism today. Harari discusses the complex relationship between information, truth, bureaucracy, mythology, wisdom, and power, and addresses the urgent choices humanity faces as non-human intelligence threatens our existence. He argues that information networks are the primary driving force shaping human societies and that AI represents a new and critical phase in this history[2][3][5].
Sapiens
A Brief History of Humankind
Yuval Noah Harari
This book surveys the history of humankind from the Stone Age to the 21st century, focusing on Homo sapiens. It divides human history into four major parts: the Cognitive Revolution, the Agricultural Revolution, the Unification of Humankind, and the Scientific Revolution. Harari argues that Homo sapiens dominate the world due to their unique ability to cooperate in large numbers through beliefs in imagined realities such as gods, nations, money, and human rights. The book also examines the impact of human activities on the global ecosystem and speculates on the future of humanity, including the potential for genetic engineering and non-organic life.
In this episode, I share the audio recording of a Dharma talk I gave during one of our Sunday Zoom calls. The topic is Right View, the first step on the Buddhist Eightfold Path. Inspired by the book Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari, I explore the nature of truth and how we relate to it in our everyday lives.
I talk about three distinct types of truth—objective, subjective, and intersubjective—and how understanding these can help us develop a more skillful and compassionate view of reality. Using analogies like traffic lights, tinted glasses, and even Tetris blocks, I examine how Right View isn’t about having the “correct” opinion, but about recognizing our perspectives and holding them with humility and curiosity.
This episode is an invitation to look more closely at how we see the world—and how a clearer view can help reduce suffering for ourselves and others.
Secular Buddhism 
