The Naturalistic Part of Buddhism

At the heart of Buddhism lies the claim that suffering and causing suffering to others is a result of not seeing the world clearly. By learning to see the world more clearly, one can suffer less and be a better person. This claim is found broadly across the Buddhist traditions, including Theravada and Mahayana. It involves radical propositions such as the non-existence of self and the misconception of the world. The doctrine of emptiness asserts that our perception of the world is deeply misleading. The speaker defends these propositions to a considerable extent, particularly the idea that our suffering and bad behavior are connected to a lack of clear perception.