Zen.Buddha.Tao
@indybuddhist.bsky.social
Objective & genuinely purposive spirituality in plain & simple English, underpinned by scepticism & Western philosophical ideas. (University of London.)
https://petereastman.substack.com/ (always free to read)
https://medium.com/@peter-eastman
https://petereastman.substack.com/ (always free to read)
https://medium.com/@peter-eastman
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Zen.Buddha.Tao
@indybuddhist.bsky.social
· May 14
(Free book) Advanced Buddhist Metaphysics: Exercises in Sceptical Spirituality
A ruthless approach to all things spiritual & mystical, including Buddhism (!) Download here:
petereastman.substack.com/p/advanced-b...
Or better still (underpriced!) paperback from Amazon:
amazon.de/dp/B08VYLP3NY
A ruthless approach to all things spiritual & mystical, including Buddhism (!) Download here:
petereastman.substack.com/p/advanced-b...
Or better still (underpriced!) paperback from Amazon:
amazon.de/dp/B08VYLP3NY
‘The Buddhas say that Enlightenment cannot be attained because there is nothing to attain.’ Yes but you need first to attain the ‘unattainable’ to realise that truth; you are not ‘already a Buddha’ as your ordinary dumb self, as taught by various utterly moronic New Age sects.
October 28, 2025 at 3:43 PM
‘The Buddhas say that Enlightenment cannot be attained because there is nothing to attain.’ Yes but you need first to attain the ‘unattainable’ to realise that truth; you are not ‘already a Buddha’ as your ordinary dumb self, as taught by various utterly moronic New Age sects.
Academic philosophy is currently unable to teach people to think objectively & independently & so be able to explore experiential existence with confidence & advantage; instead it teaches people to submit only to the musings of an authorised tradition.
One angle:
www.academia.edu/8090287/The_...
One angle:
www.academia.edu/8090287/The_...
www.academia.edu
October 16, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Academic philosophy is currently unable to teach people to think objectively & independently & so be able to explore experiential existence with confidence & advantage; instead it teaches people to submit only to the musings of an authorised tradition.
One angle:
www.academia.edu/8090287/The_...
One angle:
www.academia.edu/8090287/The_...
Philosophy - that is, using your intellect to maximum effect on received ideas - is a preparation (if you're lucky) for metaphysics - ie exploring the furthest reaches of existence; and if you can get that far, consolation (in life) is trivial; alcohol will do just as well.
September 25, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Philosophy - that is, using your intellect to maximum effect on received ideas - is a preparation (if you're lucky) for metaphysics - ie exploring the furthest reaches of existence; and if you can get that far, consolation (in life) is trivial; alcohol will do just as well.
Consciousness illuminates anything & everything without revealing itself; it is truly an invisible capacity; so how can we even know it's there? By deduction only. Can it be felt? No; the imagination supplies feelings & we can feel those, but they're not consciousness itself.
tinyurl.com/2485h96s
tinyurl.com/2485h96s
‘Consciousness’ as an ‘identifiable’ something
An exercise in primordial ontology - involving observation and reasoning
tinyurl.com
September 24, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Consciousness illuminates anything & everything without revealing itself; it is truly an invisible capacity; so how can we even know it's there? By deduction only. Can it be felt? No; the imagination supplies feelings & we can feel those, but they're not consciousness itself.
tinyurl.com/2485h96s
tinyurl.com/2485h96s
Academics! if you want ppl to read your scholarly book you'll have to give it away for free (as I'm doing) even if pub by a UPress they make a profit from subscription sales & after costs you get zero.(Ok New Age spiritual sh*t sells but that's different.)
petereastman.substack.com/p/advanced-b...
petereastman.substack.com/p/advanced-b...
Advanced Buddhist Metaphysics: Exercises in Sceptical Spirituality
(Free pdf book download) A way out of endless religious delusion: this is a ruthlessly sceptical approach to all things spiritual & mystical, including Buddhism (!)
petereastman.substack.com
September 19, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Academics! if you want ppl to read your scholarly book you'll have to give it away for free (as I'm doing) even if pub by a UPress they make a profit from subscription sales & after costs you get zero.(Ok New Age spiritual sh*t sells but that's different.)
petereastman.substack.com/p/advanced-b...
petereastman.substack.com/p/advanced-b...
Adult spirituality starts here: abandon/shelve all beliefs & received ideas about God, Life, the Universe, everything & simply ask yourself: ‘what is existence?’ & ‘is there anything wrong with things as they are?’ Don’t turn to received ideas & dogma: look & see for yourself!
September 14, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Adult spirituality starts here: abandon/shelve all beliefs & received ideas about God, Life, the Universe, everything & simply ask yourself: ‘what is existence?’ & ‘is there anything wrong with things as they are?’ Don’t turn to received ideas & dogma: look & see for yourself!
Went into the kitchen & found I had forgotten to buy peanuts for my vodka blowout. Idiot! Life ruined! Worse, I should have been reflecting on deep spiritual metaphysics, not raging over f*king peanuts. So? Thoughts, from most infantile to utterly divine are just more thoughts.
August 15, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Went into the kitchen & found I had forgotten to buy peanuts for my vodka blowout. Idiot! Life ruined! Worse, I should have been reflecting on deep spiritual metaphysics, not raging over f*king peanuts. So? Thoughts, from most infantile to utterly divine are just more thoughts.
Ground (base) yourself (intellectually) not with theories & doctrines & likes but rather with what you can see with your own mind’s eye; & if you can’t see anything, it’s because your education was defective & you were never taught how to think for yourself. But it’s never too late: start today.
July 27, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Ground (base) yourself (intellectually) not with theories & doctrines & likes but rather with what you can see with your own mind’s eye; & if you can’t see anything, it’s because your education was defective & you were never taught how to think for yourself. But it’s never too late: start today.
Ontological uncertainty (now there's a thing!) always refuses to be put to bed by analytical clever-dickery.
petereastman.substack.com/p/wittgenste...
petereastman.substack.com/p/wittgenste...
Wittgenstein and ‘Certainty’
And the implications for ‘spiritual exploration’ as well as for philosophical metaphysics
petereastman.substack.com
July 27, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Ontological uncertainty (now there's a thing!) always refuses to be put to bed by analytical clever-dickery.
petereastman.substack.com/p/wittgenste...
petereastman.substack.com/p/wittgenste...
QM, string theory, relativity &c; those who look to physics for an 'insight into reality' need to grasp that science is wholly unrelated to ultimate human existential needs & concerns (fulfilment, insight, enlightenment) & might just as well be regarded as misleading gibberish.
July 23, 2025 at 8:08 AM
QM, string theory, relativity &c; those who look to physics for an 'insight into reality' need to grasp that science is wholly unrelated to ultimate human existential needs & concerns (fulfilment, insight, enlightenment) & might just as well be regarded as misleading gibberish.
What on earth encouraged educated, thoughtful people to think that JK was a ‘no-nonsense guru’ with real ideas?
petereastman.substack.com/p/krishnamur...
petereastman.substack.com/p/krishnamur...
Krishnamurti explained: a critical study
The acclaim accorded Jiddu ‘Krishnamurti’ (1895–1986) — as an apparently major figure in our modern understanding of all things spiritual…
petereastman.substack.com
July 20, 2025 at 1:16 PM
What on earth encouraged educated, thoughtful people to think that JK was a ‘no-nonsense guru’ with real ideas?
petereastman.substack.com/p/krishnamur...
petereastman.substack.com/p/krishnamur...
Meditation is a waste of time (truly):
petereastman.substack.com/p/descent-in...
petereastman.substack.com/p/descent-in...
Descent into darkness ? Meditation is a dangerous practice, as well as a waste of time
But there is another way to tackle spirituality.
petereastman.substack.com
July 18, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Meditation is a waste of time (truly):
petereastman.substack.com/p/descent-in...
petereastman.substack.com/p/descent-in...
Meditation basically encourages the imagination to run wild & depending on the person, this can result in all kinds of problems, especially in someone who has a weak sense of normality. More importantly, mystical imaginings are not spiritual insights.
medium.com/new-earth-co...
medium.com/new-earth-co...
I Meditated 1 Hour For 30 Days To Joe Dispenza (& Here’s What Happened)
The true highs, lows, and mystical
medium.com
July 16, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Meditation basically encourages the imagination to run wild & depending on the person, this can result in all kinds of problems, especially in someone who has a weak sense of normality. More importantly, mystical imaginings are not spiritual insights.
medium.com/new-earth-co...
medium.com/new-earth-co...
Zen/Ch’an began in China as a core version of Buddhism- enlightenment only- nothing else. Idea was basic meditation could do it, but meditation activates imaginings & soon semi-psychotic states= enlightenment. Clarity of mind crucial for metaphysical quest, not idiocy.
petereastman.substack.com
petereastman.substack.com
July 15, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Zen/Ch’an began in China as a core version of Buddhism- enlightenment only- nothing else. Idea was basic meditation could do it, but meditation activates imaginings & soon semi-psychotic states= enlightenment. Clarity of mind crucial for metaphysical quest, not idiocy.
petereastman.substack.com
petereastman.substack.com
To engage meaningfully with metaphysics, you genuinely need to want to know what 'your being' can tell you about the ultimate meaning of existence. You have to be able to observe, explore & analyse objectively & impartially all aspects of mind. (Hard work; not for everyone.)
July 10, 2025 at 7:30 AM
To engage meaningfully with metaphysics, you genuinely need to want to know what 'your being' can tell you about the ultimate meaning of existence. You have to be able to observe, explore & analyse objectively & impartially all aspects of mind. (Hard work; not for everyone.)
‘What’s the point of existence?’ can’t be resolved by identifying a feature of experience (mind, evolution, God, physics &c) & then explaining it causally in those terms; if the mystery is to be settled at all, something wholly unknown & unexpected & other will have to 'occur'.
July 4, 2025 at 7:12 AM
‘What’s the point of existence?’ can’t be resolved by identifying a feature of experience (mind, evolution, God, physics &c) & then explaining it causally in those terms; if the mystery is to be settled at all, something wholly unknown & unexpected & other will have to 'occur'.
Basic choice (since Big Bang!?) between faith & belief (received ideas) or believing in nothing & taking life as it comes. But why not explore objectively – using intellect & observation– the features of experience itself & see if the mystery of existence can perhaps be resolved?
July 3, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Basic choice (since Big Bang!?) between faith & belief (received ideas) or believing in nothing & taking life as it comes. But why not explore objectively – using intellect & observation– the features of experience itself & see if the mystery of existence can perhaps be resolved?
Are we all worshipping the same God? Allah, Ganesha, Jesus, Baphomet? If God doesn’t know what I want/ need/think & has to be told (by me)=wow! If God does, why clutter the airwaves with junk? But can a Big Cheese answer the ultimate question: what’s the point of God? (No point.)
July 2, 2025 at 6:49 AM
Are we all worshipping the same God? Allah, Ganesha, Jesus, Baphomet? If God doesn’t know what I want/ need/think & has to be told (by me)=wow! If God does, why clutter the airwaves with junk? But can a Big Cheese answer the ultimate question: what’s the point of God? (No point.)
Religious faith is about how to save poor ‘me myself & I’ from a dreadful annihilation. But if we closely observe experiencing itself, we can easily see that ‘me myself & I’ are mere items in the mix & are not its ultimate constituents. So any key to existence must lie elsewhere.
June 30, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Religious faith is about how to save poor ‘me myself & I’ from a dreadful annihilation. But if we closely observe experiencing itself, we can easily see that ‘me myself & I’ are mere items in the mix & are not its ultimate constituents. So any key to existence must lie elsewhere.
Achtung! Ultimate question is NOT ‘how do I please God?’ but rather ‘what’s the point of all this (including any God)?’ ie what’s the point of existence itself? What’s the ultimate point of this endless flow of experience? With serious questioning, God becomes very trivial.
June 20, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Achtung! Ultimate question is NOT ‘how do I please God?’ but rather ‘what’s the point of all this (including any God)?’ ie what’s the point of existence itself? What’s the ultimate point of this endless flow of experience? With serious questioning, God becomes very trivial.
Nobel physicists/neuroscientists: get to work on theorising about ‘the hand’! an incredible organ which can make things, play music, gesture, allude; surely the result of collapsing invisible crystal microtubules & god knows what other wonderful fancies; fame awaits your genius.
June 19, 2025 at 6:18 AM
Nobel physicists/neuroscientists: get to work on theorising about ‘the hand’! an incredible organ which can make things, play music, gesture, allude; surely the result of collapsing invisible crystal microtubules & god knows what other wonderful fancies; fame awaits your genius.
How does ‘spirituality’ work? Use the intellect to shelve thoughts of adolescent self-obsession & sentimental religiosity & explore objectively how experience presents itself to you. Why? So you can see clearly what the 'problem with existence' is & where a solution might be.
June 18, 2025 at 11:27 AM
How does ‘spirituality’ work? Use the intellect to shelve thoughts of adolescent self-obsession & sentimental religiosity & explore objectively how experience presents itself to you. Why? So you can see clearly what the 'problem with existence' is & where a solution might be.
2 kinds of 'SOUL'; 1) a specific spiritual 'gift' granting us access to love, God, virtue, &c; this is an imaginative fantasy reifying biased ideas 2) a psychological propensity for deep imaginative experiencing both positive & negative; not everyone has this but it is very real.
June 7, 2025 at 8:21 AM
2 kinds of 'SOUL'; 1) a specific spiritual 'gift' granting us access to love, God, virtue, &c; this is an imaginative fantasy reifying biased ideas 2) a psychological propensity for deep imaginative experiencing both positive & negative; not everyone has this but it is very real.
‘God’: an imagining + feelings + yearnings - & being only an idea, everyone thinks their version of God is supreme. In our culture 'God' emerged from the ancient ravings of some truly despicable & likely psychotic Jews & Arabs of the sort we often see on TV. C’mon guys seriously?
May 29, 2025 at 7:29 AM
‘God’: an imagining + feelings + yearnings - & being only an idea, everyone thinks their version of God is supreme. In our culture 'God' emerged from the ancient ravings of some truly despicable & likely psychotic Jews & Arabs of the sort we often see on TV. C’mon guys seriously?
Impossible fact for the 'big brains' to grasp: human existence begins (& ends) with ordinary experiencing, & not with atoms, QM, spacetime curvature, evolution, God, the brain, or similar invisible fancies. Imaginative phantoms fill our minds, yet they explain nothing. Puzzling.
May 27, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Impossible fact for the 'big brains' to grasp: human existence begins (& ends) with ordinary experiencing, & not with atoms, QM, spacetime curvature, evolution, God, the brain, or similar invisible fancies. Imaginative phantoms fill our minds, yet they explain nothing. Puzzling.