Author Archives: John Willemsens

Advayavada Study Plan – week 52

[Advayavada Study Plan – week 52] Advayavada Buddhism does not tell you what to do or believe, but invites us all to make the very best of our own lives by attuning as best as possible with wondrous overall existence advancing over time now in its manifest direction. The purpose of the autonomous Advayavada StudyContinue reading “Advayavada Study Plan – week 52”

The triumph of truth — Voltaire Foundation

In my work on the digital Voltaire iconography database, I frequently stumble across portraits of Voltaire which are particularly unexpected, funny, or have an interesting story to them. Sir Joshua Reynolds’ The Triumph of Truth, which hangs in Marischal College, Aberdeen, is a personal favourite. The Triumph of Truth is a portrait of James Beattie […]Continue reading “The triumph of truth — Voltaire Foundation”

Advayavada Study Plan – week 51

[Advayavada Study Plan – week 51] As already explained, Advayavada Buddhism does not tell you what to do or believe, but invites us all to make the very best of our own lives by attuning as best as possible, by means of our personalized Noble Eightfold Path, with wondrous overall existence advancing over time nowContinue reading “Advayavada Study Plan – week 51”

That unfortunate movement

Originally posted on Voltaire Foundation:
Olympe de Gouges, pioneer of women’s rights, here pictured handing Marie-Antoinette a copy of her Déclaration des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne. Engraving by Desrais and Frussotte, c. 1790. (BnF/Gallica) The French Revolution: A very short introduction was one of the earliest titles to be commissioned in…

Baruch Spinoza: The God of Spinoza — The Classical World: Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome

Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) born Benedito de Espinosa was a Jewish-Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Sephardi origin. By laying the groundwork for the Enlightenmentand modern biblical criticism,including modern conceptions of the self and the universe, he came to be considered one of the great rationalists of 17th-century philosophy. Along with René Descartes, Spinoza was a leading philosophicalContinue reading “Baruch Spinoza: The God of Spinoza — The Classical World: Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome”

The Two Truths of Buddhism and The Emptiness of Emptiness — Emptiness Teachings

There are two truths in Buddhism, conventional and ultimate truth. This penetrating insight dates back to the original Buddha. Understanding the two truths and the relationship between them is vital in seeing through the illusion of inherent existence and realizing emptiness or Śūnyatā. ~ Nagarjuna’s philosophy of the Middle Way or Mahyamaka school of […] TheContinue reading “The Two Truths of Buddhism and The Emptiness of Emptiness — Emptiness Teachings”

Advayavada Study Plan – week 50

[Advayavada Study Plan – week 50] As already explained, Advayavada Buddhism does not tell you what to do or believe, but invites us all to make the very best of our own lives by attuning as best as possible, by means of our personalized Noble Eightfold Path, with wondrous overall existence advancing over time nowContinue reading “Advayavada Study Plan – week 50”