The human condition affects us all. As we journey through life, we face birth, aging, sickness, and death, each bringing significant challenges. How can we better understand our human condition? What can we learn from it?
In Buddhist Encounters: Finding a Home in the Human Condition, Dr. Lewis R. Lancaster explores the essence of our existence, addressing the internal conflicts and external pressures exacerbated by the post-pandemic and AI era. Through the lens of Buddhist teachings, he seeks answers to these timeless issues, reflecting on the very dilemma that concerned the Buddha himself.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Preface
Introduction
Part 1 Understanding the Human Condition
1. Human Condition: Earthly and Cosmic
2. Human Condition
Part 2 Learning from the Four Great Messengers
3. The Persistent Message of Illness
4. The Future of Old Age
5. Death: The Last Moment of a Human
6. Learning to Respond to the Human Condition
Part 3 Living with Reality
7. Cause
8. Emptiness: Not Nothing
9. Behavior: Acts of Consequence
10. Personal Self
Part 4 Confronting Challenges
11. Desire
12. Racism
13. Buddhism in the Time of COVID
Part 5 Journeying Toward Enlightenment
14. Enlightenment: A Distant Beacon
15. Reincarnation
16. Detachment
17. Compassion
Conclusion
Appendices
- How a Buddhism Teacher Deals With His Own Pain
- Surprising Ways of Dealing with Adversity and Hopelessness
- On Personal Life, Academic Journey, and Research
