Episode 302: Sacred World: Awakening Natural Intelligence

The Mahayana Buddhist teachings offer an essential insight for us to consider: that all conscious beings possess natural intelligence.

In its raw expression, this innate feature of our mind reveals itself in our striving for wellbeing and freedom from suffering.

So, we might ask:

  • How is it, then, that we humans create the conditions for so much suffering?

  • Why do we have the propensity for making such a mess of things?

  • When we honestly assess our human condition, we find that our aspiration for wellbeing can be selfishly driven.

We often fail to connect the dots between our innermost longing and the way we move through life. To bring our actions together with our true intentions requires discernment, or prajna, in Sanskrit. Prajna is an inherent resource - but if we don’t recognize, develop, and use it, it will remain dormant.

The question we need to ask ourselves is: “How do we wake it up?

Read the transcript >>

Jennifer Kern