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KOANS
Koans are important expedient measures to encourage the prepared minds to suddenly see the truth by unseeing the false and realizing the futility of efforts. These koans were popularized in the Zen tradition of Buddhism- both Soto and Rinzai sects, but mostly in the Rinzai sect. These Koans are usually in the form of questions,…
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GOD
People spend their entire lives seeking God. Scientists and religious people fight over the “evidences” for existence or absence of God. Many fights have occurred and many lives have been lost in the name of God. However, all these pursuits of finding God are misguided because they assume God is something to be found. But…
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Sacchidananda
This post is dedicated to one of my childhood friends Sacchidananda I had a friend during my childhood whose name was Sacchidananda. He never liked his name, and was upset with his parents who chose such a difficult name for their child. Not easy to pronounce or to spell. We used to tease him for…
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In the World but not Of the World
Don’t be anything or anybody; just be The silliest thing about enlightenment is the amount of hard work it requires to be enlightened. People practice for several years and yet get only a glimpse of it. This is something that people can’t buy no matter how rich they are- so in that sense this is…
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Goal Setting
Hello everyone, I want to talk about New Year Resolutions today. Yes, it is not a new year celebration time. But every day is the first day for the rest of your life. And there is a reason why I bring it up today. But before that, I want you to watch this Youtube Video.…
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A Tribute to Charlie Munger
(As always in all of my blogs, italics are direct quotes, and non intalics are my own writing) I have had several icons of inspiration in my life so far. During early childhood, Einstein, Newton, etc. used to be my role models. During high school, I was a huge fan of Richard Feynman. Then, during…
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The Razor’s Edge
Have you seen the movie The Razor’s Edge? I highly recommend it. It’s one of those movies that I liked so much that I read the book after seeing the movie, because I didn’t want to miss a single good line. This has happened a few times, where the movie impressed me so much that…
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Kalama Sutta
Although these were taught by Buddha to his disciples on methods of enquiry, this is equally valid for any scientific enquiry as well. Do not simply believe what you hear just because you have heard it for a long time. Do not follow tradition blindly merely because it has been practiced in that way for…
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Spirituality of Sapiens
Posting the same blog again because there seem to have been some issues with accessing the paid content in the previous post. In 2023, I read some great books. One of those was Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harrari. Sapiens traces the history of human evolution, but this is not merely a history book, this is…
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Spirituality of Sapiens
In 2023, I read some great books. One of those was Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harrari. Sapiens traces the history of human evolution, but this is not merely a history book, this is also a philosophy book and if you think deeply, it is also a spiritual book. Or at least, I interpreted it that…
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Experiences of an Intern Doctor
This essay was written in 2010 while I was an intern doctor in Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Nepal and was published in the annual book of the interns at that time (MBBS, 26th Batch). I read it again a week ago, and chuckled at what I had written back then. The core theme of this…
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Thought-provoking Movies
The holiday season is upon us, and many people’s favorite thing to do during the holidays is to watch movies. It is one of my favorite things to do, as well. My friends know how big a fan I am of watching movies, and keep asking me for movie recommendations. Here, I present you with…
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How to Prepare for Exams
Studying for knowledge and studying for taking an exam need different strategies. Faring well in exam is an art and needs practice for mastery. There are various factors that determine our performance in exam. Here , regarding preparation for an exam, I have divided it into different sections as follows: A. Preparation from the beginning…
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Tips For Studying Better and Scoring High in Exams
This page will have a collection of articles that I had written between 2007-2011 for different platforms and which I combined for the Journey of Success Book. These have not been edited since their first publication because these tips are more effective coming from Bishal Gyawali of 2007-2011 rather than Bishal Gyawali of 2023. Click…
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How To Study Better
There are more men ennobled by study than by nature. – Marcus Tullius Cicero Reading is for fun, for knowledge, for quenching the thirst of knowing something better, or for sheer entertainment. Study is not only for above mentioned reasons but also for remembering the things that we intend to use later, to pass the…
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AFTERWORD
Written in 2012 This book is just a beginning. A beginning for both of us–you as well as me. I have a big passion for inspirational stuff. So, this book of mine is a new beginning for me. I have just embarked on a new journey, I don’t know how many obstacles I will meet…
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On Life and Happiness
Life is a complex topic, and other people far more knowledgeable than me have tried and failed to understand life. I don’t claim to have figured it out. This chapter is only a synthesis of what I have learned about life through my own contemplation, experience of encountering life-death decisions everyday in clinical practice, and…
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On Habits
Written in 2011, the picture and a couple of sentences related to the picture is from 2023. 🙂 We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit. – Aristotle You are what you are because of your habits. We make habits and ultimately our habits make us. Our future…
Bishal Gyawali 