Beth Upton has been teaching meditation since 2014. Before that she spent ten years as a Buddhist nun, five of them in Burma under the guidance of Pa Auk Sayadaw. She currently leads Sanditthika Meditation Community in the caves of Almeria, Southern Spain.
Episode cheatsheet
The big takeaway
Former Buddhist nun Beth Upton joins Dan for a deep dive into how reflecting on reincarnation—not as dogma, but as a framework—can help loosen our attachment to ego, identity, and control. She also introduces kusala, the Buddhist term for wholesome, skillful mind states, and shares how anyone can use simple, everyday actions to cultivate greater happiness and mental clarity.
The recipe for happiness: unpacking kusala
Key takeaways:
Kusala states = happy states:
Kusala, drawn from the Buddhist Abhidhamma—a system that breaks down experience into its most granular mental and emotional components—refers to a constellation of virtuous, skillful mind states. Beth calls it a “Buddhist happiness cake,” made from ingredients like generosity, mindfulness, uprightness, loving-kindness, and more.
One entry point unlocks the rest:
You don’t need to cultivate them all at once—focusing on just one quality (like kindness, integrity, or gratitude) invites the rest to arise. These mental “best friends” tend to show up together.
Letting go feels better than giving in:
Our culture glorifies small, fast pleasures—scrolling, snacking, checking out—but deeper, more lasting happiness comes from subtle, wholesome states. Letting go of ego and craving isn’t a sacrifice; it’s a relief.
It’s not just for monks:
You don’t need a cave or a cushion. Kusala can be woven into daily life—while parenting, commuting, chopping vegetables, or writing emails.
6 ways to bring more kusala into your daily life
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