Personal Experience of Buddhist Practice: From Tragedy to Good Fortune World Tribune (WT): Thank you for sharing your experience with us. What was life like in Taiwan? Sue Kuan: I worked at a bank while my husband worked at an architectural firm. We had two children and lived in […]
Yearly Archives: 2020
47 posts
Understanding Hua Yen Sect (Part 4/4) The Illustration with the Golden Lion ‘On the Golden Lion’ [金獅子章], a treatise written by Master Fa-tsang [法藏], is a very significant scripture to illustrate the Hua-yen doctrines. First of all, it illustrates the Principle of Dependent Arising. Gold has no inherent nature of its own. […]
Parable of the Poisoned Arrow The theistic traditions, however, were not alone in being discredited by the Buddha. Philosophy and speculation was even harder hit. The Buddha taught that not only was metaphysical speculation and philosophical debate fruitless, it was actually a pernicious waste of time. Those who engaged in […]
Deciphering the Lotus Sutra: Commentary by Nikkyo Niwano (Chapter 2) This chapter, with chapter 16, “Revelation of the [Eternal] Life of the Tathagata,” has long been regarded as the heart of the Lotus Sutra. It will be well to bear in mind the question of why this is so, […]
10 Inspirational Quotes by Tara Brach Tara Brach is an American psychologist and Buddhist meditation teacher. She teaches Vipassana meditation in Insight Meditation Community of Washington, D.C. (IMCW), Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California, the Kripalu Center, and the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies. Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Joseph […]
Hongaku – Original Enlightenment Original Enlightenment, although related to Buddhanature (Tathagata-garbha) is a different teaching. Original Enlightenment (also innate enlightenment) is the view that Enlightenment is not something to be gained, but rather we are already enlightened, we just need to realise it. The reason we can’t see this is […]
10 Famous Temples of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, also known as Guan Yin in Chinese or Kannon in Japanese, is the most renowned bodhisattva of boundless compassion in Mahayana Buddhism. In Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha urged his disciples to practice constant mindfulness of Guan Yin for […]
Understanding Hua Yen Sect (Part 3/4) ‘Li’ and ‘Shih’ In Hua-yen’s doctrine, it is used to interpret all Dharmas in two different aspects: one is ‘Li’ [理] and the other is ‘Shih’ [事], which are two important words in the vocabulary of this sect. ‘Li’ is transliterated from a Chinese word, which means […]
Jataka Tales: The Monkey’s Heart Once upon a time, while Brahmadatta was king of Benares, the Bodhisatta came to life at the foot of the Himalayas as a monkey. He grew strong and sturdy, big of frame, well to do, and lived by a curve of the river Ganges in […]
10 Steps to Mindfulness Meditation Mindfulness is the practice of bringing our attention to whatever is happening at the present moment, so that we are aware of where we are and what we are doing. The ability to be fully present is a basic human ability. We already have the […]
