Jataka Tale: King Banyan Deer Once upon a time, an unusual and beautiful deer was born in the forests near Benares, in northern India. Although he was as big as a young colt, it was easy for his mother to give birth to him. When he opened his eyes, […]
Buddhism
294 posts
Understanding Pure Land Sect (Part 4) The Basic Goal of Pure Land Buddhism If one seeks to learn and understand Buddha Dharma, one may follow the customary approach to practice the Three Studies, namely, disciplines or percepts, meditation and wisdom. One is expected to relinquish delusory thought patterns otherwise one cannot […]
10 Inspirational Quotes about Compassion in the Lotus Sutra The term “compassion” is the one of the most frequently mentioned key words in the Lotus Sutra. It appears in the Lotus Sutra for more than a hundred times. This shows that the Lotus Sutra is a teaching of profound compassion […]
Understanding Tien Tai Sect (Part 4) The Practice in Tien Tai Sect The Tien-tai sect emphasized the contemplative insight into mind [觀心]. Contemplation and wisdom are just like legs and eyes respectively. One cannot reach the destination without one of them. There are two aspects in contemplative insight into mind, […]
Understanding Chan Buddhism (Part 3) Chan and Dhyana Though Chan is the Chinese transliteration of Dhyana in Sanskrit, it is not of the same context as Dhyana in its own sense. Dhyana in Sanskrit means high bliss states (or called Samadhi) achieved through the processes of meditation (known as Samatha […]
Understanding Tibetan Buddhism (Part 3) Tibetan Buddhism and Vajrayana In Buddhism, it can be classified into Esoteric Buddhism [密教] and Exoteric Buddhism [顯教]. In Buddhist doctrines, the latter, also known as Vyukta–upadesa in Sanskrit, emphasizes on phenomenological perception, while the former, also known as Guhya–upadesa in Sanskrit, emphasizes on ontological perception. Amongst the ten great sects of Chinese […]
The Buddha’s Past Life: A King Who Practiced the Shurangama Samadhi Meditation The Buddha said: “Long ago in the past there was another Buddha by the name of Satyanama, a Tathagata, an Arhat, and a Perfectly Awakened One. At that time there was a monk by the name of Varuna. […]
Understanding Pure Land Sect (Part 3) Why Sukhavati, and not other Pure Lands There are many Pure Lands in the ten directions. Why is it that Buddha Sakyamuni specifically directed people to the Western Pure Land, i.e. Sukhavati and extolled the supremely wonderful conditions and environment of that Land […]
Understanding Tien Tai Sect (Part 3) The Perfect Harmony of the Triple Truth [三諦圓融] Based on the Three Universal Truths, Tien-tai believes there is a true state or noumenon, which can be realized through its manifested phenomena. There is no noumenon besides phenomena, and phenomenon itself is noumenon in nature. […]
Jataka Tale: The Happy Monk Once upon a time, there was a high class rich man. As he became older, he realized that the suffering of old age was about the same for rich and poor alike. So he gave up his wealth and class position, and went into the […]
