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 […]
10 Disney Songs that Inspire Hope, Strength and Perseverance “Just keep swimming! Just keep swimming!” – Dory, Finding Dor Going through the wringer? Wanting to have the strength to carry on in the midst of adversities? The Four Noble Truths taught by the Buddha has shown that suffering is […]
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 […]
Understanding Chan Sect (Part 2) The Second Patriarch – Hui Ko The transmission Gatha of Bodhidharma is as follows: My aim in coming to this country Was to transmit the Dharma and liberate all beings A flower of five pedals Cannot fail to fruit. The Gatha predicted that there would […]
10 Dharma Devotional Chants by Imee Ooi Imee Ooi (Huang Hui Yin) is a Chinese-Malaysian music composer, record producer, and singer. She specializes in the composition and arrangement of music for classical Buddhist chant, mantra, and dharani in Sanskrit, Pali, Tibetan, and Mandarin. In 1997 she founded a record label, I.M.M. […]
Understanding Tibetan Buddhism (Part 2) Second dissemination of Tibetan Buddhism The second dissemination of Tibetan Buddhism was brought about by Yeshe O, who was the king in the western part of Tibet. The lineage of lay Vajrayana practitioners still survived after the dark age of Tibetan Buddhism, though the monastic […]
10 Inspirational Quotes about the Divine Powers of the Buddha The word, Divine Power (神力), appears in the Lotus Sutra for more than a 100 times. This shows that Divine Power is an important key word in that Lotus Sutra. Divine Power, also known as the Psychic Power, is […]
Understanding Pure Land Sect (Part 2) Focus on one Pure Land Referring to the Three Sutras and One Shastra in Pure Land sect, it is noted that they introduce the life history and the character of Amitabha Buddha, the development of Sukhavati under the 48 vows of Amitabha Buddha, the […]
Understanding Tien Tai Sect (Part 2) Classification of Teaching The Tien-tai sect classifies the Buddha’s teaching in Five Periods and Eight Teachings [五時八教]. The Eight Teachings are subdivided into two groups, one is the Fourfold Doctrines of Conversion [化法四教] and the other is the Fourfold Methods of Conversion [化儀四教]. An […]
