There are a few lines from the Mikado, a opera by Gilbert and Sullivan from 1885 that go like this, There is beauty in extreme old age. Do you fancy you are elderly enough? Information I’m requesting On a subject interesting: Is a maiden all the better when she’s tough? This refrain occurs because Ko-Ko, […]
Scientific Buddhism
July 5, 2013 by
Lama Jampa Thaye is a scholar, author, and meditation master from the UK. He is trained in both the Karma Kagyu and Sakya traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. In this article from the Tricycle blog, he emphatically speaks out against scientific Buddhism. What is scientific Buddhism? It is the effort to radically alter Buddhist ideas to correspond to […]
Foundations Of Buddhist Thought – The Transformation Of Suffering
June 27, 2013 by
The Buddha was born with the name Siddhārtha Gautama sometime around 563 BC in the small kingdom of the Shakya republic in what is now known as the town of Lumbini in Napal. His father was Śuddhodana, King of the Shakya clan. His mother, Queen Maha Maya, died during childbirth and he was raised by […]
Foundations Of Buddhist Thought – The Eightfold Path
June 26, 2013 by
In the previous segment of the Foundations of Buddhist Thought, we learned about The Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path is the fourth noble truth of the Buddha. The elements of The Eightfold Path can be characterized in three groups, which serve as the cornerstones of Buddhist practice. The first group is […]
Foundations Of Buddhist Thought – The Four Noble Truths
June 25, 2013 by
The foundations of Buddhist thought begin with the Four Noble Truths. These truths came to the Buddha after six years of ascetic practice when he sat alone under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India. The first noble truth is known as the truth of suffering. Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh likes to refer to it […]
Stories We Tell Ourselves
June 19, 2013 by
This quote is from Sharon Salzberg, a renowned teacher of vipassana meditation and co-founder of the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies with Joseph Goldstein. She is especially known for her teachings on loving kindness meditation. Mindfulness helps us get better at seeing the difference between what’s happening and the stories we tell ourselves about what’s happening, stories that […]
Pearl Of Wisdom
June 13, 2013 by
This pearl of wisdom was written by Tao-hsuan in the early part of the seventh century. He was an important Chinese Buddhist scholar and the founder of the Lu-Tsung disciplinary school of Chinese Buddhism. One of the major teachings of the Buddha was written down as the Vinaya, which are the rules of conduct monastics living […]
Depth Of Enlightenment
June 9, 2013 by
This quote is taken directly from The Dude and the Zen Master by Roshi Bernie Glassman and Jeff Bridges on page 108. Bernie talks about how the depth of enlightenment of a person is related to whom they serve. BERNIE: Shakyamuni Buddha said that everything and everyone, as they are, are enlightened. On the other […]
Vows of the Bodhisattvas
May 29, 2013 by
Vows of the Bodhisattvas Creations are numberless, I vow to free them Delusions are inexhaustible, I vow to transform them Reality is boundless, I vow to perceive it The awakened way is unsurpassable, I vow to embody it A bodhisattva is an enlightened being who has forsaken final nirvana in order to help save all […]
Embrace Your Anger
May 22, 2013 by
For several months now, I have been encouraging you to learn how to embrace your anger. What does it mean to “embrace your anger?” When anger arises, you almost always have the urge to launch out at what you conceive to be the cause of your anger. This only creates more suffering. A better plan […]
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