Author Archives
Buddhism Now is an online Buddhist magazine based upon the teachings of the Buddha.
Buddhist Publishing Group (BPG) was formed in 1983 and published the paper issue of Buddhism Now between 1989-2007.
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We are having a problem with our Theme
We have had a problem with our Theme. All’s well now. However, as you can see below, we have lost all of our Twitter and Facebook likes. All things are impermanent. The Buddha
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If Only He Were a Cat! by Diana St Ruth
What was interesting for me on this particular retreat was that I suddenly saw the very angry person who never seemed to get his own way, as a cat. ‘Funny,’ I thought one day, ‘If he were a cat, I wouldn’t take him so seriously.’
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This is the Miracle, by Trevor Leggett
The teacher said that people today, and always, sell themselves cheap. Somebody who is always saying, ‘I’m no good,’ won’t try at anything because, ‘Things always go wrong for me. And if I do happen to succeed in something, it’s never appreciated; it always goes badly. And is life worth living anyway?’ Such people are selling themselves cheap. They have a treasure in them…
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One Door by Kusan Sunim
Sometimes, while practising, it is as easy as pushing a boat over ice. At other times it is as difficult as trying to drag a cow to a well.
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The outside of people is no clue to what is inside, by Trevor Leggett
There are two trains of instruction, which sometimes people notice. One is that in the highest consciousness, the highest awareness, there is no effort. And the other is, ‘You have to put your whole heart and soul into this.’ And some people will say, as one does when one wants to get out of something, ‘You’re told these things are effortless and you’re trying to attain them by making tremendous efforts. Isn’t it absolutely ridiculous? It’s a self-contradiction.’ So these people either go in for a type of meditation which practically is falling asleep, or else they go in for a furious sort of meditation, and never attain any calm at all.
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Liberation Here and Now, by Ayya Khema
To get a glimpse of wishless liberation, we can notice the dissatisfaction—the dukkha—that arises in the heart and mind whenever we want something.
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Kalachakra Initiation, by Diana St Ruth
And they dashed in groups! Tea time at Kalachakra was a sight to behold. How else are thirty thousand people going to get their cuppas in such a short time unless it is with great speed? Besides, this was obviously a time-honoured custom and one performed, as with most other things it seemed to me, with joyful vigour…
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Life in a Korean Monastery, Jisu Sunim
At the beginning each practitioner is given a hua-tou, a kind of koan. For example: What is this? I-Mo-Ko? What is this? The idea is to concentrate your entire attention and mind on this one particular koan or hua-tou: What is this? What is this? What is this? It is different from vipassana meditation where the intention is to be aware and solely aware of what is going on. When you eat, you just acknowledge how that feels—approaching the spoon, touching the spoon, feeling the coolness of the handle, and so on. In koan meditation, however, your attention is single-pointedly directed to this question—What is this?—right now. Initially, it is very difficult to concentrate because all kinds of thinking comes up . . . comes up . . . comes up . . . like clouds, or smoke from a chimney…
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