Buddhist

Part 2 Toward Nirvana and From Nirvana, by Professor Masahiro Shimoda

In order that you may gain a clear understanding of the idea of the bodhisattva, I would like to turn your attention to a long-­­­standing discussion in the scholarly world regarding an erroneous belief widely maintained by contemporary scholars. According to their understanding, the bodhisattvas of Buddhist scriptures belong to two almost mutually exclusive categories…

Toward Nirvana and From Nirvana, by Professor Masahiro Shimoda

The process whereby Buddhism—which first began as the deeply internal experience of just one ascetic practitioner—has over time borne fruit within vastly different races, climates, cultures and histories, might be likened to the way volcanic magma breaks through the earth’s crust and gushes heavenwards then flows down in every direction…

Purpose and the Search for Happiness, by John Aske

The parallels with the story of the young Prince Siddhartha 2500 years earlier are clear. As childhood with its certainties (if we are lucky) and its securities, moves into adolescence and then maturity, we are all confronted with the opportunity of opening up to the world (and ourselves) and exploring it, or turning away from it and trying to restore the gilded cage we once lived in…