Recent Posts - page 224

  • Biographies of Three Books

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    Tibetan Book of the Dead

    The idea of writing a biography of a book: what a great idea. Well done Princeton University Press for coming up with ‘Lives of Great Religious Books’. Lives of Great Religious Books is a new series of short volumes that… Read More ›

  • Suffering does have its good points, by Acarya Shantideva

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    Mii-dera (三井寺) - Misshaku Kongo Photo © @KyotoDailyPhoto

    If life were based upon what we liked, then not a single one of us would suffer, because nobody wants to be in pain…

  • Self is Heavy, by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu

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    Stone Rakan

    Often, when we say that there is no self, people get worried, or angry. Their attachment and identification to this idea of a self is so strong that they actually become hostile towards us if we begin to say there is no such thing. We need to explain this a bit, therefore, so that you don’t get mad at us. The idea of a self is common to everyone. Whether we come from the East or the West, we have some kind of idea and belief in a self, every one of us, absolutely; it is a fundamental illusion that arises in all human minds. Indians, Thais, Chinese, everybody, is walking around with this idea of a self, a soul, an atman, or whatever we want to call it.

  • The Guru, by Dalai Lama

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    Old Tibetan photo © British Museum and Library @bl_eap #endangeredarchives

    Wishing the Dalai Lama a happy birthday.

    There is a saying in Tibetan: ‘Although your realization is high, like that of a divine being, you should maintain your way of life in conformity with other people.’

  • Vimalakirti Sutra

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    Vimalakirti Sutra © 2000–2014 The Metropolitan Museum of Art

    At that time, out of this very skill in liberative technique, Vimalakirti manifested himself as if sick. To inquire after his health, the king, the officials, the lords, the youths, the aristocrats, the householders, the businessmen, the townfolk, the countryfolk, and thousands of other living beings came forth from the great city of Vaisali and called on the invalid. When they arrived, Vimalakirti taught them the Dharma…

  • Happiness in Solitude, by Beopjeong Sunim

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    Stupa with view,. Photo: © Lisa Daix

    Human existence is fundamentally about being alone. We’re born alone, live life as long as we can, and then eventually die alone. Although we may live our lives connected with others, we all maintain our own individual views and belief systems. Just as we each have different facial features, our individual karmic tendencies, which direct our lives, also differ…

  • Ippen’s Pure Land

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    Nenbutsu Gathering at Ichiya, Kyoto. They are there to watch the traveling monk Ippen (1239–1289) © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

    Pure Land Buddhism is one of the major schools in the East, yet has hardly made a dent here. I remember once hearing it being described as too ‘Christian’ for Westerners, yet almost all of the other schools encompass the notion of a Pure Land in some way or other. Even in Theravada the three Refuges can easily be interpreted in a Pure Land way. The very essence of it is that one is taking refuge…

  • We need to put ourselves into perspective, by Ajahn Sumedho

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    Photo by Lisa Daix mustang 2011

    Existence is something that can strengthen us, rather than weaken us. We need to put ourselves into perspective; we need to see ourselves in terms of the mass as well as in terms of the individual. When we take life on the extreme level of ‘me’ as a person, we forget the common problem that we share with the rest of humanity…