The frontispiece to this sutra chapter shows a dramatic three-quarters view of the Buddha seated with two bodhisattvas. Seven figures pay obeisance to the Buddha, with the six in front raising offerings of food. The silver used to articulate sections… Read More ›
The strength of false thought is great, so you ought to be afraid of it. And it is necessary that you get away from it. You want to get away from your false thought, but how much strength do you have? Its strength is waterproof; your strength only amounts to a single drop…
Hanging scroll; ink on paper Artist: Kano Tan’yū (Japanese, 1602–1674) Edo period (1615–1868) Japan, 1635–45 Photo © Metropolitan Museum of Art This small image, executed with a few brushstrokes in light ink, is Kano Tan’yū’s reiteration of a legendary painting… Read More ›
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…
This handscroll depicts hand gestures known as mudras in Sanskrit, the Indian language in which many early Esoteric Buddhist texts were written. In Japan, the gestures are called insō, the Japanese term for a Chinese word that combines the characters for ‘seal’ and ‘form.’
Buddhism now 