Dharma Wheel

in fact, in the Sutra, Guan Yin Bodhisattva herself praises Ksitiagrbha. They're portrayed as Shakyamuni Buddha's entourage. it is perfectly compatible. you could choose a regular practice from the two, and use the other as a supplement (Guan Yin everyday and Ksitigarbha on weekends or vice versa, f...

Catmoon: Shingon is an esoteric sect, I think *not to be confused with Klingon, from Startrek hahahahahahaha :p*

TKTRU: Welcome! I do remember you from the e-Sangha days. Together with Ven. Huifeng, Henry, and others, you always had good answers to my questions. We're lucky to have you.

Cool! I've been a volunteer for 5 years now. Most English translations that we use come from Buddha Gate and/or Buddha Mind, and also a few files from Ven. Huifeng of FGS. I volunteer as an acolyte, and occasionally, a cook. :P The Shifus here are also very busy, we used to have a Chinese Mandarin c...

Woohoo! Chung Tai! Hahahaha.... Seriously, you're the first Chung Tai Dharma-brother that I've seen in a forum :p I'm attending the branch in Manila. :-) They chant the Cundi Mantra everyday for their evening recitation, at 4 pm. Usually, they chant the Diamond Sutra, the Great Compassion Mantra, an...

I did chant Cundi Bodhisattva mantra but not very often nor do I see many people do from my experience only of course. Maybe Cundi Bodhisattva doesn't have asa much affinity with saha world as other great bodhisattvas. Peace in Chan Bodhi, are you by any chance a disciple of Chung Tai Chan? Because...

Hi! I dont know exactly to wich tradition belongs Medicine Buddha, so thats why i am posting in this subforum. What i would like to ask is: do you see Medicine Buddha as a real being able to physically heal someone under certain circunstances (like, deep recitation of His name, long practice, etc)?...

Wow. Impressive. :-) That's what real incense is to me--fragrant wood in its purest form. When I dont have incense, I do something similar---powdered cinnamon smells great, and works like a self-igniting incense powder. Just sprinkle a layer over ash, light with a lighter until an ember glows, and i...

Most Tibetan and Indian incense brands are good. Avoid incense that is heavily colored and smells artificial, as is the case with mainland Chinese/HK and American incense. If you have access to it, Taiwanese incense seems to be moderately priced compared to Tibetan and Indian incense, and is quite g...

The tar problem is common for all types of incense burners, esp those with lids on them. But for some people, this is sort of a good thing; the tar you would otherwise inhale is blocked by the cover. The cover develops a resinous patina with continued usage, and acts like a filter. Good quality ince...

The Medicine Buddha is very important to us. Though our lineage is Linji (Zen, and not Esoteric), we still consider the Medicine Buddha Sutra to be one of the most important. In fact, during the Rainy-Season retreat period, all temples under the Chung Tai Chan lineage recite the Medicine Buddha Sutr...

May I ask a question? I do not want to disparage or insult, I'm just really bewildered. Buddhism strongly teaches the idea of "impermanence," telling us that the physical body will die. And we see that it's true. Will these exercises prolong lifespan? And if it does, will it at least help ...

The nuns/monks at our temple advise mantra or Buddha-name recitation as a practice for Zen. I was taught that essentially, when one cannot do techniques such as mindfulness of the breath, breath-counting, koans, or what they call "the meditation on compassion" (similar to Metta in Theravad...

Master Shih Cheng Yen of Tzu Chi is a woman, and she really embodies compassionate/humanistic Buddhism. Perhaps she's a woman, and thus possesses motherly instincts? :p I took refuge under Master Wei Chueh of Chung Tai. However, the branch where I am is run by women; we have an abbess, not an abbot....

I've seen most translations as "Karmic offenses" (accurate in my opinion, though rather academic, and it begs the question: "Who is being offended?"). Perhaps "karmic faults?" "Wrong doings"? (Although this again raises the question of "wrong" vs &qu...

For the number 108, I once read (sorry, I forgot the source) that: Three causes of sufferings (greed, anger and ignorance) multiplied by the three ways of producing bad karma (body, speech, and mind), multiplied by the three world-systems (that is, past, present, and future), multiplied by the four ...

Speaking from experience, Chinese monastics are very willing to teach Dharma. They do so with zeal and vigour. What prevents them from teaching to non-Chinese is their lack of linguistic variety; it's only now that Chinese monastics are learning non-Chinese languages, but even then, they are very fe...

Well, if that's the case, how come these mantras still exist or are needed? It would be nice to know the roots of many practices done...

(I do not know where to post this... sorry...)

Can anyone please share and explain the mantras Tibetan Buddhists recite to multiply the merits of other activities?

Are these Sutric, or revealed through the masters of Vajrayana?

Thank you!

Well, for the Chinese calendar, certain festivals/deities are incompatible with certain Zodiacs. Unlucky zodiacs are adviced to stay away from certain deities (this is totally compatible with Taoist cosmology where everything is based on duality, etc). In Chinese Buddhsim, we are taught that certain...

Well, for the Chinese calendar, certain festivals/deities are incompatible with certain Zodiacs. Unlucky zodiacs are adviced to stay away from certain deities (this is totally compatible with Taoist cosmology where everything is based on duality, etc). In Chinese Buddhsim, we are taught that certain...