Dharma Wheel

Kili wrote: ↑Wed Jan 20, 2021 4:00 pm Where would you go if you were me?

Asia.

I also agree with Avatamsaka that lay practice is just fine.

FPMT article: "Spirit Influence Is the Result of Karma from the Person’s Previous Lives"
https://fpmt.org/mandala/archives/manda ... ous-lives/

I shudder to think of the horrific karma humanity is racking up with factory-farmed chickens, pigs, cows, etc...thousands and thousands of animal souls with feeding tubes down their throats, up to their waists in their own excrement, caged for life and then slaughtered by machinery on a mass level t...

Screenshot_20210120-161538.png The warosoku is a type of Japanese candle commonly used in Buddhist rituals and on altars, as well as in secular settings. Its most superficially conspicuous quality is that it is thicker at the top than the bottom. But the warosoku is a unique item. -It is a complete...

I just want a historical account of how Mahayana started and developed. Not for religious practice. I'm Tibetan Buddhist. The origin of Mahayana is one of the most contentious and unsettled questions in all of academic Buddhist studies. For many years, students were actually warned by their profess...

Prayers prayed.

I have read some of the Cleary translation and tried to read some of the Chinese to the best of my very limited ability. One can't be too hard on Cleary. He was a pioneer; a lot of the now-standard English translation vocabulary and tone simply didn't exist when he was working on the Sutra in the 70...

These people are not bhiksus There is one traditional sect, the Risshu, that follows the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya quite strictly. Another traditional sect, the Shingon-Risshu, is also Vinaya-oriented, perhaps to a lesser degree than the former. Both are quite small. Does the former still actually exist...

These people are not bhiksus There is one traditional sect, the Risshu, that follows the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya quite strictly. Another traditional sect, the Shingon-Risshu, is also Vinaya-oriented, perhaps to a lesser degree than the former. Both are quite small. The lack of Vinaya practice and the ...

Joseph G. Walser Genealogies of Mahāyāna Buddhism: Emptiness, Power and the question of Origin "Genealogies of Mahāyāna Buddhism" offers a solution to a problem that some have called the holy grail of Buddhist studies: the problem of the “origins” of Mahāyāna Buddhism. In a work that contributes bot...

There is freedom of religion in Japan; anyone can shave their head, order some robes online, and call themselves a monk. Apart from that, there are also "ordination mills" that promise to make you a prelate in a few months, usually for several thousand USD. They often have titles that resemble the k...

Oh what a treasure trove! Many thanks.

:good: Johnny Dangerous's post is well worth considering. Like the OP, I struggled with the "problem of desire" for a long time, a struggle born out of superficial readings and limited, pre-internet sources that were simplistic and often lacking in context. I also mixed up Taoistic ideas based on "W...

A soldier named Nobushige came to Hakuin, and asked: "Is there really a paradise and a hell?" "Who are you?" inquired Hakuin. "I am a samurai," the warrior replied. "You, a soldier!" exclaimed Hakuin. "What kind of ruler would have you as his guard? Your face looks like that of a beggar." Nobushige...

I am not saying I agree or disagree with the following idea, but I have heard it proposed that the end of Tibet as a nation and the creation of a Tibetan diaspora has helped to spread the Tibetan Dharma worldwide, whereas previously it had been confined to a small elite in a single isolated nation.

Thank you for your reply, Kim O'Hara. I understand that engaged Buddhism is not intended to support institutional Buddhism by all or perhaps even by most proponents. However, I do believe it is flourishing in the vacuum created by the absence of support for institutional Buddhism, and that without t...

What do you think of the term "mantrayana?" I personally find it more precise than "Vajrayana" and wish it had more widespread use. However problematic, it seems difficult at the current point in time to banish the expression "tantra" completely -- for example, "highest yoga tantra" and the like are...

Hello. "Engaged Buddhism" is a popular concept of late and is generally tied to ideas of social justice and the attempts of (post)modern Buddhism to "engage more fully with society." What often goes unreflected upon is that in every society in which Buddhism has been successful, starting with Ashoka...

They have a variety of answers. Shugden is one of the main ones. Because the Tibetan Govt. was dominated by the Shugden faction, the reasoning goes, Palden Lhamo and Nechung abandoned the Tibetan state. Isn't there also just the sad fact that a culture focused on spiritual pursuit will always lose ...