Dharma Wheel

The Buddha's teachings for both monastics and laypeople forbid abortion as the taking of an innocent human life: The Vinaya The Training Rules of Discipline for Monks and Nuns – to encourage the abortion is a major serious offense – a parajika offense that leads to expulsion of that person from the ...

Whether abortion is legal or not, women will continue to seek abortions. Where it is outlawed, or where access to abortion is restricted, women’s lives are placed in danger. So, one either chooses to understand that women need to be able to make this choice on their own, and wrestle with their own ...

The Washington Post is hardly a bastion of right-wing propaganda, and yet it's noticed the difference in homelessness between red states and blue states: In blue-state major cities, the homeless population rose since 2011 while, in red states, major city homeless numbers dropped steadily. https://ww...

A bhikṣu etc., only commits parajika, a complete defeat, if he causes an abortion after the 19th week. Prior to that, causing an abortion is not considered killing a human being. Please cite where that can be found in the Vinaya. All of the arguments against abortion hinge on religious beliefs. Acc...

Why is it that areas of the country like Seattle and San Fransisco, which have been run by Democrats for decades, also have the country's worst homeless crises? If liberal policies are intended to make the cost of living more affordable for ordinary people, why have they seemed to fail so badly in t...

I am thankful to live in the United States, where there are more Buddhists than in any country outside Asia. This is due to America being a nation of immigrants, as well as the freedom of religion written into our founding documents. It's easy to take our freedoms for granted if you've never lived u...

I pray that, in the future, the Chinese government will be more transparent in dealing with outbreaks of disease, and will not punish or suppress medical professionals who attempt to alert the public. I also pray that, in Western countries, people of Asian descent will not be targeted for hate crimes.

Hi there, I've recently read about Genshin, a Tendai monk who also taught the Pure Land teachings. His 'original enlightenment' doctrine influenced the Tendai thought, but what about Pure Land? Did this doctrine had an impact on this teaching? This is an article by Rev. Alfred Bloom on the topic: T...

In the skillful means chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the historical Buddha says that only a buddha can see the reality of enlightenment for what it truly is. For unenlightened beings like ourselves, the Buddha has devised similes and parables, various forms of skillful means, to meet our level of under...

In the Lankavatara Sutra, the historical Buddha likens his teaching to a finger pointing at the moon: For instance, Mahamati, when a man with his finger-tip points at something to somebody, the finger-tip may be taken wrongly for the thing pointed at; in like manner, Mahamati, the people belonging t...