Dharma Wheel

:good: I like Myoan's replies, but let me add a couple of things. For both masters, the issue of our birth is settled by the nembutsu of an ordinary person, who naturally has an ordinary understanding and the obstacles of an ordinary mind. For Shinran, I think it is safe to say that birth is settled...

The question: If Soto Zen is "goalless", and doesn't focus on sudden awakening, does this mean there is no point during the current life when the practitioner becomes assured of non-retrogression towards buddhahood? Or, to put it another way, is there a point in a Soto Zen practice when a...

According to Shinran and anyone else of relevance to this question, was monasticism a mere provisional means that should be discarded, not just due to being in the dharma ending age but out of principle, at least for those who have realized Other-Power? According to Shinran, who relies on Saicho (t...

If you're saying you have already translated it, that's wonderful. I would personally be very interested in reading it. I'm not really sure where a good place to publish it would be. If it's rather large you could self publish it as a book, but if it's short, it's probably best to just put it on a ...

Just noticed this new (September 2023) edited volume (haven't read it), which would be a possible complement to this kind of book. Buddhist Masculinities Edited by Megan Bryson and Kevin Buckelew Columbia University Press While early Buddhists hailed their religion’s founder for opening a path to en...

Has anyone read this book? Is it historically accurate? Went through it years ago. "Historically accurate:" Well, he uses historical documents to make his arguments and I'd say the book is a good thematic investigation of the topics in question. Buddhist and more broadly pre-modern South ...

Out if curiosity, do play an active part in this translation and in Dharmakaya Books itself? I don't really want to self-advertise too much here since it's not done as part of Shingan's Portal or with a Dharma name, but yes, I'm involved in both. I was wondering also if there was a more specific Ta...

There is a first volume (of four planned) of a translation of the Mahāsaṃnipāta from the Taishō Tripiṭaka now available. Details can be found here: https://www.dharmakayabooks.org/publications

I have Complex PTSD (CPTSD), and reciting the nianfo helps me a lot but I worry if I will ever accompish Shinjin due to PTSD. Often times when I am having a flashback, i get so filled with rage that my entire face turns purple, and while trying to express that anger I sometimes curse amitabhas name...

The position of the Pure Land School is a kind of "dualism", so to speak, between Pure Land and Saha World. There really isn't a traditional view that identifies "Dukhavati" with Sukhavati. With the exception of how the School is viewed in China, it is heavily influenced by the ...

Nowhere in these writings is there a concern to "explain" Amitabha, but to awaken faith and bring about Birth in Sukhavati. I'm not really sure what you mean. There's a lot about the nature of Amitābha and how he came to his current position in all Pure Land schools. Shinran has two chapt...

In general terms, Amitabha's teaching at the Pure Land School is part of the Portal of Faith. There is no need to worry about "knowing who it is". You enter the Pure Land Portal not bothering to understand, you perform renunciation of all attachment to self, which includes wanting to unde...

Well maybe more than one depending where this goes. New here, though I guess that goes without saying. Anywho, I decided to look into Buddhism a bit ago because I want to learn more about the world's religions and mt only experience is with Christianity (I already did Islam but I couldn't understan...

That is all true, but different upāya are required for different beings. For some people, certain approaches work, and for others, they're useless and meaningless.

Devas are positions, not persons. In this case, Kamadeva, the devaputra māra, is the chief deva of the desire realm. But this does not mean he is always the same person. Of course, but considering deva lifespans, it's probably still the same guy. Well, not if the Buddha liberated him. :-) It's impo...

Devas are positions, not persons. In this case, Kamadeva, the devaputra māra, is the chief deva of the desire realm. But this does not mean he is always the same person. Of course, but considering deva lifespans, it's probably still the same guy. Just thoughts indeed. But sometimes of great intensi...

Malcolm wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 4:45 pm Papayin Mara is Kamadeva.

According to many sūtras, Pāpīyān Māra and his army were quite conclusively converted to protect the Dharma. If there was such a being, it seems like he's no longer a threat, but in the Mahāsaṃnipāta, it talks about how there are still plenty of other māras around.

The Perfection of Wisdom literature often uses some variation on the phrase "māraḥ pāpīyān avatāraṃ na labhate" (Pāpīyān Māra does not obtain entry) in reference to overcoming Māra's deeds. Phrasing along the lines of "avatāraṃ na labhate" is used elsewhere in reference to other ...

Hi everyone, Just a quick update on this course. We're calling an end to the informal "semester." So, if there are any people who are beginners and want to start again from scratch, let me know if you're interested, and if we begin again in a few months, I'll be sure to include you in the ...

While other practices can only clear away minor karmic obstacles, the Nembutsu clears away both major and minor karmic obstacles. Hōnen Shōnin writes in his Senchaku Hongan Nembutsu Shu : I say in answer that if the Nembutsu Samadhi destroys even grievous sins, how much more will it destroy minor si...