Dharma Wheel

This may be an old thread, but I think the conversation is relevant. basically, a pandaka is a man who is aroused with anything other than a woman, or a woman that is aroused with anything other than a man. There's very little basis for this claim. Our tradition's literature consists of a slew of ex...

Mental illness in general is a really tricky topic as it relates to practice. How would a contemporary psychologist, assuming they were 100% honest in their field, diagnose an enlightened being? Or someone who's even attained stream-entry or any of the bhumi? Or someone had simply witnessed the acti...

Pardon my sudden change of topic, but...

Eighteen possessions?

I was only aware of eight.

These are wonderful. Thank you for sharing! You can also find the Japanese-language originals for sale in DVD format at Hongwanji Publications . We would do well with an English dub for people who struggle with reading subtitles. That would be a project worth investing in, if the animation itself is...

Deva



Asura



Welcome to the Age of Degenerate Dharma

Trāyastriṃśa

PuerAzaelis wrote: Movie was set in Tokyo.

The reference to Korean monks was an entirely different conversation. I should have made that more clear. My apologies.

...but the approval of libertine culture is setting society up for a bad trip. What does the acceptance of libertine culture have to do with the wars in the Middle East? With modern slave trade in Africa? With the rise in anti-libertine religious fundamentalism? With 3rd world poverty? Etc... I do ...

Part of the problem would seem to be that it's becoming increasingly rare to find people who can admit to their own faults without disparaging others. Likewise, behavior that we might come to understand as unethical is becoming cause for success in worldly affairs, which makes it easier to label the...

Why is the shrine placed on the south side?

My apologies for the late response. Thank you both for the input.

A while ago, I came across a video talk by Ven. Master Sheng Yen that mentioned gender among certain bodhisattvas. I made the mistake of not making note of the original source, but did manage to jot down a transcription from the subtitles: They are genderless, neither male nor female, like Kuan-Yin ...

From textual descriptions, it always seemed as though it's not the plant itself that has sentience, but rather that it functions as an embodiment or hub for the entities that ARE sentient. Yakshas and rukṣa devas would most definitely fit the bill. In the same way, a flower's fragrance, a waft of in...

I should consider myself lucky to have just moved to Oregon before the eclipse. I don't live close enough to where the path of totality crossed...so I decided to make a pilgrimage out of it to see it in full action. As a new moon, the eclipse was an observance day anyway. http://imgur.com/a/aIPY6 Th...

Taking on eight Poṣadha precepts has honestly been one of the best decisions in this life. Over time I've found that it's helped me develop a better sense of living in moderation, even when I'm not fasting. Generally, all you really need is a good source of protein, carbohydrate, and vitamins (plent...

Love this. It would seem that the most basic understanding of sutra "literacy" would be the recognition of sounds so that one could follow along with chanting. Even when written in kanbun, few believers really understand the meaning therein without further education on the matter. Many monks seem to...

I was born on a solar eclipse, in the house of Aquarius according to the tropical zodiac, and the house of Capricorn according to the sidereal (Vedic) tradition. I'm still trying to figure out if it's relevant at all, but as far as my Buddhist practice has brought me, I've been able to conclude that...

We shouldn't be taking anything as 'gospel'. Hmm. The term "gospel" is derived from the Old English "gōdspel" (gōd "good" + spel "news"), directly translated from the Koine Greek εὐαγγέλιον "euangélion" (εὖ eû "good" + ἄγγελος ángelos "messenger" + -ιον -ion diminutive suffix). It's been argued by ...