Dharma Wheel

Would incense be part of the traditional seven offerings presented on an altar? I suppose that the other offerings can be offered at any time as well. Yes. Different Buddhist traditions have different offering traditions. I am going to assume that since you refer to “seven offerings” that the conte...

If someone gives you a gift, and you offer it, then the merit from their generosity is even greater.

There is no schedule for offering incense. If can be burned indoors, outdoors, or even offered without burning.

In any predominantly Buddhist country you can find all sorts of jewelry featuring dharma symbols and imagery. www.chuan-der.com.tw In the west, Buddhist symbols can be found on hats, bags, and tee shirts, often sold to raise money for Buddhist projects. In India, large events for gatherings monks of...

Thanks. That’s kind of what I was wondering, the extent of functions suggested by “fire” element.

Earth, water, fire, and air are terms used to describe the dissolution of the body towards the time of death.
I’m curious about whether the “fire” element is even regarded as part of the composition of cold-blooded animals such as reptiles, fish, and amphibians.
Any thoughts on this?

Building under construction in China.

The core purpose of the Buddhist teachings is to bring the practitioner to the personal realization of the cessation of suffering and is causes. Springing from that, there is the purpose of attaining realization not only for one’s own benefit, but for the benefit of others as well. Springing from th...

The Dharma is like the sky. Buddhas are the means by which sentient beings perceive the Dharma. Suppose you live in a house with windows in every different shape and color of glass. You can see the sky from any window in any room. In one room, looking at the window, the sky appears square and blue. ...

Well, you are in luck!
What this forum lacks in guidance,
...it makes up for in advice.

As a new follower of Dharma, reading about Buddhism can sometimes feel overwhelming. I was very curious about the main differences between Therevada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. After searching google for a while, I have stumbled upon this article . To my surprise, I found the following statement: An a...

Still I see why a cessation of feeling is superior to the feeling bliss like Hinduism or Jainism has now.there is no desire,attachment,loss or stress in such a state just pure peace. If you look up the Four Seals of Buddhism (not to be confused with the Four Noble Truths), this essentially says tha...

Keep in mind, there is no ‘self’ that takes rebirth. In a sense, you could say that tanas, or cravings, you could say, “coalesce” as the samsaric illusion of “sentient beings”. Yeah, I keep this in mind all the time! That's why I used term "personalities". Im still very confused about this problem ...

Keep in mind, there is no ‘self’ that takes rebirth.
In a sense, you could say that tanas, or cravings, you could say, “coalesce” as the samsaric illusion of “sentient beings”.

This issue recently popped up. A close friend of mine told me that she thinks Buddhism leads people to become cut off from emotion, or the emotional aspect of experiencing life (and as an extension to that, expressed her concern for my own well-being). I cited a few examples of how I am certainly no...

“...if there is nothing to be associated with Vijnana/Consciousness, then there is no craving/desire to be recalled by it either.” Here is one of those sticky parts: “associated with”. ...and specifically in what way that is meant. Aside from that, let’s look at your statement from another angle. T...

What defines a “pure land”? If a pure land is defined as being one in which the Dharma is taught continually, then, if a practitioner is able to perceive all phenomena as a Dharma teaching, then in that sense, one is experiencing a pure land. If, as a requirement, such a pure land must be establishe...

Well, there is continuity in the sense of cause-and-effect. Conventionally, but not ultimately, since there is ultimately no cause/effect (opening of MMK) ... right? ... any example of phenomena that you consider, such as a rose, that example is always going to be some compound of aggregates, of co...

Can you define “classical conditioning” in this particular context?

I’m not sure that the “unfinished desire” part is right on target, depending on what that means, exactly. Everything becomes an “imprint” which then influences our further perceptions.

You Only Live Twice.

The term, dukkha , which is often translated as “suffering” is really more akin to the notion of what we call “stress” than it is to, say, an agonizing toothache or unbearable grief. When the Buddha says that existence is dukkha, this refers to both good and bad conditions which are unsatisfactory. ...