To
get to the bottom of truth, Ayya Kema taught,
one has to get to the bottom of oneself, and that
is not an easy thing to do, aggravated by the problem
of not loving oneself. It naturally follows that
if one wants to learn to love oneself, there must
be hate present, and we are caught in the world of
duality.
From
Difficulties to Freedom
Ajahn
Amaro examines the mind that finds fault with things and he
outlines the practice that leads to freedom.
Regarded
as the most succinct expression of the Buddha's teaching,
the Dhammapada presents the Buddha's
realistic understanding of human life, aphoristic wisdom
and stirring message of a way to freedom from suffering.
Below
the Mist
Ajahn
Brahm presents a down-to-earth perspective on enlightenment.
It is not found in the high-mountain mists of intellectual
delusion, but in simplicity, loving kindness and non clinging.
An
early teaching in the Chan/Zen tradition. Oxherding
was and is a useful metaphor for training the mind. The
ox is our
mind; it must be trained not to wander off into distracting,
discursive thoughts. It must be trained to align with
the Dharma and so become pure. There are
many versions of the oxherding pictures. Here, transcribed
by Nyogen Senzaki and Paul Reps, is Kakuan's Ten Bulls.
Faith
in Mind
Master
Sheng Yen offers a guide to
practice based on Sengcan's poem Faith in Mind. He
uses the poem as a taking-off point to inspire the
practitioner and deal with certain issues that arise
during the course of practice.
"The phrase 'faith in mind' contains the two meanings
of 'believing in' and 'realizing' the mind. Faith in
mind is the belief that we have a fundamental unmoving,
unchanging mind. This mind is precisely Buddha mind."
Never
Born, Never Ceasing
Dilgo
Khyentse Rinpoche (1910-1991) comments on
Kamalasila's verses on the limitless nature of mind.
On Meditation
Ajahn
Chah introduces a meditation retreat. "Although
there may appear to be many ways to practice really there
is only one. As with fruit trees, it is possible to get
fruit quickly by planting a cutting, but the tree would
not be resilient or long lasting. Another way is to cultivate
a tree right from the seed, which produces a strong and
resilient tree. Practice is the same."
An
interview with Vajra Master/filmmaker Dzongsar Khyentse
Rinpoche about what it's like for a traditional Buddhist
teacher to also live the life of a filmmaker.
In
classical Buddhist discussions anger is viewed negatively.
But anger can also show us something crucial about our
emotional life that we may need to know in order to be
healthy. Anger is an indicator: something needs attention,
something needs investigation. Drawing partly on the
writing of Thich Nhat Hanh, Zoketsu Norman Fischer discusses
how to work with anger, to find the Buddha at the root
of anger.
On
Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone
"Living
alone," Thich
Nhat Hanhteaches,
means living to have sovereignty of yourself, to have freedom,
not to be dragged away by the past, not to be in fear of
the future, not being pulled around by the circumstances
of the present.
Realism
and doubt
Bob
Thurman explains how Buddhism is more akin to
realism than a religion; and how doubting everything is
the key to understanding.
Most of us live in the cramped cold cages of our private
projects, frantically struggling to stake out our own little
comfortable place in the sun. Driven in circles by anxious
yearnings and beckoning desires, we rarely ever glance
aside to see how our neighbor is faring, and when we do
it is usually only to assure ourselves that he is not trying
to encroach upon our own domain or to find some means by
which we might extend our dominion over his.
Occasionally, however,Bhikkhu
Bodhi writes, it somehow happens
that we manage to detach ourselves from our obsessive
pursuits long enough to arrive at a wider clearing.
Warmhearted
Practice
"If
you don't have some actual feeling of practice," Suzuki
Roshi taught, "that
is not practice. Even though you sit in the right posture,
follow your breath, and follow all the instructions that
are given to you, this still may be empty zen. This is
because even though you are following the instructions,
you are not kind enough to yourself."
Buddhist
Concept of Happiness
The
Buddha enumerates contrasting types of mental happiness, Bhante
Gunaratana teaches. There are numerous ways of
bringing happiness. Generally, people misconstrue the source
of happiness.
Buddhism
in Modern Life
Ananda
Guruge addresses the question of the role of
Buddhism in modern life. What is modern life? What is
Buddhism? And what role has Buddhism to play in modem
life?
Understanding
Buddhist Art
Take
a multimedia tour of the Buddhist art of southeast Asia
in Vision of Enlightenment: Understanding the
Art of Buddhism. [Created
by Pacific Asia Museum]
Is
Tibetan Buddhism Working In the West?
Is
Tibetan Buddhism Working in the West? It is important to
remember that it took many decades and generations of courage
and devotion to firmly establish Buddhism among Tibetans.
Why should we expect that it would be any different in
the West?
Great
Faith, Great Courage, Great Questioning
Seon
(Korean Zen) talks about
cultivating three great attitudes—great
faith, great courage and great questioning. Martine Batchelor
shows us that it is here that we find a continuation
of the Buddha’s teaching about care, energy and
protection.
Lojong
- Mind Training
Mind
Training is a practice in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition based
on a set of proverbs formulated in Tibet in the 12th century
by Chekawa. Through the practice we undertake to connect with
our world in an unconditionally positive way, and also to take
full responsibility for our experience of it. This web site
presents seven translations of the lojong slogans by Jamgon
Kongtrul, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Trungpa Rinpoche and others.
Below
the Mist
Ajahn
Brahm presents a down-to-earth perspective on enlightenment.
It is not found in the high-mountain mists of intellectual
delusion, but in simplicity, loving kindness and non clinging.
* 
Ajahn
Amaro examines the mind that finds fault with things and he
outlines the practice that leads to freedom.
Ajahn
Brahm presents a down-to-earth perspective on enlightenment.
It is not found in the high-mountain mists of intellectual
delusion, but in simplicity, loving kindness and non clinging.
Rev
Heng Sure on compassion.
Bob
Thurman explains how Buddhism is more akin to
realism than a religion; and how doubting everything is
the key to understanding.
Mind
Training is a practice in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition based
on a set of proverbs formulated in Tibet in the 12th century
by Chekawa. Through the practice we undertake to connect with
our world in an unconditionally positive way, and also to take
full responsibility for our experience of it. This web site
presents seven translations of the lojong slogans by Jamgon
Kongtrul, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Trungpa Rinpoche and others.