Latest Features
Wealth Deities: Generating Karma for Prosperity by Practicing Generosity. How to Reconcile Renunciation with Wealth Practices in Buddhism.
Lama Atisha, the revered lama and Mahasiddha, came across an old man, dying of starvation in Bodghaya. Lama Atisha offered his own flesh, cut from his body, to save the old man. But the old man said, “How can I...
Padmasambhava: The Eight Great Qualities of Taking Refuge; Taking Refuge in the Three Precious Jewels, the Defining Practice of Buddhism, and How it Can Rescue Us From All Dangers.
"It is necessary to cut the misconception of thinking that it is enough to take refuge once in awhile. You should take refuge again and again, both day and night." — Guru Rinpoche The ultimate protector practice in Buddhism is Taking...
Why is Maha Rakta Ganapati recommended by some Buddhist Teachers as the remover of obstacles, the protector of prosperity?
Why is Maha Rakta Ganapati recommended by Buddhist Teachers as the remover of obstacles — the protector of prosperity? What makes Ganapati a spiritual superstar? Why is Ganesha so loved around the world? In Buddhism, what makes his practice unique...
Hayagriva Buddha Documentary: Why is Hayagriva recommended by Buddhist Teachers in difficult times?
What's so special about Hayagriva Buddha? Why is Hayagriva recommended to students by Buddhist Teachers — in these difficult times? Why is this most Wrathful Heruka Emanation of Amitabha Buddha so effective today? What is the origin story of this...
Video — Buddhist Renunciation: Part 1 of a Three Principal Paths of Buddhism from Venerable Zasep Rinpoche
In this short 20-minute video, Venerable Zasep Rinpoche provides clear and down-to-earth guidance on Buddhist Renunciation, one of the Three Principal Paths of Buddhism. [For more on the Three Principal Paths, see>>] It's not what you think, no need to...
Video Dharma Recitation: Tara, Giver of Peace, Read by Jason Espada, ends in Tara Mantra Chanting
New Video on our YouTube Channel! Tara, Giver of Peace, Dharma Reading plus Yoko Dharma singing the Tara mantra: Tara Giver of Peace Prayer Tara Mothers pray to you and children pray to you Merchants pray to you and travelers...
Interview: Author of Allow Joy into Our Hearts, Chan Dharma Teacher Rebecca Li, Ph.D.
Rebecca Li, Ph.D. is a Chan Buddhist Dharma teacher and founder of the Chan Dharma Community. In her new book Allow Joy into Our Hearts she takes on the question of how to "find ways to allow joy, kindness, and...
Buddhist Practice: Practicing Joy in Difficult Times — Excerpt from Rebecca Li’s Allow Joy into Your Heart
IF YOU HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THE NEWS THIS WEEK, the theme is: When are we going back to normal? When are we opening things up? As some places return to normal, there’s a lot of anxiety about when we will...
Book Excerpt: Gelug Mahamudra, Eloquent Speech of Manjushri, a commentary and practice guide on Sutra and Tantra Mahamudra by H.E. Zasep Tulku Rinpoche
The book, Gelug Mahamudra Eloquent Speech of Manjushri, is a rare commentary and practice guide in English, written for Western Buddhist students. Why is Mahamudra an advanced and special practice? Rinpoche explains: "Mahamudra meditation is awareness and understanding of the...
In Buddhas Words: “The person who clings to nothing of the past, present and future…” #InBuddhasWords
“The person who clings to nothing of the past, present and future, who has no attachment and holds on to nothing — that person, I call a Holy Person.” — The Buddha Cited from Dhammapada 421 As with all Dhammapada...
In Buddha’s Words: “He who is possessed by constant virtue…” Path of Purification #inBuddhasWords
In the third of our quotable quotes (#inBuddhasWords) — verified quotes with citations to Sutra — we draw from the Vissuddhi-magga, Path of Purification (S I 53):
He who is possessed of constant virtue, Who has understanding, and is concentrated,...
In Buddhas Words: “Be… Refuges Unto Yourself Seeking No External Refuge…”
In the second of our "quotable quotes" — verified quotes with citations to Sutra — we began by exploring a very popular online web quote attributed to Buddha — but fake and misleading. Although the gist of the "fake" quote...
A Wheel With Eight Spokes: Why Picking and Choosing “Beliefs” — or “Revisionist” Buddha Dhama — Can Obstruct Your Buddhist Practice
" The eightfold path is often represented as a wheel with eight spokes. Pick a wheel with just one or two and it won't take you very far." — Mark Vernon [13] "Some traditional Buddhist teachers tend to serve "Dharma-Lite"...
Scientific Buddhist: Peer Reviewed Studies — Buddhist Metta Loving Kindness Meditation Can Slow Aging —10 Benefits of Compassion
In two recent Buddha Weekly advice videos, teacher Zasep Tulku Rinpoche explained that mindfulness meditation and loving-kindness meditations were among the best therapies for bereavement, stress, cognitive issues, memory loss, and even Alzheimer's. (Bereavement Video>> and Cognitive Video>>) Perhaps not...
Ghosts, Nagas, Demons and Duality: Are Supernatural Beings Cogenerated, Illusory, Dream or Ultimately Real?
One of the main obstacles to discussing phenomena such as ghosts, demons, gods, nagas, or any other supernatural thing is that our current secular rationalist paradigm only understands or allows for one analytical framework of explanation. It positions internal hallucinations...
Research: Meditation Benefits Students With Enhanced Intelligence, Reduce Stress, Improved Academic Performance
Student life can be very demanding, but that doesn't mean that students should let stress and anxiety take over. Sometimes college experience conjures up pictures of sleepless nights before exams, at other times – nonstop partying. Regardless, many students use...
Laughter — the Best Medicine: What the Dalai Lama and Patch Adams Have in Common
Have you noticed how the Dalai Lama projects authority through laughter, with his charming chuckle and warm smile at every stop, in every situation? He's always ready with the joke that makes large crowds gasp for breath as they laugh....
Scientific Buddhist: Healing meditation, prayer and mantras? Do they work — according to research? Can we turn to mantras for help?
Do you feel silly when you turn to “mantras” for healing? Do you think meditation is healthy but not necessarily healing? Does it seem impossible to expect results from meditating on the Medicine Buddha? To chant or not to chant?...
Wealth Deities: Generating Karma for Prosperity by Practicing Generosity. How to Reconcile Renunciation with Wealth Practices in Buddhism.
Lama Atisha, the revered lama and Mahasiddha, came across an old man, dying of starvation in Bodghaya. Lama Atisha offered his own flesh, cut from his body, to save the old man. But the old man said, “How can I...
Padmasambhava: The Eight Great Qualities of Taking Refuge; Taking Refuge in the Three Precious Jewels, the Defining Practice of Buddhism, and How it Can Rescue Us From All Dangers.
"It is necessary to cut the misconception of thinking that it is enough to take refuge once in awhile. You should take refuge again and again, both day and night." — Guru Rinpoche The ultimate protector practice in Buddhism is Taking...
Buddhist Ganesha: popular Ganapati’s many forms include enlightened Yidam, protector, and “bringer of success”…
Buddhist Ganesha's appeal is wide-reaching, not just amongst the spiritual. Ganesh tatoos and t-shirts are very popular worldwide. There is, a "life-affirming" quality about his image, even for the non-religious. Ganesha has star power. He even appears in brands, marketing,...
Commentary Heart Sutra — Most Famous of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras in Buddhism: Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form
Introduction The Heart Sutra is the most famous of what are called the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras in Buddhism. These were written down sometime around the first century AD, and so there was a period of about five hundred years...
Why is pride a poison — and overcoming ego with the wisdom of Equality; practicing Ratnasambhava and the Ambhattha Sutra
One day, Buddha came across the "untouchable" Nadhi carrying excrement. Nadhi tried to avoid the Buddha — out of respect, as was the custom — but Buddha intercepted the modest man. In a panic, Nadhi spilled the excrement. Buddha, with...
Bringing Love and Compassion to the Path: Avalokiteshvara Chenrezig, the Buddha of the Three Worlds
The face of Loving Kindness? No image, no face, no Buddha could be more inspiring than the image of the Lord of the Three Worlds, Avalokiteshvara (Chenrezig, Guan Yin, Kuan Shi Yin, Kanon). His "lotus" face conveys the ideal of...
Buddhist Ganesha: popular Ganapati’s many forms include enlightened Yidam, protector, and “bringer of success”…
Buddhist Ganesha's appeal is wide-reaching, not just amongst the spiritual. Ganesh tatoos and t-shirts are very popular worldwide. There is, a "life-affirming" quality about his image, even for the non-religious. Ganesha has star power. He even appears in brands, marketing,...
Youthful Manjushri: the beginning and flowering of wisdom; the gentle friend who cuts through ignorance with his flaming sword; Arapachana, the great essence mantra
Of all the Buddhist meditational deities — and, of all the Bodhisattvas we meet in the sutras — the overwhelming feeling with Manjushri is “gentle wisdom” and “gentle friend.” We feel warm, comforted, and supported in the youthful arms of...
Tara, the Saviour, and Vajrayogini the Sarvabuddhadakini: how are they different, and how are they the one? The importance of Female Buddhas: Wisdom personified
Vajrayogini “is the original and prototypical female Buddha of the Tantric pantheon… compassionate, all-knowing, and supremely blissful… Vajrayogini reigns supreme as the Sarvabuddhadakini, ‘Dakini Whose Essence is That of All Buddhas.’” [2] On the other hand, Tara appears as the...
Mala: “Just for counting” or “Profound sacred practice”? A Buddhist Guide to Practicing with a Mala: Mantras, Blessings, Reverence, Color, Power, and Profound Realizations
What is a mala? Why is a mala special? What difference does it make how many beads, the size of beads or the color? Does a mala have to be blessed? How do you use it? Ask a Zen or...
“Dharma in motion”: Buddhism, Vajrayana Buddhist Tantra and Zen have as much in common with martial arts as religion?
Premise: Buddhism, Vajrayana Tantra and Zen have as much in common with martial arts as it does with religion. Second Premise: Martial arts skills are helpful to meditators and helps develop practice discipline. That may seem like an absurd or...
Veneration Practice and Devotion According to the Ksitigarbha Sutra: Why Devotion is Not Superstition
Editor: In a special feature, author Eddie Sobenes explores The Sutra of the Fundamental Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, emphasizing the differences between the meritorious karma activity of "devotion" versus "superstition." In the Chinese Buddhist Canon, there are three Ksitigarbha[1] Sutras. ...
Wealth Deities: Generating Karma for Prosperity by Practicing Generosity. How to Reconcile Renunciation with Wealth Practices in Buddhism.
Lama Atisha, the revered lama and Mahasiddha, came across an old man, dying of starvation in Bodghaya. Lama Atisha offered his own flesh, cut from his body, to save the old man. But the old man said, “How can I...
Why is Maha Rakta Ganapati recommended by some Buddhist Teachers as the remover of obstacles, the protector of prosperity?
Why is Maha Rakta Ganapati recommended by Buddhist Teachers as the remover of obstacles — the protector of prosperity? What makes Ganapati a spiritual superstar? Why is Ganesha so loved around the world? In Buddhism, what makes his practice unique...
Buddhist Ganesha: popular Ganapati’s many forms include enlightened Yidam, protector, and “bringer of success”…
Buddhist Ganesha's appeal is wide-reaching, not just amongst the spiritual. Ganesh tatoos and t-shirts are very popular worldwide. There is, a "life-affirming" quality about his image, even for the non-religious. Ganesha has star power. He even appears in brands, marketing,...
Mother Tara’s many-armed protective embrace: 21 Taras according to Surya Gupta — with 8 videos and mantras and stunning art
There's something very precious and special about Tara, the protective Mother, adored by millions around the world. Her energy is, at its root, wisdom — the female Enlightened Buddha. Tara is as approachable as our own mothers. She embodies the...
Tara, the Saviour, and Vajrayogini the Sarvabuddhadakini: how are they different, and how are they the one? The importance of Female Buddhas: Wisdom personified
Vajrayogini “is the original and prototypical female Buddha of the Tantric pantheon… compassionate, all-knowing, and supremely blissful… Vajrayogini reigns supreme as the Sarvabuddhadakini, ‘Dakini Whose Essence is That of All Buddhas.’” [2] On the other hand, Tara appears as the...
Book Review: Tara in the Palm of Your Hand: a guide to the practice of the twenty-one Taras in the Surya Gupta lineage
"Tara is without a doubt the most beloved female deity in Tibetan Buddhism, revered for her swiftness in helping those who rely on her... Of all the Buddhas, Tara is the most accessible." — from Tara in the palm of your hand, Venerable...
Buddha Weekly’s Special Section
Tara, Mother of all Buddhas
Karma Mother
How does Tara Help?
Tara, like any Mother, is ready to jump to our aid, even in mundane areas of life. She is the “practical Buddha” — the “Karma Mother” — the Buddha most active in our lives. Her Sanskrit name translates as “a star by which to navigate” — and like a star, she is always with us whenever we look for her.
Don’t miss this online event
21 Tara’s Special Event
21Taras teachings and mantras — one Tara each week starting with Green Tara Empowerment.
June 5 to October 31, 2021 — New! Saturday, June 5 empowerment, and 22 consecutive Sunday’s with Venerable Zasep Rinpoche with precious 21 Taras according to Surya Gupta teachings.
