Buddha Weekly's Latest Features
TARA DAY — Practices to bring the Swift Saving and Healing Activity of Tara into your life
HAPPY TARA DAY! Every day is Tara day, although typically we celebrate especially on the eighth day of the lunar month — November 22, 2020 this month — is auspicious for Tara practice. (First day of the lunar month is the day of the NEW MOON in your time zone.) Next Tara...
Lamrim: the fast “mapped” path to Buddhist realizations: “It expounds the entire path” — Dalai Lama
In the quest for Enlightenment, the "swift" lightning path is Vajrayana. The key reason it is the fast path is its step-by-step structure — with teachings organized carefully into proven systems. One of these is Lamrim — the lamp of the Path. H.H. the Dalai Lama explains why the step-by-step approach is...
Interview with meditation teacher Kimberly Brown, author of Steady, Calm, and Brave: 25 Practices of Resilience and Wisdom in a Crisis
In our interview with author Kimberly Brown, the popular meditation teacher describes "Practices of Resilience and Wisdom in a Crisis" — all the more important in these times of COVID-19. Buddha Weekly is also pleased to publish an excerpt chapter "Not Harming is Helping" from her popular book Steady, Calm, and Brave:...
Aspire to Tara’s splendid Turquoise Pure Land — for tree-huggers and environmentalists — a place to meditate on Oneness with Blissful Nature
For Tara's Buddhist devotees, we may aspire to go to Her Turquoise Pureland Yurlod Kurpa after our passing. Most Mahayana Buddhists think of Amitabha's splendid Western Paradise or Pureland Sukhavati, because of Amitabha's great vow — but Tara's Turquoise Pureland is part of that Western Pureland — perhaps in just a little...
“Go Bananas” for the deity: Devotion — Prostration, Praise and Prayers — the most essential practices for busy “part time” Buddhists. And — who is the deity?
The great teacher Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche once described devotion in a talk on Tara: “The devotees of Tara, especially the devotees from great universities like as Nalanda, they go bananas. They long for her, they praise to her, they really supplicate, they beseech her.” Longing and love and passion and wonder are...
A Simple Step-by-step Mindfulness Meditation Guide
The benefits and virtues of mindfulness are well established. Today, more than ever, finding a way to calm your inner world and reaching a state of peace is essential. What bothers most people attempting mindfulness as a practice is the lack of an immediate result. Persisting with the routine and learning as...
Tara’s “Play Mind” — and Her eight great laughters — transforming the eight demons and fears; relying on the Mother of the Buddhas
Even the great Conqueror Shakyamuni Buddha relied on Mother Tara’s “eight great laughters” to pacify fears, doubts, and demons. Tara is known as the Mother of All Buddhas because it is through Her Wisdom that all beings can attain Enlightenment. Traditionally, the Enlightened female represents “wisdom,” while the Enlighted male represents “compassion.”...
Longing for Tara — “Hook me with your great love and kindness to liberate me…”
Green Tara is a deity of the “heart.” While all the Buddhas can be seen as Oneness and Omniscient — and therefore practicing one Buddha can be seen as practicing all Buddhas —there is something “precious,” personal and wondrous about the Wisdom Compassion Buddha Noble Green Tara. “Tara sees all sentient beings...
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 the wisdom of "equality" helped the man rise, daring not only to...
Buddhism vs Hollywood — Are “Buddhist” demons, vampires, zombies, and hungry ghosts scarier than Hollywood monsters?
Let’s face it — the movie-monsters of Hollywood are the cry-babies of the supernatural world. Werewolves? Phooey — try a giant Oni demon on for size. Vampires — well, okay, Buddhism has those too, except they are also black magicians. Ghosts? You won’t want to meet a Jikininki — he’ll eat your...
Body mandala practice in Vajrayana Tantric Buddhism — and riding the winds of the inner body “Where mind goes, the body follows”
"Where the mind goes, the body follows" is an ancient unattributed wisdom saying — although it is credited to Arnold Schwarzenegger in modern times. Arnie was probably paraphrasing a quote often attributed to Zhang San Feng, the Taoist monk who developed the martial art Tai Chi: "The chi flows where the mind...
Transforming demons; “Get thee behind me Mara!”: how Buddhism exorcises demons; transformation but no destruction
Shakyamuni Buddha, raised among Brahmins (priests) and kings, left the palace behind and sat under the Bodhi Tree to face his inner demons. Of course, his mission wasn't to exorcise devils and demons; it was the lofty goal of saving all sentient beings from Samsara, from suffering. The demons can be seen...
