Buddha Weekly's Latest Features
Why it can be a struggle to practice meditation regularly — and tips for overcoming the obstacles
You've probably heard about the many benefits of meditation, which drives many people to set the intention to meditate. But intending and doing are two different things. Meditation is almost always a struggle when you’re first developing your practice. So if you’re struggling to meditate, know that you’re not alone. And you...
Why 35 Confessional Buddhas practice and “The Bodhisattva’s Confession of Moral Downfalls” is a critical purifying practice for Buddhists
The 35 Confessional Buddhas practice is the ultimate sutra-based purification practice. Ven. Thubten Chodron explains: “Why do we need to purify? Because our mind is full of rubbish." Even though The Bodhisattva’s Confession of Moral Downfalls to the Thirty-Five Buddhas — to use the full title in English — is often one of...
“The Mind of One Buddha is the Mind of All Buddhas”; How “Jewel Collection Refuge” Can Help You Manage Your Commitments to Multiple Practices and Yidams
"The mind of one Buddha is the mind of all Buddhas," said learned teacher Gelek Rimpoche, in a commentary on Vajrayogini. [1] "The mind of all Buddhas is the mind of a Buddha. It is like a huge space-like pool of total knowledge, total enlightenment." In his commentary, Gelek Rimpoche* explained that "The Buddha...
Where is nirvana and emptiness: in the realm of radiance bright, invisible, eternal light, and infinite a state of mind: Buddha answers what the gods could not: Kevaddha’s story
In Pali sutta there is the wonderful story of Kevaddha, a Braham priest, who longed for "peace of heart and was anxious to reach Nirvana." Because he could not understand how it was possible in the "flesh" to attain such tranquility, he made it his mission to answer this riddle of Nirvana....
Yamaka Sutta: clarifying that death is not extinction — “That which is stressful has ceased and gone to its end.”
One of the five topics Buddha refused to discuss was "Does Buddha exist after death?" Why didn't he answer this question on death and life after death that "stresses" so many beings? In the Cula-Malunkyovada Sutta (MN 63), Buddha says: And why are they undeclared by me? Because they are not connected...
A theoretical physicist asks: does a Neural Net have Buddha Nature? The science of AI “sentience” and what it can tell us about our Buddha Nature and minds
"One surprising source of insight into the question of why our minds work the way they do comes from the attempt to replicate them – the study of artificial intelligence." — Jochen Szangolies, PhD Editor: Jochen Szangolies, PhD — who works on quantum contextuality and mechanics — wrestles brilliantly with the concept...
Vatthupama Sutta — when the mind is defiled, an unhappy destination… when the mind is undefiled, a happy destination
Vatthupama Sutta The Simile of the Cloth 1. Thus have I heard. Once the Blessed One was staying at Savatthi, in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's monastery. There he addressed the monks thus: "Monks." -- "Venerable sir," they replied. The Blessed One said this: 2. "Monks, suppose a cloth were stained and dirty, and...
What is Śāntideva’s Bodhicaryavatara? Interview Geshe Sherab: “Patience and Bodhicitta mind with elaborate reasoning and impeccable logic”
Scholar and teacher Geshe Serab, in an interview with Buddha Weekly, explains why Śāntideva's masterpiece Bodhicaryavatara — the Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life — is a timeless and vastly important text for Mahayana Buddhists. Written around 700 AD in Sanskrit verse by the great Mahasiddha Śāntideva, it has become one...
Bhaddekaratta Sutta, Auspicious Day: “what is past is left behind; the future is as yet unreached… do what should be done today”
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying in Savatthi, at Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's monastery. There he addressed the monks: "Monks!" "Yes, lord," the monks responded. The Blessed One said: "Monks, I will teach you the summary and exposition of one who has had an auspicious day. Listen...
Tarot as spiritual path? An interview with Robert Place, Tarot scholar and artist: part 3 of a series
Tarot has been described as "Yoga for the West" and an insight method that is spiritual-path neutral. Tarot symbolism, in fact, can apply to almost any spiritual path, as explained by scholar and artist Robert Place: "Once I could see that pattern, it became obvious that it contained an archetypal truth that...
Book Excerpt “Transcending” — an important book that embraces the Trans Path: “What is body anyway?”
"Buddha answers, “If a living being needs to be saved by someone in the body of a Buddha, Guanshiyin will appear in the body of a Buddha.…” Buddha then lists more than thirty different bodily manifestations of Guanshiyin according to what is needed: some are male, some are female, some young, some...
Four Questions the Buddha Would NOT Answer and Why: Is the Cosmos Finite in Space?; Is the Universe Finite in Time?; Is the Self Different From Body?; Does the Buddha Exist After Death?
Quotes from the Buddha are everywhere on the internet. They are used by teachers, speakers, politicians. But there were four topics Buddha declined to speak on. Shakyamuni Buddha is arguably the most quotable person in history, with millions of words contained in thousands of sutras. Regardless of the...