Buddha Weekly's Latest Features
Sadhanas: the secret sauce recipe of Vajrayana Buddhism — the ingredients that make it effective, and how to embrace its elegant formulas
Sadhanas in Vajrayana are (metaphorically) the recipes to successful Buddhist realizations. As with a chef in the kitchen, you don’t have to use the recipe — but it ensures a good result. The spectacular result, as with fine cuisine, is due to a preceding lineage of accomplished practitioners (metaphor: teaching chefs), unbroken...
Mama Buddha Tara: Compassionate Action; Stories of Tara the Rescuer
"Tara is without doubt the most beloved female deity in Tibetan Buddhism, revered for her swiftness in helping those who rely on her. She has been described as a Buddha for our modern age, a sublime personification of compassion and wisdom in female form at a time when sorrow and suffering seem...
Bodhidharma’s Breakthrough Teaching: Shastra on Eradicating Appearances
Bodhidharma[1] is one of the most venerated Buddhist masters of the far east. He was an Indian monk known for having brought the Zen[2] teachings to China, which then spread to Japan and other regions. He left behind four principle dialogues, presumably recorded by his disciples. In the Breakthrough Sermon, or Shastra...
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...
Buddhist Advice for coping with and living with Dementia
Mindfulness meditation and lifestyle can be beneficial to people who are suffering from dementia, according to several studies [Links below.] Meditation and mindfulness is also beneficial for caregivers as a coping method [1] and as a way to find joy in the caregiving situation. By Holly Klamer [Bio at bottom] Caretakers of...
The dream of rebirth: is reincarnation real?; if so, why don’t we remember our lives?; how can we prove it?; and other difficult questions
Do you remember your dreams, your memories as a baby, your previous life? This series of questions is often used by Buddhist teachers to illustrate why we don't have memories of past lives. Just as we often don't remember our childhood, and certainly don't remember our baby-hood, in this way we also...
Reflecting on Reflection: Moments Where Meditation Saved Me
Whenever I talk to anyone new about meditation, I usually get the same reaction. They’ve heard enough about meditation to know it can have a positive impact, but they haven’t been motivated enough to sit for meditation consistently. It’s akin to someone telling you that you should eat more vegetables when you’re...
Akkosa Sutra — How Buddha dealt with insults and hate; advice that transcends the centuries
One of the unique aspects of Buddhist sutra, is its relevancy in modern times. Buddha may have lived and taught 2500 years ago, but, if you read almost any Pali Sutta, it feels like modern-day sage advice. An early and profound, short sutra, the Akkosa Sutra, seems as valid and useful today...
Connecting with Nature of Mind to Overcome Anxiety and Panic: An Interview with Australian Meditation Instructor Pema Düddul
Pema Duddul. Pema Düddul is the Co-Director of Jalü Buddhist Meditation Centre, a meditation studio in Australia focused on online methods for delivering meditation and mindfulness training. Pema used Buddhist philosophy and practice to overcome lifelong anxiety and panic and now runs online and face-to-face workshops to help...
Buddha on Dharma Prayer Wheels: “defilements will be purified and the face of the deity will appear”; Guru Rinpoche: you will “be able to attain mystic powers…”
It's unlikely you'll be levitating off the ground any time soon — even if you undertake millions of prayer wheel spins — so what did the great Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava mean when he wrote: you will "be able to attain mystic powers... eliminate immeasurable karmic obscurations" in teachings on Prayer Wheels? We...
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...
Teaching video: Chod teaching and full drumming and chanting ritual with scenes of 108 Springs retreat in Mongolia
H.E. Zasep Rinpoche introduces Five Dakini Chod practice with a full teaching, followed by a demonstration, in full, of a Chod Vajrayana Buddhist practice with drumming and chanting. Includes stunning video and stills shot over 108 days in Mongolia during a 108 Springs Chod Retreat — where Rinpoche and students had to...