The Sutra of Tara Who Protects from the Eight Fears: in Tara’s Own Words
Bodhisattvas, Deities, Sutras & Sutta, Tara
Tara's vast popularity in Mahayana Buddhism — as both Bodhisattva and Buddha — is easy to understand. Not only is she a "Mother" — a mother deity and the "Mother of All Buddhas" — but she also protects ...
Why debate is indispensible in Buddhism demonstrated by Manjushri vs Shakyamuni Buddha in Mahavaipulya Sutra
Sutras & Sutta
During a Dharma debate, monks laugh at each other's answers, here at Sera Jey Monestary. Debate is almost synonymous with Buddha's teaching method — that's not even debatable. Imagine the Sage teacher, the Conqueror Shakyamuni Buddha debating with ...
Buddha: How to protect wealth, associate with virtuous friends and relate to your spouse, employer, children: guidance for lay practitioners in Sigalovada Sutta
Buddhist Living, Dharma, Sutras & Sutta
It may seem hard to imagine the Peerless One, Shakyamuni Buddha, teaching the more mundane aspects of lay life conduct. Imagine the Buddha teachings us "financial planning" (really!) — and to relate to our children, employers and spouse! ...
“When the mind is undefiled, a happy destination”—Buddha; the 16 Defilements of the Mind, and the Simile of the Cloth: Vitthupama Sutta
Sutras & Sutta
Shakyamuni Buddha teaching. Purification of mind is a critical practice in all schools and lineages of Buddhism. In the Vatthupama Sutta [full translation in English below] Buddha explains the concept with the simile of the stained cloth: "Monks, ...
Logic and Analysis: Buddha teaches in Magga-vibhanga Sutta — Analysis of the Noble Eightfold Path
Sutras & Sutta, Theravada
The heart of Buddha's teachings is the Eightfold Path — a prescription for our own personal path to realizations based on positive karmic conduct. That does not stop the Buddha from analytical logic and debate. After the first ...
Amitabha practice: easy, welcoming, and his merits are so vast that all beings can benefit: Amitabha Sutra
Buddha, Buddhist Practices, Dharma, Mahayana, Mantra, Sutras & Sutta, Tantra, Vajrayana
"When I have attained Buddhahood, if those beings who are in the ten quarters should believe in me with serene thoughts, and should wish to be born in my country, and should have, say, ten times thought of ...
11 essential subjects for meditation according to The Sutra on the Eight Realizations
Buddhist Living, Sutras & Sutta
The vital importance of awareness of impermanence, the nature of suffering, attachment, dissatisfaction, ignorance and laziness are emphasized by the Buddha in the short Sutra on the Eight Realizations (full translation below with some of the commentary by ...
Sutra in Forty-Two Sections — excerpts of timeless wisdom and practice advice from the World Honoured One
Sutras & Sutta
This sutra contains many favorite gems: "You should be mindful of the four elements within the body. Though each has a name, none of them is the self. Since they are not the self, they are like an ...
Why is “Most loved” Kṣitigarbha (Jizo) “Essence of Earth” Bodhisattva revered and beloved in Mahayana Buddhism as the “closest” of all the Enlightened Ones
Bodhisattvas, Sutras & Sutta
Of all of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas — and among all the Buddhas — "the Essence of Earth Buddhasattva" Kṣitigarbha is the "closest to us" — the most beloved of the great ones. Why is this? Kṣitigarbha is ...
Avalokiteshvara Chenrezig, the Buddha of the Three Worlds; bringing love and compassion to the path:
Avalokiteshvara, Sutras & Sutta
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 ...
Buddha’s Nirvana Day: Celebrations for Paranirvana day; quoting the last admonition of Buddha: Mahaparinibban Sutta
Buddha, Buddhist Living, Sutras & Sutta
On February 15, 2023 many Mahayana Buddhists celebrate the Paranirvana of Buddha — not his death, but release from karma and the cycle of suffering. It is a day celebrated around the world with light, festival and important ...
“Torches That Help Light My Path”: Thich Nhat Hanh’s Translation of the Sutra on the Eight Realizations of the Great Beings
Buddhist Living, Sutras & Sutta
"When I was seventeen and in my first year of novice studies at a Buddhist monastery in Vietnam, I had to memorize the Sutra on the Eight Realizations of the Great Beings. Over sixty years have passed and ...