The attempt to fit Buddhism into the secular, technical, reductionist mindset of modernity often has the effect of turning the matter on its head. Thus, we now find Western schools of practice – I hesitate to call them schools of Buddhism – in which
Read more…TEXT:
Saving grace, as was made clear by Shan Tao's dream and advice to Tao Cho, only comes through the sange-mon.
COMMENTARY:
Sange means confession or contrition. The sange mon is, literally, the “gate of contrition”.
According to the story, towa
Le pouvoir propre, jiriki, « est le fait de croire que nous pouvons atteindre notre salut par nos seuls efforts » (peu importe la manière dont on conçoit cela). Toutes les écoles bouddhistes cherchent à détruire ce genre d’arrogance, mais elles s’acq
Read more…The way that Pureland Buddhism is sometimes presented, it starts to sound like monotheism. This is not surprising given that the conventional speech forms of monotheism are known to us all and, however much we might think we have rejected or moved aw
Read more…Continuing the Commentary upon Summary of Faith and Practice
TEXT
Thus all obstacles become impediments to faith unless we experience contrition and letting go.
Path with a Goal
When we undertake a spiritual project, we are trying to achieve someth
Continuing the commentary on Summary of Faith and Practice...
TEXT
If you can perform the practice in this simple minded way,
COMMENTARY
Of course, the simple mind may seem to be not so simple to arrive at. Modern life especially militates against it
Each school of Buddhism has its favoured texts and its favoured practices. Thus, for instance, the Soto Zen Shu favours the Diamond and Heart Sutras, (and was once based on the Lankavatara) and emphasises the practice of zazen, while the Pureland sch
Read more…Commentary on the Summary of Faith and Practice, Part One
Text: For those having a karmic affinity with Amitabha Buddha
This is the first phrase of the Summary. It tells us for whom this text is written and to whom it applies. An implication is that
TEXT: Amida will receive you and you may fear for nothing since all is completely assured
Continuing the commentary upon Summary of Faith and Practice
To be received and accepted as one is is the greatest wonder. To live in fear of rejection, althoug
Read more…I have posted a paper here.
If you are interested in the foundations of Buddhism, especially Mahayna, this may be of interest. I have been busy translating Dong Shan's poems and other material from Chinese and have arrived at rather different conclus
Read more…Publicado por David Brazier el 8 de mayo de 2017 en el grupo de “Budismo”
Como continuación de los comentarios de Recopilación de Práctica y Fe
COMENTARIO
La fe firme es Anshin. An-shin significa literalmente “el corazón-mente en paz”. Se puede hab
Read more…The book Anna Kerenina begins with the statement “All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” In my observation, almost the opposite seems to be true. Happy people are each uniquely engaged in life whereas
Read more…(Por Dharmavidya, 12 de diciembre de 2016 en “Discusiones budistas”)
TEXTO: Así, sabemos por experiencia que somos seres insensatos de pasión ciega
COMENTARIO: La expresión “seres insensatos de pasión ciega” se refiere a nuestra naturaleza bombu.
Read more…(Publicado por David el 19 de enero de 2017 en “Discusiones budistas”)
La palabra “Nembutsu” en japonés está compuesta de “Nen” y “Butsu”-.Nen significa “mindfulness”. Butsu significa “Buda”. Así pues el Nembutsu es mindfulness del Buda. Sin embargo
Read more…The word 'Nembutsu' is Japanese and is made up of Nen and Butsu. Nen means ‘mindfulness’. Butsu means ‘Buddha’. So nembutsu is mindfulness of Buddha. However, it has come to mean not merely a mental act but also a verbal one. Thus all formulae of ref
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TEXT: without which we would already perceive the land of love and bliss
Perception of the land is a foundational religious experience. Religious form is substantially grounded in it and much of it can be considered to be a kind of theatrical re-
I have recently read an interview with the Buddhist nun Tenzin Palmo who is well known in Buddhist circles for having spent more than twenty years in retreat in the Himalayas practising tantra, living in a cave house in a valley that is cut off for n
Read more…Continuing the commentary upon Summary of Faith & Practice, part 32
TEXT: This knowledge of our condition is part of the essential basis when it gives rise to contrition
COMMENTARY
We have already spoken about contrition in relation to an earlier sec
Publicado por David Brazier, el 12 de febrero de 2017 en el grupo “Budismo”
Continuando con el comentario del resumen “Fe y Práctica, parte 32
TEXTO: Este conocimiento de nuestra condición es base fundamental en el surgimiento la contrición.
Ya hemos
Read more…(Publicado por David Brazier el 1 de diciembre de 2016 en “Discusiones Budistas”)
Resumen de Fe y Práctica, parte 30
TEXTO: Seríamos como el cuerpo-voto del Buda
Aquí el término “voto” es una traducción del japonés “gan”.También podría traducirse com
Read more…