I'd like to say something about dhyana. Dhyana is a big subject, I'm not sure I can do it in 5 minutes but I'll have a try.
One of the difficulties giving a podcast in 5 minutes is that you have to keep your mind focussed on one thing. Everything you
Read more…In a previous talk I talked about how our lives are dominated by rupas, by powerful objects, powerful appearances; and a rupa that has come in all ours lives and become very powerful for all of us just recently is the corona virus. The image of the v
Read more…This is podcast #108. It will therefore be the last in this series of podcasts, 108 being a very auspicious number in the Buddhist system. There was a previous podcast about the significance of this number (Podcast #76). If this is the last podcast,
Read more…We've reached that stage in the corona virus crisis where the lockdown is gradually being eased. Travel is once more, bit by bit, being liberalized. Barriers are being taken up so that people can cross and meet their loved ones.
I've just been readin
Read more…In a previous podcast I talked about the meaning of the word Nyorai, meaning Tathāgata. Now I'd like to talk about how the word Nyorai appears in the ten syllable nembutsu. In other podcasts I've talked about the nembutsu and in particular about the
Read more…The first step in becoming a Buddhist is to take refuge. At least to take refuge in the Buddha and the Dharma. Usually people take refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, these are called The Three Jewels. Sometimes, additionally they take refuge, in so
Read more…In the Lotus Sutra there is the idea of the apparitional city. This is in chapter 7 of the sutra. The chapter provides a parable of going on a journey. People set out on the journey, but they’re soon complaining that they’re tired and frightened and
Read more…The word Nyorai 如来 is the Japanese rendering of the original Indian term Tathāgata. It is the term in Japanese of highest respect for the Buddha, for any Buddha, for Amida, for Lokeśvararāja Buddha.
In the Larger Pureland Sutra Shakyamuni, talking to
Read more…My grandmother commited suicide. Mother always felt very guilty. I think that she thought that she had not done enough for her mother to make her mother want to stay in this world. However, I think my mother was mistaken in feeling this way. I think
Read more…In recent podcasts I've talked about the vows made by Dharmakara bodhisattva, and also about chanting, song and the spirit of rapture in Buddhism. These two themes come together in the 44th Vow made by Dharmakara, where he says:
Oh Blessed One, may
The Dhammapada begins with two famous verses on mindfulness (and I say here mindfulness in the original sense of having your mind full of good things). The verses go:
♫ Manopubbaṅgamā dhammā, manoseṭṭhā manomayā, ♫
♫ manasā ce paduṭṭhena bhāsati vā
Buddhism in the modern world has stimulated a huge amount of academic scholarship and there are innumerable books. So many things one can study! And then, on the other hand, there is the idea of Buddhism as a way of life, and I have to say often a ra
Read more…Here is another passage from the Larger Sutra:
"the shramana Dharmakara then practised those true, unfailing and unsurpassed vows, rare in all worlds and ages, that bring serenity and joy.
"Before the Buddha Lokeshvararaja and all the devas, Brahma,
Read more…Last time we started looking at the vows of Dharmakara bodhisattva; and we looked at what are called The Three Great Vows, 18th, 19th and 20th vows. Now I’d like to share with you the 22nd vow.
The 22nd vow is concerned with the bodhisattva path - th
Read more…I'd like to say something about how I understand my role as a Buddhist teacher.
When we think of a teacher, perhaps the image that comes to mind is somebody standing in front of a class giving a lecture, giving a lesson, handing down knowledge, infor
Read more…Here is another passage from the Larger Sutra*:
"Dharmakara Bodhisattva then approached the Buddha and prostrated before him, circumambulated three times and in great joy declared 'I now have the pure function of adorning a Pure Land'.
"The Buddha Lo
Read more…British politics is currently consumed by a story about a top government advisor who appears, during the period of lockdown, to have broken the government’s own guidelines; and at the time of making this podcast, has neither resigned nor apologized.
Read more…The Larger Pureland Sutra is mostly made up of a conversation between the Buddha and his assistant Ananda. In it the Buddha tells the story of how long, long ago a bodhisattva called Dharmakara appeared, inspired by the teachings given by the Buddha
Read more…Here is today's podcast. It refers to Honen Shonin 法然 (1133-1212) the founder of Pureland Buddhism in Japan, and to the Ten Mahayana Precepts, see https://eleusis.ning.com/group/buddhism/forum/topics/ten-mahayana-precepts
Podcast
In the forthcoming
Read more…True friendship is a pivotal element in the spiritual life. Spiritual practice is not something that is solitary in essence. It’s about how we relate to others in general but also how we relate to a very small number of people in particular in an int
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