Commentary on the Summary of Faith & Practice (part 5)
TEXT (is) the practice of Nien Fo
COMMENTARY
Nien means mindfulness. It also means an impulse of mind. The Japanese form is “nen” which becomes “nem-” in terms like nembutsu. Fo means Buddha.
Read more…QUESTION: Can you explain "Buddha Nature"?
SHORT ANSWER: Buddha nature is no nature.
ANSWER: Buddha nature is no nature. Different writers use the concept in different ways, so to elucidate it one needs to clarify which Buddha nature concept one is r
Read more…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've been reading The Bacchae by Euripedes. It is the only extant play based on the rituals of Dionysus in which women went in groups into the hills and engaged in orgiastic activities under the influence of wine. The theme of the play is the punishm
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…I was recently engaged in a conversation in which the issue of "transparency" came up. There are two contexts in which this idea mainly has currency these days - political and psychological. In politics there is much concern about corruption and it i
Read more…Commentary upon Summary of Faith and Practice (part 6)
TEXT
with body, speech and mind
COMMENTARY
This phrase occurs a great many times in Buddhist texts. Clearly it means “in all ways”. “Body” refers to behaviour. The body exists in the material wor
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
The rain was heavy last night,
by noon once again all fine and clear,
on the horizon tiny clouds gathering
with attitude.
Were everything in one’s world pure
so would be one’s heart.
In that case, however,
No objection to stormy weather.
