Recent Articles on Buddhist Information of North America

The Self-Immolation of a Buddhist Monk

Vietnam has marked the 40th anniversary of the self-immolation of Thich Quang Duc. The monk's protest came to symbolise the repression of the US-backed South Vietnamese regime against Buddhism. The Executive Council of the Vietnamese Buddhist Church and local government officials in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, attended the memorial read more »

What Is Amida Buddha?

What Is Amida Buddha? By Dr. Nobuo Haneda The concept of "Amida" (i.e., a Japanese form of the two Sanskrit names of a Buddha: Amitabha (Limitless Light) and Amitayus (Limitless Life) is probably the most important concept in Shin Buddhism, the teachings of Shinran (1173-1262). But people often have a shallow understanding of it. Or, worse, they o read more »

Buddhism and the Illusion of Time

Questions and Answers from an interesting thread on Buddha's Village Forum Answers from Tom Huston [email protected] << I've just read 'The end of time' by Julian Barbour which presents a fairly convincing theory that time is just an illusion and really the universe is just made up of infinite seperate 'instants', or different configurations read more »

MANUAL OF ZEN BUDDHISM

By DAISETZ TEITARO SUZUKI Professor of Buddhist Philosophy in the Otani University, Kyoto [1935] EDITOR'S FOREWORD EDITOR'S NOTE AUTHOR'S PREFACE GATHAS AND PRAYERS On Opening the Sutra Confession The Threefold Refuge The Four Great Vows The Worshipping of the Sarira The Teaching of the Seven Buddhas The Gatha of Impermanence The Yemmei Kwamon Ten read more »

About The Eight Auspicious Symbols

The eight auspicious symbols of Tibetan Buddhism consist of: parasol, pair of fishes, treasure vase, lotus, white-spiraling conch shell, endless knot, victory banner, and golden wheel. Groupings of eight auspicious symbols were originally used in India at ceremonies such as an investiture or coronation of a king. An early grouping of symbols inclu read more »

Buddhist Glossary

Glossary Amitabha(Amida, Amita, Amitayus) Amitabha is the most commonly used name for the Buddha of Infinite Light and Infinite Life.  A trans-historical Buddha venerated by all Mahayana schools (T'ien T'ai, Esoteric, Zen  ...) and, particularly, Pure Land. Presides over the Western Pure Land (Land of Ultimate Bliss), where anyone can be read more »

The Noble Eightfold Path: The Way to the End of Suffering

By Bhikkhu Bodhi First edition 1984 published as Wheel Publication No. 308/311 Second edition (revised) 1994 Copyright 1984, 1994 by Bhikkhu Bodhi   This electronic edition is offered FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION ONLY By arrangement with the publisher. This text is a gift of Dhamma. You may print this file for your personal use, and you may make and read more »

Guide to Prostrations

Prostrations By Lama Gendyn Rinpoche Why do we do Prostrations? 1.The Purification of Pride First of all, we should know why we do prostrations. We do not do them to endear ourselves to somebody else. We do not do them for the Buddha. Such concepts are completely wrong. The Buddha is not a god of this world. We bow down to purify all situations fr read more »

The Sutra Of Innumerable Meanings

  “In Forty years and more, the truth has not been revealed yet.”   Chapter I Virtues   Thus Have I Heard. Once the Buddha was staying at the city of royal palaces on mount Grdhrakuta with a great assemblage of great Bhikkhus, in all twelve thousand. There were eighty thousand Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas. There were gods, dr read more »

The Agganna Sutta

The Agganna Sutta On Knowledge of Beginnings   Thus have I heard. Once the Lord was staying at Savatthi, at the mansion of Migara’s mother in the East Park. And at that time Vasettha and Bharadvaja were living among the monks, hoping to become monks themselves. And in the evening, the Lord rose from his secluded meditation and came out read more »

Purification of the Buddha-Field

VIMALAKIRTI NIRDESA SUTRA Translated by Robert A. F. Thurman   1. Purification of the Buddha-Field Reverence to all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Aryasravakas, and Pratyekabuddhas, in the past, the present, and the future. Thus have I heard: At one time the Lord Buddha was in residence in the garden of Amrapali, in the city of Vaisali, attended by a read more »

The Vajracchedika Prajna Paramita Sutra

(The Diamond Sutra)  This is what I heard one time when the Buddha was staying in the monastery in Anathapindika's park in the Jeta Grove near Shravasti with a community of 1,250 Bhikshus, fully ordained monks. That day, when it was time to make the round for alms, the Buddha put on his sanghati robe and, holding his bowl, went into the city read more »

The Amitabha Sutra

The Amitabha Sutra  Translated into Chinese by Tripitaka Master Kumarajiva Translated from Chinese into English by J.C. Cleary  Thus have I heard:  Once Buddha was in the land of Shravasti, in the garden of Jeta and Anathapindika. He was accompanied by twelve hundred and fifty great Bhikshus, all of them great Arhats, well known to read more »

The Lankavatara Sutra

Chapter I Discrimination Thus have I heard: The Blessed One once appeared in the Castle of Lanka, which is on the summit of Mt. Malaya in the midst of the great Ocean. A great many Bodhisattvas-Mahasattvas had miraculously assembled from all the Buddha-lands, and a large number of Bhikshus were gathered there. The Bodhisattvas-Mahasattvas with Mah read more »

The Buddhist Attitude to God

By Dr V. A. Gunasekara   Introduction The standpoint adopted here is primarily that of Theravada Buddhism. But most of what is said will be applicable to most other Buddhist traditions. The Theravada tradition, also called the Southern school of Buddhism, is based on texts maintained in the Pali language, which are the oldest of the existing read more »