Zen and Japanese culture by Suzuki, Daisetz T.

Henry Shukman

 

The Blue Cliff Record

translations or commentaries on the Blue Cliff Recird (Chinese: 碧巖錄; pinyin: Bìyán Lù; Japanese: 碧巌録), a collection of Chan Buddhist kōans originally compiled in Song China in 1125, and then expanded into its present form by Chan master Yuanwu Keqin (1063–1135).

Shukman - The Way Meditation

 

868 Diamond Sutra

No one is sure who Wang Jie was or why he had The Diamond Sutra printed. But we do know that on this day in 868 A.D.—or the 13th of the 4th moon of the 9th year of Xiantong in Jie’s time—he commissioned a block printer to create a 17-and-a-half-foot-long scroll of the sacred Buddhist text, including an inscription on the lower right hand side reading, “Reverently made for universal free distribution by Wang Jie on behalf of his two parents.” Today, that scroll is housed at the British Library and is acknowledged as the oldest dated printed book in existence.

Chances are you know a little something about the Gutenberg Bible, the first book made with moveable type, which came along almost 600 years later. Bibliophiles might also have a working knowledge of other famous manuscripts like the Book of Kells, The Domesday Book, and Shakespeare’s First Folio. Well, The Diamond Sutra should be in that pantheon of revered books, as well. Here’s why:


Origins

The text was originally discovered in 1900 by a monk in Dunhuang, China, an old outpost of the Silk Road on the edge of the Gobi Desert. The Diamond Sutra, a Sanskrit text translated into Chinese, was one of 40,000 scrolls and documents hidden in “The Cave of a Thousand Buddhas,” a secret library sealed up around the year 1,000 when the area was threatened by a neighboring kingdom.

In 1907, British-Hungarian archaeologist Marc Aurel Stein was on an expedition mapping the ancient Silk Road when he heard about the secret library. He bribed the abbot of the monastic group in charge of the cave and smuggled away thousands of documents, including The Diamond Sutra. The International Dunhuang Project is now digitizing those documents and 100,000 others found on the eastern Silk Road.

Content

The Diamond Sutra is relatively short, only 6,000 words and is part of a larger canon of “sutras” or sacred texts in Mahayana Buddhism, the branch of Buddhism most common in China, Japan, Korea and southeast Asia. Many practitioners believe that the Mahayana Sutras were dictated directly by the Buddha, and The Diamond Sutra takes the form of a conversation between the Buddha’s pupil Subhati and his master.





A full translation of the document's title is The Diamond That Cuts Through Illusion. As Susan Whitfield, director of the Dunhuang Project explains, the sutra helps cut through our perceptions of the world and its illusion. "[W]e just think we exist as individuals but we don’t, in fact, we’re in a state of complete non-duality: there are no individuals, no sentient beings,” Whitfield writes.

Why did Wang Jie commission it?

According to Whitfield, in Buddhist belief, copying images or the words of the Buddha was a good deed and way of gaining merit in Jie’s culture. It’s likely that monks would have unrolled the scroll and chanted the sutra out loud on a regular basis. That’s one reason printing developed early on in China, Whitfield explains. “[If] you can print multiple copies, and the more copies you’re sending out, the more you’re disseminating the word of Buddha, and so the more merit you are sending out into the world,” she writes. “And so the Buddhists were very quick to recognize the use of the new technology of printing.”

What is one quote I should know from The Diamond Sutra?

It’s difficult to translate the sutra word for word and still catch its meaning. But this passage about life, which Bill Porter, who goes by the alias "Red Pine," adapted to English, is one of the most popular:


So you should view this fleeting world—
A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream,
A flash of lightening in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.

Buddha Machine SE

Essays in Idleness

A HISTORICAL BUDDHA AFTER ALL?* DAVID DREWES

Ram Dass

https://www.ramdass.org/






Ram Dass first went to India in 1967. He was still Dr. Richard Alpert, a prominent Harvard psychologist and psychedelic pioneer with Dr. Timothy Leary. He continued his psychedelic research until that fateful Eastern trip in 1967, when he traveled to India. In India, he met his guru, Neem Karoli Baba, affectionately known as Maharajji, who gave Ram Dass his name, which means “servant of God.” Everything changed then – his intense dharmic life started, and he became a pivotal influence on a culture that has reverberated with the words “Be Here Now” ever since. Ram Dass’ spirit has been a guiding light for three generations, carrying along millions on the journey, helping to free them from their bonds as he works through his own.

Since 1968, Ram Dass has pursued a panoramic array of spiritual methods and practices from potent ancient wisdom traditions, including bhakti or devotional yoga focused on the Hindu deity Hanuman; Buddhist meditation in the Theravadin, Mahayana Tibetan, and Zen Buddhist schools, and Sufi and Jewish mystical studies. Perhaps most significantly, his practice of karma yoga or spiritual service has opened up millions of other souls to their deep, yet individuated spiritual practice and path. Ram Dass continues to uphold the boddhisatva ideal for others through his compassionate sharing of true knowledge and vision. His unique skill in getting people to cut through and feel divine love without dogma is still a positive influence on many people from all over the planet.

Tricycle: The Buddhist Review

https://tricycle.org/

Established in 1990 as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational organization, The Tricycle Foundation is dedicated to making Buddhist teachings and practices broadly available. In 1991 the Foundation launched Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, the first magazine intended to present Buddhist perspectives to a Western readership. Tricycle soon became the leading independent journal of Buddhism in the West, where it continues to be the most inclusive and widely read vehicle for the dissemination of Buddhist views and values. Our readership includes longtime practitioners, those who are curious about Buddhism or meditation, and those who do not identify as Buddhist but value the teachings of wisdom and compassion that Buddhism has to offer.

By remaining unaffiliated with any particular teacher, sect or lineage, Tricycle provides a unique and independent public forum for exploring Buddhism, establishing a dialogue between Buddhism and the broader culture, and introducing Buddhist thinking to Western disciplines. This approach has enabled Tricycle to successfully attract readers from all walks of life, many of whom desire to enrich their lives through a deeper knowledge of Buddhist traditions.

Tricycle has been recognized with the prestigious Folio Award for Best Spiritual Magazine three times, and has twice garnered the Utne Media Award, most recently in 2013. As part of our commitment to our readers who are seeking to implement or sustain Buddhist values and practices, Tricycle accepts advertising only from teachers, programs, centers, and businesses whose offerings we believe will support those aims. Because of this selective policy, we depend on donations to support ever-rising printing and production costs, content updates to our website, and life-enriching programs. The Foundation also hosts occasional pilgrimages that provide opportunities for new and experienced practitioners to explore sites of importance to Buddhist history and practice.

Donations in support of Tricycle’s work may be made by mailing a check made payable to Tricycle at 89 5th Avenue, Suite 301, New York, NY 10003, or by visiting us at tricycle.org/donate.
Mission Statement

The mission of the Tricycle Foundation is to make Buddhist teachings and practices available and to explore their traditional and contemporary expressions. Our work is inspired by the freedom of mind and heart that the Buddha taught is possible.

Tricycle is an independent foundation unaffiliated with any one lineage or sect.
Why “Tricycle”?

A three-wheeled vehicle aptly evokes the fundamental components of Buddhist philosophy. Buddhism itself is often referred to as the “vehicle to enlightenment,” and the tricycle’s three wheels allude to the three treasures: The Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, or the enlightened teacher, the teachings, and the community. The wheels also relate to the turning of the wheel of dharma, or skillfully using the teachings of the Buddha to face the challenges that the circle of life presents.
Sustainability

Tricycle is committed to helping create a sustainable future. In addition to our editorial efforts in print and online—where we often explore what Buddhism has to offer in a time of environmental crisis—we have taken the following steps toward sustainability in our operations:Our printer, Lane Press, uses petroleum-free, soy-based inks only.
Tricycle is printed on recycled paper and is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, whose mission is the promotion of environmentally sound, socially conscious and responsible management of the world’s forests.
We no longer “poly-bag” magazines we ship, mailing them instead without packaging.Our travel partners at RetreaTours purchase triple carbon offsets for all transportation taken during Tricycle pilgrimages. With this 300% offset, RetreaTours offsets more carbon than is produced during these trips.

Tricycle will continue to look for ways to contribute to a sustainable future. Through our media channels, we will continue to foster public discussion of the ecological crisis we face through the apt lens of Buddhist thought and practice.

Poet-Monks The Invention of Buddhist Poetry in Late Medieval China

Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture 南山宗教文化研究所

 https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/

Robert Henke Layering Buddha Live 2007

monolake · Robert Henke Layering Buddha Live 2007

Buddha Machine tracks

A religiously accurate drawing of Monkey as the Yuddhajaya Buddha

 

Buddhist Poetry of China

https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199920082/obo-9780199920082-0202.xml




Buddhism entered China sometime in the first century CE, first in relatively small communities of foreign merchants, only to take hold among the elites in the following centuries. It should be no surprise, then, that it soon interacted with the indigenous poetry of China, the most highly regarded literary art of the elites. Comprised of multiple broad terms, “Buddhist poetry of China” eludes easy definition, which has led to some scholarly confusion. In this bibliography, we define “poetry” as any rhymed verse form (including but not limited to shi 詩); “Buddhism” as the institutions, practices, people, and texts that located spiritual authority in a Buddha, especially the historical Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama; and “of China” as works written in the Sinitic languages as they were used in the polities that claimed continuity with the Qin and Han dynasties (thus excluding much noteworthy Buddhist Sinitic verse composed in Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and elsewhere). Chinese poetry intersected with Buddhism in a variety of ways, which varied considerably by time, place, and social setting. Some poems drew upon Buddhist scriptures for stories and images, some were composed at Buddhist settings, some passed on Buddhist teachings, some were informed by Buddhist doctrines, some were written by or addressed to Buddhist practitioners, some were recited during Buddhist rituals or sermons, and some were designed to perform Buddhist practices themselves. Buddhist institutions were ambivalent toward poetry. Canonical scriptures warned against excessive indulgence in literary and other arts, and later monastic rulebooks shared many of these concerns. At the same time, Buddhist institutions recognized that facility with literary language could be a powerful tool for expression and proselytization, and that certain kinds of aesthetic refinement was important for ritual efficacy. Individual Buddhists held all kinds of attitudes toward poetry—some monks denounced it as a dangerous, slippery slope toward laicization, while others obsessively wrote thousands of poems, sometimes justifying it in Buddhist terms and other times not. Most seem to have come to peace with poetry as an integral part of the Chinese cultural sphere that could not be completely proscribed. The Buddhist poetry of China remains a vibrant, living tradition to this day. This bibliography focuses on English-language studies (but includes some in other languages, especially Chinese) and is arranged by the categories typically addressed in existing scholarship: Buddhist poetry by literati, poetry by Buddhist monks, poetry by legendary Buddhists, practical and didactic Buddhist verse, and the influence of Buddhism on poetic theory

From the Ground Up

https://frogbear.org/








It is vital that we advance our understanding of the religions and cultures of East Asia as the economic and political importance of this region surges. As vehicles carrying multiple layers of meaning, apotropaic devices, and objects of devotion in their own right, texts have played a critical role in the interconnected religious, economic, artistic, and scientific life of East Asia. Thanks to discoveries of texts and artifacts and to increased opportunities for ethnographic observation, scholarship over the past decade has enriched our understanding of both historical and contemporary religious phenomena and life in East Asia. Despite these advances, most research in this field still remains divided by boundaries that separate communities and practices by national borders, academic disciplines, and sectarian lines. As a result, new evidence is unearthed but not shared or disseminated widely. Historical connections between seemingly disparate times and places remain obscure. This project of research seeks to break through these barriers by bringing together scholars and sources that are rarely in productive dialogue or discourse. Creating a global network of institutions and scholars will allow us to access, record, and interpret material in ways that would otherwise be impossible.

Our team will collect textual and related evidence and make it available to the public via an open access digital database and museum housed at the University of British Columbia (UBC). The collection will act as the basis for scholarly symposia, conferences, and a rotating exhibition, all of which will establish UBC as a leading centre for the study of East Asian religions and cultures.

The phenomena this program investigates, including examples that show how technological advances in media shape religion and vice versa, as well as orthodoxy, canonicity and canon formation have significant parallels in religious traditions and cultures throughout the world. Patterns of interaction between different media of religious writing and between texts and artifacts are extensive. By addressing these topics through an innovative methodological framework, our researchers will arrive at conclusions that will stimulate scholars working both inside and outside the field of East Asian religions to approach their own research in novel ways.

Underlying the project is an ambitious model for research and training adapted to technological and operational prospects that did not exist even in recent years. Our project aims to create an institutional collaboration that melds fieldwork with textual scholarship and integrates original research with archive creation. Among the projected outcomes is the example it will provide for future scholarly endeavors, particularly those involving cooperation among a diverse set of academics at institutions and within diverse fields from around the world. As we work through the challenges this process will inevitably entail, this innovative approach will lead by example and make it easier for other groups to undertake similarly complex programs. Our project will also promote Canada to the forefront of scholarly exchange and research, and encourage cultural ties that promote fruitful collaboration in other arenas.

Beyond multiple benefits to academic research, the project will prove vital for educators, policy makers, and business interests who promote deeper and more sustained economic and cultural ties to East Asia within an increasingly Pacific-orientated Canada. Cutting edge, 21st century Asian studies research enhances the reputation Canada has already begun to establish as the premier North American gateway to Asia, not only for Canadians but also for international students from across the globe.

This international and interdisciplinary project has been made possible with a $2.5 million grant from the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), with over $20 million in matching contributions from UBC (host institution), and nearly two dozen Canadian and international partner institutions and other contributors.

八十四相大悲咒 Illustrated Great Compassion Mantra

In this thread I shall attempt to translate a very widely-distributed commentary or explication of the Great Compassion Mantra 大悲咒 https://t.co/o0NN5eA7YM pic.twitter.com/oAMUYubngP

— Edward W. (@edwardW2) September 7, 2022

Amitābha

Many people in the West interpret Buddhism as a path of meditation leading to enlightenment.

What many may not know is that this interpretation differs vastly from its practice in East Asia.

I have spent many years observing Buddhist temples in Taiwan and mainland China, and my research culminated in the book “Chinese Pure Land Buddhism.” This form of Buddhism teaches people to call upon a buddha named Amitābha in the expectation that when they die he will take them to his pure buddha-land, an ideal place to pursue the practices that will lead them to become buddhas, or fully enlightened and liberated beings.

This form of practice – central to Pure Land Buddhism – arose from Mahayana Buddhism, a branch of Buddhism that emerged in the first to sixth centuries A.D.

Buddhism in China

One of the innovative teachings of Mahayana Buddhism was that the cosmos is inhabited by millions of buddhas, not just the historical founder of the religion. Since all these buddhas had to reside somewhere, and their environments had to be as pure as they were, it followed that there are many buddha-lands.

Pure Land Buddhism taught that the pure land of Amitābha was accessible to regular people after they died. Prior to the development of Pure Land Buddhism, the only way to enlightenment lay through an arduous path of study and practice that was out of reach for most people.

In China, the Pure Land teaching made the prospect of liberation from suffering and the attainment of buddhahood feasible for ordinary people. While Pure Land Buddhism spread and became dominant in other East Asian countries, China is the land of its birth.
The theory of karma

Buddhists believe that all living beings are stuck in an endless loop of birth and rebirth and the good or bad fortune they experience results from karma. Karma is a moral force created by the deeds one does: Virtuous deeds give one better fortune, while evil or even just ignorant deeds bring misfortune.

Karma is said to determine the future life in terms of gender, intelligence and other personal attributes as well as one’s environment.

As a buddha is believed to have completely purified his karma, his body and mind are free of all defects and the land he inhabits is perfect. Several Buddhist scriptures describe “buddha-lands” as paradises with no moral evil and free of all taints.

Many Buddhists hope for birth in a buddha-land so they can complete their path under a buddha’s direct supervision.
The founding story

According to the Sutra, or scripture, on the Buddha of Infinite Life from no later than the third century, a monk named Dharmākara resolved to become a buddha. After much study and deliberation, he made 48 vows that detailed what kind of buddha he would be and what his buddha-land would look like.

Most of these vows laid out a scene familiar to believers: As a buddha, he would be powerful, wise and compassionate. His land would be magnificent, and the beings who shared it with him would be so accomplished that they would already have many of the powers and attributes of a buddha. These included perfect eloquence and the ability to see and hear from great distances.

But among the vows recorded in the Sūtra, it was the 18th that changed everything. This vow stipulated that anyone who merely brought him to mind before death would be reborn in his buddha-land:

“If, when I attain buddhahood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten directions who sincerely and joyfully entrust themselves to me, desire to be born in my land, and think of me even ten times,” Dharmākara is quoted as saying.

The fact that he realized his goal and became the buddha named Amitābha meant that the vow became reality. However, the term “ten times” referring to thoughts of Amitabha was vague. Another scripture, the Sutra on the Visualization of the Buddha of Infinite Life, clarified that one had only to say this buddha’s name ten times.

In addition, Dharmākara had also said that those who “commit the five grave offenses and abuse the Right Dharma” would be excluded. This Sutra eliminated such restrictions. The two scriptures allowed ordinary Buddhists to aspire to a rebirth in this Pure Land.

Pure Land in China

Buddhism entered China around 2,000 years ago and developed a following slowly as scriptures became available in translation and missionaries learned to communicate their message.

The story of Dharmākara’s vows proved especially popular. The Sūtra on the Buddha of Infinite Life was translated into Chinese several times, and scholar-monks lectured and commented on the Pure Land sūtras.
Chanting the name of Buddha Amitabha.

Monks and nuns chanted the Amitābha Sūtra during their daily devotions. This sūtra, along with the two already mentioned, became the “Three Pure Land Sūtras” that anchored the emerging tradition.

The earlier Chinese commentators on these sūtras held that one needed great stores of good karma from the past to even hear of these teachings. They also preached that if one’s mind was not purified through prior practice, then one could not see the Pure Land in all its splendor.

In the sixth and seventh centuries, three monks named Tanluan, Daochuo and especially Shandao provided new interpretations and practices that gave the ordinary believer complete access to the Pure Land without them needing to earn or deserve it.

First, they said that rebirth in the Pure Land is an “easy path” compared to the “difficult path” of traditional Buddhist practice.

Second, that the Buddha Amitābha helps the practitioner by adding his “other-power” to the believer’s “self-power.” In other words, the buddha’s power assisted the believer directly and brought him or her to the Pure Land. “Self-power,” or the believer’s own effort, might have beneficial effects but it was not enough for liberation. The addition of the buddha’s power guaranteed liberation at the end of this life.

Third, they defined the main practice as calling Amitābha’s name aloud. In the original texts it was not clear whether the practice consisted of difficult meditations or oral invocation, but they made it clear that just repeating “Hail to Amitaqbha Buddha” would cause the buddha to transport one to the Pure Land.

The Pure Land was not a final destination, like heaven in Christianity. The point of rebirth there was to be in the perfect environment for becoming a buddha. One would still need to strive toward buddhahood, but one’s own power with that of Amitābha would guarantee the final result.

Think about being on an escalator. If one cannot walk at all, it will carry one to the top, but if one can walk even a little, one’s speed will combine with the motion of the escalator to get one there more quickly.

Chanting Buddha’s name

Pure Land believers may recite “Hail to the Buddha Amitābha” silently or aloud while counting the repetitions on a rosary; they may participate in group practice at a local Buddhist temple; they may even take part in one-, three- or seven-day retreats that combine recitation with repentance rituals and meditation.

List of games that Buddha would not play

 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_that_Buddha_would_not_play