Master Jingzong; English translation by Foyuan, edited by Jingxing A proverb says, “[In a chess game], bystanders see the game better than the players.” The famous poet Su Shi also had this to say, “One cannot see the true shape of Mount Lu because one is in the mountain.” The [chess] player cannot see clearly […]
Month: May 2018
Give ’til It Hurts
Generosity doesn’t come easily to me. In fact, one of the hard truths that I’ve learned as a result of Buddhist practice is that there’s a lot of selfishness inside of me. I’m not sure why that is. Maybe it’s the result of being the oldest of 5 kids; constantly forced to share my possessions growing […]
Don’t be Deceived by “Efficiency”
Master Jingzong; English translation by Foying, edited by Jingxin In this day and age, individuals and (especially) corporations obsessively emphasize the need for efficiency. Some would even say that efficiency equals life itself; as though without it one is condemned to mediocrity, failure and even premature death. True efficiency is harmoniously following the ebb and flow […]
Dharma Dispatch, 14-25 May 2018: China’s Robot Monk Upgrade, Sino-Japanese Ecumenical Dialogue, and Pollution on the Roof of the World
Good morning! Two tech companies in China have been brought on board to upgrade Xian’er, a robot monk who can follow simple instructions, recite scriptures, and play Buddhist music, with a more modern feature set. Xian’er is the diminutive robotic member of Longquan monastery’s sangha in the outskirts of Beijing. He became an instant hit following […]
The Calling of Buddhist Dialogue with the Other
Today I wish to celebrate Vesak with an interfaith twist. It’s a public holiday here in sunny, hot Hong Kong, but tomorrow Buddhistdoor Global will be attending an Iftar dinner held by the city’s Muslim community, with guests from the Christian, Baha’i, and Confucian communities. I believe deeply in the maxim of comparative theology (you […]
The Syllables Flow Out Gently
By John C. Del Bagno In the cool evening tonight, resting On my back deck with a cup of tea, A rising star looks solitary to me. Yet I know the sharp view of astronomers Has revealed it to be a vast cluster of stars and planets. When Shakyamuni’s wisdom eye opened He saw the […]
Breathing In, Breathing Out
Master Jingzong; English translation by Foying, edited by Jingxing Human beings are naturally greedy, always lusting after more than they receive. But such a mindset of “getting something for nothing” contradicts the very law of nature. When breathing, for example, it would be ludicrous to only inhale and not exhale – as if the air we […]
How Do We Return to the Path?
A spiritual path is a challenge to continually become something better than what we were. It’s a commitment to adapt to new conditions. Temptations and toxins encircle us all the time. It wasn’t a coincidence that the first monk who called me a student was a boxer in his youth in Burma. As a monk […]
Thinking about death and dying
I turned 68 a couple of months ago. That’s just two years short of 70, which to my ears sounds seriously elderly. If I conform to statistical norms, then I can expect somewhere between 10 and 15 more years of life. But statistics are of course just statistics. My father lived to over 90. On […]
Education: A critical factor for female empowerment in developing countries
By Sónia Gomes What is the significance of education in general? The entire process of attending school, learning to read, write, and develop interests in different disciplines when you start absorbing knowledge is imperative for a number of reasons. And this does not only involve the person in question, but all of society. A person […]