Master Jingzong; English translation by Foyi, edited by Jingxing True beauty belongs to everyone. Nobody has the right to make it his or her own private possession. The sun shines on everyone, the air is for all to breathe, and the roads are open for both you and me. Consider the early riser who sees the […]
Verses of Joy
A collection of Pure Land Buddhist poetry, themed around the deliverance of Amitabha and the striving for rebirth in the Pure Land.
Amitabha Buddha’s Twelve Kinds of Light: A Brief Explication (General Exposition)
Dharma Master Huijing; translated by Sam Suen, edited by Householder Fojin —Part 8— 8. Hope for All Sentient Beings The Buddha of Infinite Light relates to time while the Buddha of Boundless Light relates to space. Both surpass time and pace, and cannot be impeded. As elaboration normally follows a chronological order, let us start […]
Be a Bystander
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Vanity and Substance
Master Jingzong; English translation by Foying, edited by Jingxin Everything we do is basically done for one of two purposes–to massage our ego or to accomplish something of substance. The former is mere vanity while the latter has real benefits. We must not pursue both purposes entirely for ourselves, leaving others empty-handed. If substance is what we […]
A Message from Master Shandao
A text about “embrace and transform by the Name in the form of light” cited from In Praise of the Rite of Rebirth: Amitabha Buddha made a profound, weighty vow to embrace all beings of the ten directions with his light and transform them with his name, in the event that they have faith in […]
Liberating Animals Destined for the Dining Table
Master Jingzong; English translation by Foyuan, edited by Jingxin Mahatma Gandhi of India once said, “The most terrible weapons are the knives and forks on one’s dining table.” Hundreds of millions of lives are snuffed out by these weapons every day. Yet, most people are unaware of the scale of the daily slaughter for food; in fact, […]
Master Huijing’s Dharma Words About Faith in Pure Land
For now, we are not just born to be human beings, but also to encounter the Buddhist teachings, and the Pure Land teaching, in particular, the real teaching that enables us to be liberated in this lifetime. It is the result of Amitabha’s compassionate and sagacious guidance in many lives, so that we can be […]