Raymond Lam December last year was a delightful conclusion to 2015 for me because my best mates and I had organized a reunion in Ho Chi Minh City. I’ve known one friend since kindergarten, the other two are more or less my best university buddies. What was perhaps most encouraging, and I daresay touching, was that despite having passed so many years apart and living […]
15th Sakyadhita International Conference On Buddhist Women To Be Held in Hong Kong From 22–28 June 2017
Press Office The University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) Centre of Buddhist Studies (CBS) will co-organize the 15th Sakyadhita International Conference with the Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women, with the support of the Dharma Nature Preaching Hall, Buddhistdoor, the Centre of Buddhist Studies Alumni Association (CBSAA), and the Hong Kong Society of Dharma Supporters (HKSDS). […]
My Difficulties with the Lotus Sutra
Graham Lock I have recently been studying the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Marvelous Dharma (妙法蓮花經), usually called the Lotus Sutra in English. This sutra has been and still is enormously important and influential in East Asian Buddhism. As far as I understand it, the sutra makes three main points: firstly, that the […]
A Current of Thoughts
Sherri Maxwell Current events in the US and UK have inspired thoughts on the multitude of conflicts in the world. How do we resolve them, I wonder? Immigrant vs citizen (Britain leaving the European Union), the 1 per cent vs the 99 per cent, black vs white, police vs civilian, and endless religious differences . […]
Five Worms – A Preamble
Steve Braff I saved five worms today as they lay plump and limp upon the wet pavement – blind altar of ignominious death by the coming heat or passing car. I saved five worms today as I plucked their slippery bodies stretched supplicant, almost inert from the indifferent asphalt and tossed each to shelter in […]
Guan Yin Temple: Flower Ornament and Pure Land Vistas
Raymond Lam “Pay respects to the Buddha first, then to me,” advised my preceptor once, when we visited him at his monastery, Guan Yin Temple. “Because we take refuge in the Buddha first, then in the Dharma, then in the Sangha.” He was implying that compared to the Buddha images of our temple, he was […]
Am I a Buddhist?
Graham Lock I have recently seen a few YouTube vids of talks and discussions in which renowned Dharma teachers assert that there can be no Buddhism without rebirth, and in a couple of cases they go as far as to say that those who don’t believe in rebirth shouldn’t call themselves Buddhists. Debates about this […]
Destination Unknown
Sherri Maxwell When starting on the path, you have the guardrails up, the training wheels on, you are on track, and everybody is there to support you. How wonderful. We are headed towards “Enlightenment.” Your Sangha is heavenly, your Guru is amazing—you are all set. That is, until life events punch holes in your conviction […]
Dark Night of the Sentient Being
Raymond Lam A while ago I read a post on Facebook, titled Dark Night, which was sharing a passage written by the pristine Pure Land master Ven. Jingzong. “In the silent wilds of the mountains, where there is a light from a window, there is vitality, even if the place is surrounded by abandoned graves. […]
Descent
Steve Braff The left wing tips down into a lazy bank right above the bilious white cloud skyscrape to the horizon – an immensity that almost eclipses the jagged profile of distant range that Everesting place of the so many aspirants fallen. I stare into that expanse and try to take my measure. Humbled, we fall […]