Master Jingzong; English translation by Fole, edited by Fojin When I was young, I liked staring at a patch of blue sky surrounded by fluffy white clouds. It looked so deep and boundless to me. I was fascinated and could look at it all day. This is my intuitive feeling, as a man on earth, […]
Modi’s Triumph: What it Means for Buddhism
Narendra Modi has been re-elected as prime minister of India in a landslide, with the BJP winning sweeping victories across the states. Perhaps the Hindu gods smiled upon him, rewarding his party’s fierce Hindu nationalism. He should also pleased that the Buddha, or at least the Buddhist acolytes and spokespeople Modi appealed to for the […]
Simon Hui’s Mindful Studio for Life
Simon Hui is founder of Mindful Studio HK, a yoga studio offering courses to seekers of physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. Try imagining someone born in Hong Kong who grew up in Nigeria, was educated in the US, learned yoga in India, and ordained as a monk in Myanmar. That is my continuously unfolding adventure, and […]
Dear Zhuangzi
Dear Zhuangzi, last night I dreamtwe were stargazing on a cloud of Dao.You were the butterfly. I was the human.Having woken up I was chased by a red-eyed boarthrough woods at night to a moonlit lake.I made my escape swimming vigorously and found reston the opposite shore. Taking time to remember,a dark cloud of defilement […]
It Takes A Village
Last year, Buddhistdoor Global published an article on companion sentient beings, otherwise know as pets. The article struck a cord in me, because I am an avid traveler and I have often pondered whether or not it is right for me to take in a pet. That being said, my recent experience as a pet […]
The Geometry of Angels and Devils
Inspired by Sir Roger Penrose Colder than black holes, carryingenergy, and then a pop!Afterward is really, really boring. But we will not be around to be bored. Photons will. They won’t be bored at all.Clocks stopped without noticing, such usefulpictures to squash the limits of circles living on the edge.A geometry of angels and […]
Making Music and Dancing
It’s amazing what doesn’t exist in thereal world. There are no events. No things.A marvelous system of describing. Pickedout stars in the skies. Constellations in the mind’s eye. My self and the universe. There is no real difference.A basic inseparability. Silent. The interminable chatter.Thinking compulsively. Talking to ourselves. The firstsign of madness. Thinking about thoughts. Living […]
The Blankness of Being (For Alan Watts)
Consciousness is what we do not pay attention to.It is too free. We cannot even think about it. Likelooking at your head. We cannot find anything there. So much like the stars in outer space, it is what we cannot see.The blank. The whatever is necessary. Space all around. Like the severed head of Kali, we cut […]
The Least Among Us Included
No more lists.No more bans.No more you are not allowed.No more I get to decide.It’s not right.Everyone deserves help. No more red flags.No more barriers. Let’s open the doorsof perception. Of reality. Of love and hate.Let’s do something radical. Let’s say yes to everyone. The least among us included. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from […]
Boudhanath
O dear Shakyamuni Buddha, dear Tathagata, dear Bhagavan,seeing the truth of your Disenchantmentas solid and eminent as Boudhanath over Kathmandu,pointing at a regal constellation likea beggar child who believes it is close,I have yet to realize this Transcendence:someone’s lover lies in a stranger’s arms. O Siddhartha, if you strolled with me now,I would point out […]