Master Jingzong; English translation by Foxin, edited by Jingtu An honest man speaks from his conscience. An Amitabha-reciter, though, speaks not only from conscience but from his Buddha-mind. In either case, it is not easy and requires courage; it may even offend people. This is because the consciences of worldly people are askew and their […]
ethics
Being Used by Others
Master Jingzong; English translation by Foyuan, edited by Fojin If you tell someone that he is “being used by others,” he may feel humiliated and cheated, and consider himself a pushover who is not worthy of respect and lacks a mind of his own. But the phrase “being used by others” is merely a game of […]
Good to See Our Own Misdeeds
Master Jingzong; English translation by Foyi, edited by Fojin Some people get panicky when they become aware of their own wrongdoings. Others stay nonchalant, as though they don’t see any transgression. As a matter of fact, those who can see their own misdeeds have reason to be quietly relieved. By contrast, those who are oblivious […]
Taking Action, Moving Forward
August was a difficult month for many in the Western Buddhist world. Two esteemed Tibetan teachers have stepped down from leading their organizations after students came forward with allegations of sexual and physical abuse, among other things. For many, hearing about a teacher being accused of such acts will bring confusion. Isn’t this teacher awakened? […]
Buddhist Masculinity: Living a Well-Weathered Life
Our musings on gender in Buddhism rightly focus on the feminine, underrepresented voice that it is. However, Buddhism’s gentle values and ethics often seem to be in (apparent) conflict with the toxic masculinity of today’s pop culture, where men are caricatured as avatars of explosions and gods of war, their churning inner lives spitting out […]
Musings on Mindfulness and Metta
Graham Lock Last December, I took part in an 8-day metta meditation retreat at the Hong Kong Insight Meditation Society’s meditation centre at Fa Hong Monastery on Lantau Island. The retreat was led by Visu Teoh, an experienced and well-respected teacher of vipassana and metta meditation based in Penang, and well known in Hong Kong […]
On Killing People
Graham Lock Watching scenes of barbarity on the news or reading about them in the newspaper, I have sometimes wondered whether there are any circumstances in which I would be willing to kill someone, or more realistically in my case (if I had a gun in my hand I would probably shoot myself in the […]