Apparently it had only been a few centuries, a mere heartbeat in the eternally present minds of the holy men he had been hosting. How did one fellow – one gentle, wandering teacher – found this new religion? How did he establish a movement so great that long after his death, lords and kings would […]
mahayana
The Art of Emptiness
Grace Ko Art has long captivated us and yet, even though art historians and philosophers have spilled much ink over its nature, we still can’t fully define it. Recently, notable American artist Trevor Paglen revealed what he thought art is, which really impressed me. “Art,” he said, “is about making invisible structures visible, the better for […]
Buddhism and Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll—Part 2
Guan Her Ng He Hua Temple’s name was bestowed personally by Master Hsing Yun. The Chinese characters, “荷華,” symbolize the Netherlands and its most famous floral motif, the tulip. In addition, it also represents a lotus flower in a river. The temple’s mission is not only to give the neighborhood color and joy, but more […]
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 […]
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. […]
My Dear Master
Raymond Lam Recently I got a call from my Dharma sister: my preceptor is bedridden in hospital after suffering a stroke. His health had been deteriorating rapidly for the past half a year thanks to having suffered several physical accidents. The Venerable is also 93 years old, about a decade older than Zen Master Thich […]