category

Practice

312 articles in category.

Practice6 min

The Fastest Way to Form a Karmic Affinity with All Buddhas Is to Recollect Their Sacred Names

For bodhisattvas at the ordinary stage, the most serious challenge they face on the bodhisattva path is the regression of their virtuous roots. It is much like when we first begin practicing Buddhism: when we encounter the Triple Gem, we...

Read
Practice5 min

Where Is the Most Sublime Aspect of the One Vehicle?

The One Buddha Vehicle refers to applying the Buddha’s wisdom and insight to address the challenges faced by sentient beings, thereby enabling the attainment of the most complete spiritual merit. Thus, the focus of contemplation of princ...

Read
Practice1 min

Appreciating a Zen Poem: Do Not Judge Me Through Right and Wrong — The Floating Life Is Unrelated to Such Contrivances

A Verse Revealing the Dharma

Read
Practice3 min

Master Hanshan: Do Not Pursue All Manner of Enjoyments for This Physical Body

For monastics, the first essential point to understand is that the fundamental purpose of leaving home, cutting off worldly attachments, and parting from one's family is to transcend birth and death. If you are resolved to attend to the ...

Read
Practice4 min

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche on Meditation

Meditation, says Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, is one of the most direct, practical, and simple methods for training the mind.

Read
Practice1 min

Raw chestnuts effectively tonify the kidneys, but those with weak spleen and stomach should not eat too many

Chestnuts are a favorite food for many people, and there are many traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formulas that use chestnuts as a medicinal ingredient. While chestnuts are most often eaten cooked, eating them raw is also an excellent...

Read
Practice18 min

What Is Zen Buddhism? The Most Comprehensive Overview

The term "Chan" is the condensed expression of the core essence of dhyana (meditative absorption). Its roots trace back to the Sanskrit term dhyana, which translates to Chinese as denoting the state of "cultivation of thought" and "calm ...

Read
Practice1 min

The cardinal sin of spiritual practice is constantly switching your object of focus back and forth

Let me tell you a story about a goat for you all to reflect on. There was a goat that woke up one morning wanting to go to the field to eat some bok choy. When it arrived at the field and was just about to take a bite, huh, the morning s...

Read
Practice7 min

The Three Treasures of Taoism Have a Multitude of Names—What Is Their Inherent Connection?

All who follow Taoism are well aware of its "Three Treasures". Within Taoist tradition, the "Three Treasures" are known by many names: they are referred to as the Dao, the Scriptures, and the Teachers; also called Compassion, Frugality, ...

Read
Practice1 min

The Zen Kōan of Opening and Closing

Mokuan Hōshi lived in a temple in Tanba. One of his followers came running to complain that his wife was far too stingy. One day, Mokuan went to visit the follower's wife, and held up a clenched fist before her. "What do you mean by this...

Read
Practice4 min

Wu Cheng: Can Buddhist Modernization Count on Contemporary Mainland Chinese Buddhism?

The evolution of Buddhism has never been a rigid, unchanging monolith. As a product of history, every Buddhist school and every era carries the profound imprint of its specific time and place. Looking back at more than 2,500 years of Bud...

Read
Practice4 min

Ge Sheng: The Worldly 'Self-Other Distinction' and the Transcendent 'Unified Co-Existence'

A key root of human suffering lies in the natural division of people in this world into groups defined by differing nations, societies, viewpoints, and interests. This is an observable fact that gives rise to hostility and conflict. Quot...

Read