philosophy
49 articles in tag.
Sangha Property Is the Most Complex Among the Three Jewels' Properties: Understand the Differences to Avoid Breaking the Precept Against Stealing
▲ The Commentary on the Precepts (Jie Shu) states: "Within Sangha property, there are four distinct categories.
ReadFully Arousing the Three Minds and Dedicated vs. Mixed Practice
Shandao Master composed some of his most brilliant passages in the Four Annotations, first in the section expounding the profound meaning, and second in his commentary on the chapter on the highest grade of the highest birth. He especial...
ReadThe Void is Finite, the Mind is Infinite
To summarize these two points, let us further explore the concept of the "world": the world has boundaries, while the void is boundless. The worlds in which we sentient beings reside are all born of our karma—impure lands brought forth b...
ReadSpiritual Cultivation Aims to Transform the Eight Consciousnesses into the Four Wisdoms
We will now discuss the "Three Bodies and Four Wisdoms". The Three Bodies—the Dharmakaya (Dharma Body), Sambhogakaya (Reward Body), and Nirmanakaya (Response Body)—are innate to all sentient beings, and are fully actualized upon enlighte...
ReadHow Do External Circumstances Make Their Way Into Your Mind to Hurt You?
To cultivate forbearance, you must first develop a clear understanding of the mental objects that arise within your own mind. These mental objects act as a critical bridge for the transmission of affliction. Let me put this to all of you...
ReadEnd-of-Life Mindfulness Has Two Key Points
I believe end-of-life mindfulness has two key points: first, you must learn to recite the Buddha’s name properly. Reciting the Buddha’s name is the foundational practice, whether you are at home or in the intensive care unit. The very fi...
ReadEach Thought Illuminates True Principle, Each Mind Quells Illusory Dust
When we cultivate the Śūraṅgama Samādhi, there are two principal methods: the first is contemplative insight into principle, and the second is practical cultivation through conduct.
ReadThorough analysis of the material world ultimately reveals it to be nothing but emptiness
When Wuxiu heard the Bodhisattva speak these words, he knew that seeking to foretell the length of his own lifespan was meaningless, so he requested guidance on what to do. The Bodhisattva then imparted this teaching: "You should underst...
ReadMeat-Eaters Sever the Seeds of Great Compassion and Buddha-Nature; All Sentient Beings Will Turn Away from Them on Sight
You teach sentient beings in the world to cultivate samadhi, and then to sever the taking of life. This is called the second definitive, pure, and luminous instruction of the Tathagata, the Buddhas of the past, and the World-Honored One.
ReadBringing Out the Mind of Renunciation
Master Long Shu was truly compassionate and deeply earnest, expounding on this point again and again from every angle. His sole purpose was to awaken within us a profound weariness of this Sahā world and a longing for the Land of Ultimat...
ReadTreat Your Job as a Way to Temper Yourself: Use Work Experiences to Cultivate and Refine Your Mind and Heart
When I go to work today, I am not working for anyone else. I treat my job as a form of tempering: I refine my mind and heart by working through every situation I encounter on the job. In the past, we only went to work to seek good perfor...
ReadMaster Gangxiao: Expositions on the Twenty Verses on Consciousness-Only — Verse 12
The atoms have no spatial extension; who then combines, and who is combined? If there is no combining, then composite forms cannot be established, nor can there be spatial extension.
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