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245 articles in tag.
Introducing Yijing: A Tang Dynasty Scripture Translator
Yijing (635–713) was a Tang dynasty monk, scripture translator, and traveler. His lay surname was Zhang, and he was from Qizhou—present-day Licheng in Shandong—though some accounts place his origins in Fanyang, in the southwest of modern...
ReadThe Happiest Person in the World: Teachings by Mingyur Rinpoche
Imagine you live in a small room with only one window—locked, and so caked with grime that no light can pass through. You might assume the world outside is a bleak, dismal place, populated by all manner of grotesque creatures, because ev...
ReadA Brief Introduction to Master Shenxiu
Master Shenxiu was born in 605 and died in 706, living to the remarkable age of 102 — thirty-five years older than Master Huineng. According to historical records, he studied the classics and histories in his youth before leaving home li...
ReadBecoming the Self Only You Can Be
Chan Master Nanyue Huairang had a disciple named Mazu. While staying at Prajna Temple, Mazu spent his days sitting in cross-legged meditation, lost in deep thought. Master Huairang eventually approached him and asked, "What are you hopin...
ReadWhich Path Leads Out of the Mountains? Follow the Stream
After hearing Mazu Daoyi's teaching that "this very mind is Buddha," the monk Damei (752–839) awakened and withdrew into the wilderness. He built himself a simple grass hut right there on the mountain trail.
ReadIt Is None of My Concern
Master Yangshan Huiji asked Master Weishan Lingyou, “When a hundred thousand, a million phenomena arise all at once, what should be done?” “Blue is not yellow, long is not short,” said Weishan. “All dharmas abide in their own places; it ...
ReadThe Buddha's Afflictions
A devotee asked Chan Master Zhaozhou Congshen, "Does the Buddha have afflictions?"
ReadThe Way to Navigate the World
The Grand Academician Huang Shan Gu once heard that Chan Master Zuxin was always calm, unruffled, and completely at ease no matter the situation. So he traveled to visit the master in person to ask for his guidance on this so-called “way...
ReadNo Words for It
Chan Master Shitou Xiqian asked the lay practitioner Pang Yun, “Since you first came to see this old monk, how have you been tending to your daily practice?”
ReadTrue Contentment Is Not Settling for Meager Gains
True contentment is not settling for meager gains. It is the understanding that when you find yourself in wholesome karmic conditions, you apply steady, sincere effort to settle your mind and walk the path of practice. It is not settling...
ReadProfessor Lin Chongan: Q&A on the Āgama
The term "Āgama" (also rendered by the alternate Chinese transliteration 阿笈摩, Āqímó) is the foundational body of teachings transmitted by Śākyamuni Buddha. At the First Council held the year after the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa, four collectio...
ReadZhuang Chunjiang — A Study of Tathāgatagarbha, Chapter 7: The Yogācāra Teaching on Tathāgatagarbha
The ālaya-vijñāna as retributive seeds emphasizes the defiled aspect; transforming defiled perfuming into pure perfuming, while manifesting the suchness that's pure by nature, is hard to explain fully. Tathāgatagarbha as basis emphasizes...
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