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The Nature and Function of Ordination
In Buddhism, those who renounce the household life are divided into five categories: śrāmaṇera, śrāmaṇerikā, śikṣamāṇā, bhikṣu, and bhikṣuṇī. These five—also known as the five ranks or five classes—are defined as follows: a male who has ...
ReadWhy Should We Stay Away from People with Heretical Views
We now turn to the second guideline. Do not associate closely with heterodox brahmins, Niganthas, and their ilk; nor with those who compose secular literary works; nor with those who praise and extol non-Buddhist texts; nor with adherent...
ReadYou Must Learn to Grasp the Underlying Principles Within Concrete Matters, or You Will Only End Up with Pointless, Fruitless Asceticism
Fundamentally, every offering placed on the altar serves a symbolic function; within each tangible form lies an underlying principle.
ReadWith Wholehearted Diligence, Other Forces Can Respond to You
Using this metaphor, "When a person cultivates with wholehearted diligence, seeking the Way without ceasing, the fruit will surely ripen, and no wish will go unfulfilled." Please pay attention, everyone: this "wholeheartedness"—the supre...
ReadBecause of Inner Non-Seeking, Wealth Can Come Effortlessly
This is the core teaching of the Lotus Sutra. Why is the poor son able to "integrate the Provisional Teachings into the Ultimate Truth" and inherit all the wealth of the wealthy elder? The key lies in "attaining without seeking" — this i...
ReadContinuously Committing Acts of Theft in Your Heart Leads to the Complete Loss of All Your Merit
Teachings of All Buddhas
ReadVenerable Master Da'an's Collected Discourses: The Splendor of the Proper Self and the Dependent Environment
A verse from the lower scroll of The Sutra of Immeasurable Life Spoken by the Buddha describes the fully manifest Pure Land of Sukhavati as the capital of the entire Dharma realm! Countless bodhisattvas from other worlds come to make off...
ReadMaster Da'an's Blog Sayings Collection — Embracing All Three Capacities
The method employed for universal and impartial liberation is known as "embracing the three categories of faculties." These three categories refer to the three types of beings according to their faculties: those of superior, intermediate...
ReadWhat Are the Merits of Attaining Buddhahood?
Everyone! Today we have spoken of cultivating through three great asamkhya kalpas, saying that a person has attained Buddhahood. But what are the Buddha's merits? Consider: when a person practices giving, in a future life they are reborn...
ReadThe Land of Bliss is a splendid, pristine environment
The first vow is known as the "Vow of Universal Purity and Solemnity", which describes the Land of Bliss as a splendid, pristine environment. Let us look at the scripture text; please join your palms in reverence:
ReadHow Great Is the Merit of This 'Da'an'?
"All fears, I grant them great peace." Friends in the Dharma, can you grasp the vast merit of this "great peace" we discuss in the Amitayus Sutra?
ReadThe 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...
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