Parable of the Burning House 2:20:16

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Pure Land Buddhism: Theory and Practice

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Introduction It is easy to critique Pure Land Buddhism in its current modus operandi. I do it myself. It’s an easy target because of its façade of superstition and magic, religious overtones and seemingly exotic teachings with its dependence on the “one true Buddha”. They really don’t say, “one true Buddha”, I sort of made that up myself. And it does seem sort of odd to walk into a Buddhist temple to find a very Protestant Christian looking and sounding service. But not all Pure Land schools operate the same way. Some are very “protestant like” and others are very traditional. It depends on which school is hosting the service.       Recently while presenting a talk on the Buddhist Doctrine of Mind at the Jung Center of Chicago a member of the audience came to me and said she had been studying Buddhism for 10 years and just could not understand the Pure Land Buddhists because they thought they could be saved by simply chanting “Amitabha Buddha” over and over aga...
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The Protection Wheel of Vajra Armor

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"As I explore the wilderness of my own body, I see I Am made of blood and bones, sunlight and water, pesticide and redwood humus, the fear and dreams of generations of ancestors, particles of exploded stars” I don’t now who actually said this but the quote is found on Pinterest in a dozen or so places. It is a wonderful “mantra” to use when reminding ourselves that our body is not who we are. Not are we our mind.   According to the Buddha, self is not truth. He declared," Where self is, truth is not. Where truth is, self is not. Self is the fleeting error of samsara; it is individual separateness and that egotism which begets envy and hatred." He defined self as "that yearning which seeks pleasure and lusts after vanity where as Truth is the correct comprehension of things, which is the permanent and everlasting, the real in all existence and the bliss of righteousness." The very existence of self is an illusion,. It is the Self, which through...
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Notes on the Avatamsaka Sutra

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The terms  Hinayana  (Small Vehicle) and  Mahayana  (Great Vehicle) are unknown to Pali literature. They are absent from the Pali Canon (Tripitaka) and the Commentaries on them. Not even in the Dipavamsa and the Mahavamsa, Pali Chronicles of Ceylon, use this term. The Dipavamsa (about the 4th Century A.D.) and Pali Commentaries mention Vitandavadins, apparently a sect of dissenting Buddhists holding somewhat “unorthodox” beliefs respecting some aspects of the Buddha’s teaching. The Vitandavadin and the Theravadin both quote the same authorities and name the sutras of the Tripitaka in order to support their opinions, the only difference being in the approach they take in their analysis. The Mahavamsa (dated from the 5th Century A.D.) and a Commentary on the Abhidhamma both discuss the Vetulla, or Vetulyavadins (Sanskrit: Vaitulyavadin), instead of Vitandavadin. From the internal evidence of the texts, it may not be wrong to consider that these two expressions, Vi...
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