A Fistful of Sand

  Ah The Four Bodhisattva Vows are among the most well-known and profound commitments in Mahāyāna Buddhism. At first glance, they appear paradoxical, even impossible to fulfill: Sentient beings are numberless; I vow to save them all. Delusions are inexhaustible; I vow to end them. Dharma gates are boundless; I vow to master them. The Buddha way is unsurpassable; I vow to attain it. Taken literally, these vows seem unattainable. How can one possibly save an infinite number of beings? How can one end delusions that continuously arise? How can one master all Dharma teachings or attain an unsurpassable path? However, these vows are not meant to be fulfilled in a linear or conventional sense. Instead, they serve as a profound  upāya  (skillful means) to dissolve self-centered limitations and awaken one to the nature of reality. Saving All Beings: The Non-Dual View The first vow, "Sentient beings are numberless, I vow to save them all," seems impossible if we think of it in ter...

  One of the most pervasive misconceptions in spiritual practice is the belief that enlightenment or liberation is about becoming a perfected version of oneself. This belief, deeply ingrained in human psychology, is at odds with the core Buddhist insight that the self is an illusion. Even within advanced traditions such as Pure Land Buddhism and Vajrayāna, there is a tendency to interpret spiritual attainment as the evolution of an individual into a higher or more enlightened being. This article explores how this misconception arises and how it can be resolved through a deeper understanding of non-duality. The Ego as an Illusion From a Buddhist perspective, the ego is not an enduring entity but a construct, a fabrication — a temporary aggregation of thoughts, emotions, memories, and conditioned patterns. However, because it feels real, we instinctively try to preserve and enhance it. This manifests even in spiritual practice, where instead of deconstructing the self, many practitio...

Designed by NandanG Whether one takes or advocates a vaccine or does not is irrelevant to the Path to liberation in so far as the physical act is meaningless. It is the attachment or aversion to   the vaccine that actually and significantly matters. No one can say for certainty whether the vaccines are helpful or harmful any   more than anyone knows for sure that   anything happened yesterday. Both are constructs of the mind, many the ego. Most people are not interested in THE truth, they are interested in A truth, one which supports their narrative of an imaginary reality of karmic origin. The Buddha explains that as far as health or the lack of it is concerned is usually based on the fear of death. The fear of death is related to the erroneous belief that there is core essence of   the individual that survives after death. The choice to be fearful is a senseless act of dukkha creation. The true nature of the human mind, the egoic mind, is that   most people do...