A Fistful of Sand

For the past 3 weeks the Hongaku Jōdo Sangha in Chicago has been going over the “Short Medicine Sadhana” with a fine tooth comb — not literally, of course. An in depth study of any of the writings or practices making claim to be one advocated or even stated, i.e., taught directly by Siddhartha Gotama, deserves particularly close scrutiny. Both Theravāda and Mahāyāna contain apocryphal sutras; indeed, Mahāyāna is saturated with them. We accept the teachings as being consistent with the intent and spirit of the historical Buddha’s message. We also accept that Dharma is Dharma and it really makes no matter who is teaching it, be it the most unscrupulous teacher imaginable or the noblest human being alive. Truth is truth and truth can be found in the most surprising places. The mature mind does not dismiss the teaching because they disapprove of the source. Today the Internet is saturated with “Fake Buddhist Quotes”. Do we simply dismiss the teaching behind simply because they are n...

I received this question through an email. It seemed like a reasonable question and points that there are teachings in Buddhism that are not terribly Buddhist at all. These distortions of what the Buddha taught are so common that we often take them for granted without question. This emailer question the standard distorted teaching.  How does a Bodhisattva save sentient beings when there are no beings to save. From a practical position this seems like quite a tricky paradox. I mean in your studies you at some point realise that you don't actually exist from the perspective of being interdependent from other things, yet of course you do....paradoxes abound eh! One question that might need to be answered is where do these vows come from. That may help us understand their meaning. Then I will discuss some of the more obvious problems with the vow as it is presented today and offer a solution to the apparent paradox. Origins of the Vow Current wisdom has it that the Bodh...

You can visit Hongaku Jodo by clicking here. A person has six properties, six media of sensory contact, eighteen considerations, & four determinations. He has been stilled where the currents of construing do not flow. And when the currents of construing do not flow, he is said to be a sage at peace. One should not be negligent of discernment, should guard the truth, be devoted to relinquishment, and train only for calm. This is the summary of the analysis of the six properties. — Dhatu-vibhanga Sutta: An Analysis of the Properties  Majjhima Nikaya 140 Much can be gleaned from this simple statement. The eighteen considerations, for example, refers to the six senses, their objects and their consciousnesses. Simply by mentioning them the Sutta suggests that they are objects or processes that we should be aware of. The Sutta flatly states that a person has these eighteen considerations, they ought to be examined and taken into account when we look at the experiences we...

Visit the  Hongaku Jodo Website Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. ‘Indeed, the Blessed One is worthy and rightly self-awakened, consummate in knowledge & conduct, well-gone, an expert with regard to the world, unexcelled as a trainer for those people fit to be tamed, the Teacher of divine & human beings, awakened, blessed.’ — Anguttara Nikaya 11.12 Clear insight doesn't come from thought or conjecture. It comes from investigating the mind it is grounded in an sufficiently calm and stable. As we peer with intensity into every corner of the mind when it's free from thought-formations, judgements, preconceptions or likes and dislikes for its obsessions. One has try hard to maintain this state and at the same time inquire further, because superficial knowledge isn't true knowledge. It’s not what we are aiming at. As long as we haven't gone deeper into the mind, we don't really know anything about it, its workings and how we experien...