A Fistful of Sand

BY CHRISTOPHER ANTHONY LEIBOW This is a reposted blog article by Sensei Keisho Ananda of Hongaku Jodo . It is well worth the read. Please check him out. Does Buddhism Need A Dhamma Police ? When I took refuge years ago I took refuge in The Buddha, The Dhamma (Dharma) and The Sangha.  The Dhamma is considered to be the body of the teachings of the Buddha . . . but where are the teachings, how do we know which dhamma, which teachings, are The Dhamma?  Do we need a Dhamma Police to make sure that Buddhists follow the “true dhamma”?  I think not and I hope not, and I’ll tell you why. First let’s take a look at where the teachings or the dhamma might be found.  Buddhism, like all traditions that are really, really old, started out as an oral tradition. Three months after the Death of the Buddha 500 pre-eminent Arahants concerned with  preserving the purity of the dhamma held a convocation at  Rajagaha to rehearse the teachings. ...

Click here to receive or newsletter or Check out our Website One of my favorite lines from college freshman English literature is still etched in my mind. It is James Joyce’s novel The Dubliners and reads, “ Mr. Duffy lived a short distance from his body.” Mr. Duffy was a one-dimensional bureaucrat who lives an unattractively plain, colorless life. He represents the post-modern everyman: cut off from his feelings, defined by rules and protocols, and lacking purpose and meaningful connections. Buddhist practice is often characterized as being completely rational and firmly implanted in “reality” (whatever that word might mean to you). The popular image is that it leaves no room for sensitivity. There are many people who self-identify as Buddhists of one sort or another that live in their heads finding the distance to their bodies a long walk. In classes I’ll sometimes ask a student how far away he is from his feet. I often get an answer like “five and a half feet or so”...

Hongaku Jodo Website Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. Those who go by names, who go by concepts, Making their abode in names and concepts, Failing to  discern the naming-process, These are subject to the reign of death, He who has  discerned  the  naming-process d oes not suppose that one who names exists. No such case exists for him in truth, Whereby one could say: "He's this or that" Samiddhi Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya 1.20)  Buddhist Yoga Many people new to Buddhism or just non-academic in their approach to Buddhism often err on the side of assuming Buddhism to be one way or another. Persons with a strong Theravada view will approach Dhamma one way while others with a very strong Mahayanist view will often reject anything not within their view of Buddhism. Yogācara, called “Buddhist Yogā” by the translator Thomas Cleary, is one of those issues that Theravadins tend to reject out of hand simply bec...

Hell was once defined as a place where there is a Starbuck’s on every corner.  I guess I live in a sort of a purgatory. While there’s not a Starbuck’s on every corner, they are about a half-mile apart.  Sometimes stop at a Starbuck’s for a cup of coffee. If I get there before 10 am I get to hear the local North Shore Tea Party people hold their daily meeting. They hang out on the couches in front of the fireplace after they ask anyone who has previously sat in their meeting place to leave. They are very important people these wealthy North Shore Tea Party types. They sit comfortably speaking at great length about the problems of the world and how to solve them. The first thing they need to do is impeach President Obama, then repeal the Affordable Care Act, stop anyone with a “liberal” bent to not vote, and then pass anti-abortion laws and bring back the death penalty for misdemeanors.  They say these things at the top of their lungs, causing their harden...