Category: Buddhist Wisdom
Endless Lifetimes, Endless Benefit
Bethany Saltman talks with Tenzin Palmo about rebirth, merit, and the bodhisattva vow.
Emptiness and Existence
His Holiness the Dalai Lama takes us step by step through the famed logic of Madhyamika, the Middle Way that defeats all extreme views of reality.
You Are Already Dying
The most profound meditation, says Joan Halifax, is contemplating the certainty of your own death.
Attending to the Deathless
“When the heart is released from clinging,” said the Buddha, “then consciousness does not land anywhere. That state, I tell you, is without sorrow, afflication or despair.” Ajahn Amaro on abiding in the consciousness that is completely beyond conditioned phenomena—neither supporting them nor supported by them.
What is Jodo Shinshu?
The path is easy, it is said of Shin Buddhism, "but few are those who take it." The late Taitetsu Unno explores the history of Jodo Shinshu and its core practice of reciting the Name of Amida Buddha.
Sandra Oh, Jack Kornfield, and Trudy Goodman on the Future of Buddhism
Leading Buddhist teachers Jack Kornfield and Trudy Goodman join actor Sandra Oh for a wide-ranging and intimate conversation about their lives, the future of Buddhism in America, and their happy relationship as beloveds.
Is Buddhism a Religion?
Is Buddhism a religion, psychology, or way of life? Our three experts, Charles Prebish, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, and Joan Sutherland, join the debate.
Destroyed Not Destroyed
Norman Fischer looks at the koan “Dasui’s Aeonic Fire" and takes on the end of the world. It’s happening right now, he says, but probably not in the way that you think.
Enlightenment Is a Male Fantasy
Gesshin Greenwood offers an alternative to the “male fantasy” of striving for enlightenment.
The Four Layers of Consciousness
Abhidharma, Buddhism’s map of the mind, is sometimes treated as a topic of merely intellectual interest. In fact, says Thich Nhat Hanh, identifying the different elements of consciousness, and understanding how they interact, is essential to our practice of meditation.
Zen Is Not A Perfume
When Jan Chozen Bays noticed purveyors of commercial products appropriating the word "Zen," she responded with an open letter published in the Fall 2002 Buddhadharma.
The Power of Buddhism
If you ignore power, you ignore powerful Buddhist teachings. Pema Khandro Rinpoche says that Buddhism teaches us how to be powerful and compassionate at the same time.
Give and You Shall Receive
Reginald A. Ray argues that far from being a "lesser" practice, giving is central to all schools of Buddhism and essential to the relinquishment of ego.
The Case Against “Buddhism”
Randy Rosenthal talks to scholar Glenn Wallis about his thought-provoking new book" A Critique of Western Buddhism: Ruins of the Buddhist Real."
Ego Is the Real Culprit
No matter what the conflict appears to be about, says Zen teacher Norman Fischer, it always come down to defending our shaky sense of self.
There Is No Author
When Judy Roitman learned her favorite dharma text was actually a patchwork of phrases and poems lifted from other sources, she started looking into the authorship of Buddhist texts. What she found surprised her.
Who Was Niguma?
In the tenth and eleventh centuries, Niguma was one of the most important Buddhist teachers and yoginis in India.
Nichiren Shonin: A Teacher of Equality
Based on letters Nichiren Shonin wrote to his female followers, Myokei Caine-Barrett explains why the thirteenth-century champion of the Lotus Sutra was a practical feminist.
Shin Buddhism Is American Buddhism
It’s a late summer afternoon, and strings of lanterns run from the Buddhist Church of Oakland’s substantial facade to the trees in Madison Park. Inside, the minister is giving tours of the hondo, where services are held. He explains the meaning and symbolism of the altarpieces—the statue of Amida Buddha, or Buddha of Infinite Light…