Bodhi

Dagchen Sonam Rinchen, the Sakya Head, was then a boy of only 16 years old. Well, Who would have thought in his or her wildest dream that, some 300 hundred years later, a local spirit of Dol region would one day occupy the highest and undisputed Dharma protector throne of Gelukpa School? Shugden followers assert that he is a Dharma protector who appeared for the sole purpose of protecting Gelug doctrine. He has the blessing and the recommendation of Tsongkapa. If that is true, why was he not…

"In Tibet we think of the mind and the body as the content and the container." He holds up a cup of tea, then shatters it, "The cup is no longer the cup, but what is the tea?" He pauses, "Like the mind after death, the tea moves from one container to the next, but it is still tea." Lama Norbu wipes up the liquid from the floor and squeezes it out. "Still tea," he chuckles. (Little Buddha) Lama Norbu comes to Seattle in pursuit of finding the reincarnation of his dead teacher, Lama Dorje. His…

Cultural Plane: The Cultural Plane allows us to view pilgrimages through the lens of the entire society. This view allows us to see the pilgrimage as a culture, rather than one particular person like the Ego Plane . By studying this particular plane you get a larger idea of a cultures ideals, and the motivation that may have come from within in order to make this journey. Over the years the Japanese culture has referred to mountains as having an association with the gods, making mountainous…

Buddhism is not only seen as a religion, but a way of life to it’s followers. It stems back to Siddhartha Gotama, aka Buddha, around 2,500 years ago. According to our book, “The coming of a Buddha occurs perhaps every 25,000 years” (R. Janaro). The main goal in Buddhism is to reach a point of enlightenment that includes wisdom, a moral life, mindfulness and understanding. There is no ‘god’ in Buddhism, instead, the followers learn from the teachings of the enlightened one. A core belief to…

Siddhartha is the story of a young Brahmin who lives in India at the same time of the Buddha, and his spiritual quest for enlightenment. The first chapter of the book, Siddhartha leaves behind his parents, community, and formal religion. Except for his devoted friend, Govinda. Siddhartha refrains from following the path of the Buddha. His reason for doing so is his realization that Buddha teaches freedom from suffering, and this powerful goal has to be attained, and not by following a teacher,…

The Buddha, one of the most interesting philosophers in my opinion, was previously known as Siddhartha Gautama. During the 6th to 4th century B.C., he lived in Nepal and was born to a large clan called the Shakyas in Lumbini. His father was a king who ruled the tribe that was known to be economically poor. After giving birth to Siddhartha, his mother died seven days later. However, a holy man prophesized that Siddhartha would do great things: he would either be a great king or military leader or…

The Original Faee of Chan “Isn’t it you, just as you are right now?” (59) is a rhetorical question that Linji posed to one of his disciples which caused sudden enlightenment. Hisamatsu Shin’ichi was a Buddhist scholar born in 1889, who studied at Kyoto University and most famously taught at Harvard’s Divinity School in 1957, interprets Linji’s teachings in Critical Sermons of the Zen Tradition: Hisamatsu's Talks on Linji. Hisamatsu makes strong positive statements on Linji, saying that his…

Jainism originated in India, and to this day only four to five million people in India believe in this religion(Jainism video). Jainism is said to not have one single founder, however they do believe in Tirthankaras. Tirthankaras were the twenty four revealers of truth; the word means ford finder. Tirthankara will only appear on earth when there is a need for renewal of the good teachings that have been abandoned. The last known Tirthankara was known as Mahavira, he lived approximately from…

The Standing Buddha of Thailand was made during the Ayutthaya Period, 15th-16th century, and stands at 57 and ½ inches. This bronze statue demonstrates numerous qualities of a Buddha, a fully-enlightened being who has achieved nirvana and is completely free of transmigration. Comparatively, another bronze statue known as the Standing Figure of a Youth is a Greek sculpture made c. 470 BCE, and is about nine inches tall. The statuette’s observers believe that this piece of art exemplifies the…

Finding Enlightenment Through Buddhism Buddhism is regarded as one of the most popular religions in the world, with the most common place of practice being its birthplace of India. It was established by Siddhartha Gautama, more commonly known as Buddha or “the enlightened one,” around 460 B.C. to guide his followers to finding their spiritual awakening. This state of perfect harmony is referred to as nirvana and exists as the ultimate goal of all buddhists. In order to achieve nirvana, one must…