Mahayana sutras

Professor Jiang Buddhist Philosophy 5 May 2017 In David L. McMahan’s The Making of Buddhist Modernism, McMahan explores the relatively new phenomena of Modern Buddhism. He shows that modern Buddhism is not a monolith, but a complex spectrum of different beliefs. McMahan unpacks modernism to help the reader understand what modernism is and how it works. He describes modernism as a force of change and how this force interacts with Buddhism. He compares the traditional beliefs against modern…

Buddhism is an ancient discipline, but it still managements to intersect with modern religion at a lot of junctions. In the 20th and 21st centuries, especially, the teachings of the Buddha have become more prevalent, not only in Buddhist circles, but also in non-Buddhist treatment of certain events, philosophies and concepts. The products of these intersections of modern writing and Buddhism demonstrate a strong leaning towards secularism, and neo-spirituality – both of which are essentially the…

less, after a brief dharma talk given by a sangha member and a “what to expect” introduction to the meditation, the group then is guided in a Guru Yoga meditation. There is no initiation or empowerment and little emphasis on the studying of texts or sutras. The style of Diamond Way would be a “Jump on in the water’s fine!,” mentality. When I asked Dr. Lye of the very traditional Drigkung Kagyu school of how this differs from his sangha’s practices, he replied while laughing, “That is actually…

one and how true they are to The Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path. “Deities and scriptures can offer only limited assistance” meaning Gods, and holy scriptures can only do so much, but as Buddhists, since one is doing it for oneself on in Mahayana, for others before oneself. It depends on the person who is practicing it [Buddhism] rather than a deity in which one would put one’s faith into to receive divine reward or into a heaven of…

To understand better expansion of Buddhism around the world, which is being practiced by more than 300 million people currently, one needs to look back to its birth and understand the peaceful nature and humanity of Buddhism, it diversity and methods of teaching, which makes it a fit for different cultures and societies. Buddhism was founded in Northeast India in Sixth century B.C. by a young prince who lived a privileged life for 29 years. In this predominantly Hindu land, corruption existed…

Last month, I had a chance to visit both Mahayana temple and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The reason I picked Buddhist temple and Catholic cathedral is because I’m personally fascinated with some beliefs in Buddhism, and I am also interested in Catholic traditions. At first, I had thought that this trip would be boring and rough, but I have to admit that I enjoyed it a lot and I’ve got many things out of it. In this reflection, I will share some of my experiences of both sites, and I will also…

The Extraordinary Beauty behind Patience I chose to do my paper on the colorful and extraordinarily detailed titled “Dhrtarastra (Dharma King of the East Direction) with 16 Attendants” by Shashi Dhoj Tulachand. This work of art was created in the most beautiful and inspiring way, which is why I choose this story to talk about. Shashi is also known as Guru Nawang Chhogyall Tenzin, he is a 69 year- old spiritual leader of the Chhairo Gompa, a branch of Tibetan Buddhism. He is a master of thangka…

A few weeks ago I went and visited a "retired" Buddhist Temple here on Oahu. It was only ten minutes from my house and as I drove through the gates, I realized it was part of a much larger plot of land. A portion of it was a cemetary that was categorized by different faiths. I thought it really interesting that while there might be strong differences between the religions that they may be laid to rest right next to on another. A roman catholic lay boardering the buddhist. The aura of the entire…

Brahman (2 meanings) 1- A concept found in the Vedas and Upanishads. A Sanskrit word for the ultimate reality/principle in the universe. 2- Top of a caste system which include priests. Bhagavad Gītā- A Hindu scripture written in Sanskrit. It is a part of the Mahabharata. The Bhagavad Gita is a story of Arjuna and the difficult decisions he has to make. Thus he is guided through them by Krishna. Buddha (word meaning and historical figure) The meaning of buddha is one who has been awakened…

Evidently, religion, or spiritual life, is a binding element between the ancient civilizations of China and India. Buddhism emerged from a predominantly Hindu society in India when Ashoka seized power. He adjourned all conquer and expansion plans and instead adopted the social and ethical teachings of Buddhism. Buddhism had great appeal for many Indians at the time because it was accepting of all social classes , thus eliminating discrimination. Moreover, it stressed compassion, and freedom from…