Archives: BD Articles
Emptiness, Existence, and “I”
Buddhist practitioner Ching Pan explores the Buddhist concepts of "emptiness" and "existence" within the Mahayana tradition, showing how they complement each other and reflect our inner states.
Venturing Beyond Our Fear of Emptiness
Paul Condon, author of “Buddhanature Beyond Mere Concept” from the Fall 2023 issue of Buddhadharma, explores how cognitive science can help us to realize buddhanature, and gain more capacity to participate effectively in the world.
Undoing Toxic Masculinity in Buddhist Communities
Ann Gleig, Nadine Levy, and Bhante Sujato shine a light on the harmful effects of toxic masculinity and its surprising, disturbing rise within the Buddhist milieu.
Buddhanature Beyond Mere Concept
By letting go of the goal to realize buddhanature, says Paul Condon, we can embody it more freely.
Cuando un maestro budista cruza la línea
La relación entre maestro y alumno en el budismo Vajrayana es intensa y compleja. Es fácil de malinterpretar e incluso puede ser mal utilizada. El respetado maestro tibetano Mingyur Rinpoche explica la ética en el Vajrayana, cómo encontrar un maestro genuino y qué hacer si un maestro se pasa de la raya.
Why Buddhanature Matters
Lopen Karma Phuntsho, writer-in-residence for Tsadra Foundation’s Buddha-Nature project, takes a look at the history and development of the Mahayana concept of buddhanature.
Nothing Is More Important Than Your Buddhanature
“What if,” asks Tsadra Foundation executive director Marcus Perman, “we were brought up with the knowledge that each one of us is by nature capable of complete freedom from suffering, and that we possess wisdom and compassion on a nearly unthinkable scale?”
A Short Guide to Key Buddhanature Texts
Gary Donnelly shares a selection of key buddhanature texts to add to your reading list.
How Insentient Beings Expound Dharma
Shohaku Okumura explains the connection between non-sentient beings and buddhanature.
Meditations on Buddhanature
Four Buddhist teachers share concise instructions for recognizing the luminous nature of mind.
Buddhadharma on Books: Fall 2023
Joie Szu-Chiao Chen reviews seven new books for the Fall 2023 issue of Buddhadharma.
Joseph Goldstein: It’s Not Either-Or
In this conversation with Buddhadharma, the Insight Meditation Society cofounder applies the “harmonized understanding” approach championed in his book One Dharma to the idea of buddhanature. In the end, it’s not about who’s right or wrong about it. It’s about what leads us to less clinging.
The World Between Breaths
Vanessa Zuisei Goddard on the famous Zen koan “Mu,” and how it helps us dive into buddhanature.
How can I move from understanding emptiness philosophically to experiencing it directly?
“I think I have some intellectual understanding of the Buddhist teachings on emptiness, but when I look at the world or at myself, I don’t see them as empty. How do I go from a philosophical understanding to a direct experience of emptiness?”
Read an excerpt from A Fire Runs Through All Things: Zen Koans for Facing the Climate Crisis
An excerpt from Susan Murphy's new book, A Fire Runs through All Things: Zen Koans for Facing the Climate Crisis — as reviewed in the Fall 2023 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guide
Read “Masculinities Beyond the Buddha,” an excerpt from Buddhist Masculinities
An excerpt of Buddhist Masculinities edited by Megan Bryson and Kevin Buckelew— as reviewed in the Fall 2023 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guide
Meditate with your children with Weather Any Storm author, Vanessa Zuisei Goddard
An excerpt Vanessa Zuisei Goddard's new book, Weather Any Storm — as reviewed in the Fall 2023 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guide
Read “Gesar the Warrior” an excerpt from Gesar: Tantric Practices of the Tibetan Warrior King
An excerpt of Gesar: Tantric Practices of the Tibetan Warrior King— as reviewed in the Fall 2023 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guide
Read “The Basics of Signless Concentration,” an excerpt from Bhikkhu Analayo’s The Signless and the Deathless: On the Realization of Nirvana
An excerpt from Bhikkhu Anālayo's new book, The Signless and the Deathless: On the Realization of Nirvana — as reviewed in the Fall 2023 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guide
To Be or Not To Be? Be a Buddha!
Looking at the words of classical texts, Karl Brunnhölzl explores the notions of buddhanature and emptiness—how they may be understood as one and the same, and how they are not identical.