Archives: BD Articles
How Buddhists Can Benefit from Western Philosophy
Take a second look at Western philosophy, advises William Edelglass — it might be more compatible with Buddhism than you think.
Inside the Summer 2019 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly
The Summer 2019 issue of Buddhadharma is available now. Preview the magazine contents and sample articles.
How to Work with Emotions
Sharon Salzberg, Judith Simmer-Brown, John Tarrant, and the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche offer new perspectives on how to think about and engage with our emotional lives.
The Moon Is Me, I Am the Moon
We are all one and the same. This is the experience of Zen. So teaches Shodo Harada Roshi in his book of original calligraphies.
Who Was Otagaki Rengetsu?
Grace Schireson on the life, art, and poetics of the Zen nun Otagaki Rengetsu, a woman “humbled by life’s blows as well as its beauty.” Watch Grace Schierson in Lion’s Roar’s upcoming free online event, “<a href="https://promo.lionsroar.com/the-women-of-wisdom-summit-free-registration/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Women of Wisdom Summit.</a>”
Who Was Mahasi Sayadaw?
Burmese monk Mahasi Sayadaw helped revolutionize Buddhism. He was a respected scholar, teacher, and meditation master.
Visualizing a Pure and Perfect World
Heidi Köppl looks at how Vajrayana visualization practice, when applied correctly, helps us to acknowledge the emptiness of the present moment.
What does ‘dedicating merit’ really do?
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, Nikki Mirghafori, and Gyokei Yokoyama answer the question: "We are encouraged to dedicate the merit of our practice to all beings. It’s a beautiful idea, but what effect, if any, does it really have? And can you offer something you’re not sure you even have?"
About the art in the Spring 2019 issue of Buddhadharma
We take a closer look at the art featured in the Spring 2019 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly.
Inside the Spring 2019 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly
The Spring 2019 issue of Buddhadharma is available now. Preview the magazine contents and sample articles below.
I Thought I Was Alone
I’ve been a Zen practitioner for thirty years. Ten years ago I was in a deep depression. If I sat down to meditate, demons would torment me.
Key Terms of Shin Buddhism
From the archives of Buddhadharma, the late scholar and translator Taitetsu Unno defines several key terms of Shin Buddhism.
Endless Lifetimes, Endless Benefit
Bethany Saltman talks with Tenzin Palmo about rebirth, merit, and the bodhisattva vow.
You Can’t Meditate Wrong
Barry Magid says Buddhist practice is like looking in a mirror — there’s no wrong way to do it. The important thing is to be yourself.
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.
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.