Category: Teachings
Endless Moments of Insight
Meditation master Mahasi Sayadaw presents his step-by-step instructions for the practice of insight meditation.
Everything’s Made of Mind
All that we are and experience is mind, explains Zen teacher Norman Fischer. That mind is original enlightenment itself.
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.
You’re Caught in a Dream. Wake Up!
When you see that much of your life is spent in dreamlike states, says Pema Khandro Rinpoche, you are freed from the suffering they cause.
Key Terms of Shin Buddhism
From the archives of Buddhadharma, the late scholar and translator Taitetsu Unno defines several key terms of Shin Buddhism.
What Is Rainbow Body?
In Tibetan Buddhism, it is said that certain meditation practices can alter the appearance of the body, transforming it into five radiant lights. The name given to this physical fluorescence is “rainbow body.”
What is Nichiren Shu?
Along with Soka Gakkai and Nichiren Shoshu, Nichiren Shu is one of the largest sects of the Nichiren school of Buddhism. A Nichiren Shu priest explains the tradition’s roots, practices, and basic teachings.
Black Bodhisattvas
Dr. Kamilah Majied reflects her experiences at The Gathering of Buddhist Teachers of Black African Descent.
Who Was Bodhidharma?
The legendary founder of Zen in China famously taught a dictum long-regarded as the taproot of Zen, “Point directly at the human mind, see its nature, and become Buddha.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.