Insights and Updates

Baoyuan Tang (Source-Restoring Decoction) originates from Boxin Jian (A Compassionate Mirror, written by the Ming-dynasty physician Wei Zhi, also called Douzhen Boxin Jian; in this work Wei Zhi used Baoyuan Tang as the main formula to treat smallpox and measles). It is an excellent formula…

1 I remember back then, I loved the Qinhuai River and chanced to leave my hometown. Beyond Meigen and Ye, I roared and roamed several times; in the Village of Apricot Blossoms, I wandered to and fro. Wind died on the tall parasol trees, insects…

Every faith carries a groan. —from Bei Dao, "All Things" Lately there have been many scandals in religious circles—Catholicism, Buddhism; the United States, China, South Korea—none is exempt. First, I wish to express deep sympathy to the innocent people harmed in these scandals. I hope…

The sky is high and crisp; after one autumn rain after another, Beijing has grown much cooler, and the hot summer is finally drawing to a close. Buddhism has the tradition of varsa, the summer rains retreat. I was born at the turn of summer…

Before formally writing this essay, I would like to recommend that readers first read two pieces: the preface to Wang Xiaobo's The Silent Majority, and Ji Xianlin's short essay "The Chills and Warmths of the World." After I was released from the "cowshed," for several…

Being born a human, I am sorry. —Line from the film Memories of Matsuko (Kiraware Matsuko no Issho) I have suffering because I have a body. Without this stinking skin-bag, I suppose I would not have to endure so many sins, nor commit so many…

In a lecture titled "Feng Zikai and Master Hongyi," Feng Zikai remarked: "I believe human life can be divided into three layers: the first is material life, the second is spiritual life, and the third is soul life. Material life is food and clothing. Spiritual…

Dr. Charles V. Ford, professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, once wrote a book titled Lies! Lies! Lies! The Psychology of Deceit. Its Chinese translation is Lying: Everything You Don't Know (translated…

Zhizi (Gardenia) is the fruit of the Rubiaceae plant Gardenia jasminoides. Gardenia flowers have a faint, delicate fragrance that refreshes the heart; the plant is a common ornamental landscape shrub. The fruit of Gardenia is a commonly used Chinese medicinal. It has very low toxicity,…

Starting at age seven, when I entered school and learned the phonetic alphabet, under my grandmother's half-coaxing, half-urging encouragement, I used the pinyin to help her (my grandmother was illiterate but an extremely devout Buddhist) recite the Diamond Sutra, the Zhang Gong Hundred Patience Sutra,…