Buddhism Studies ⁽⁵³⁾

Expounding the great storehouse of teachings, the words are upright and so is the meaning. Cut off both ends entirely, one sword leans on the sky, cold. —Shi Daochuan, Song Dynasty Pointing directly to the human mind, seeing one's own nature and becoming Buddha—this is…

On this journey south to seek monks and sages, Mr. Steven Nicholas Alexander Zhou Ergou Maimaiti was suddenly seized by poetic inspiration and improvised a quatrain: A tiny room like a dungeon, deep and fathomless; Reins of fame and locks of gain are hard to…

Body trained like a crane's form, beneath a thousand pines, two scrolls of scripture. I come to ask the Way, and there is nothing to say—clouds in the blue sky, water in the vase. —Li Ao, Gift to the Great Monk Weiyan of Yaoshan A…

These are some short sketches I picked out from the WeChat Moments I have now cleared. They are basically things I wrote on the spur of the moment; deleting them would indeed be a pity. Cherishing one's old broom, when it truly comes to throwing…

This began when I opened my Moments one morning and saw a post from a Buddhist monk among my WeChat friends, which read as follows: "Dawn is always indescribably beautiful. Why can a thing fully reveal its beauty? Because there is enough space. It is…

Last night, on the Moments of my work WeChat, I launched a donation drive for an uncle whose whole family of three had cancer. Everyone responded enthusiastically; as of now, more than 20,000 yuan in charitable donations has been raised. Additionally, some friends hope to…

The wisdom of Buddhism ultimately comes down to the two words "following conditions" (sui yuan). A mindset of following conditions is not easily cultivated. If one has a grasping attitude toward conditions, too much attachment and obsession, one will inevitably end up making oneself very…

Religions always go further and further off course as they develop. Today, China's various religious organizations increasingly resemble pyramid schemes. And pyramid scheme organizations increasingly resemble religions. In an age when many people have empty souls, religion and pyramid schemes slip in to seize souls…

Compassion is innate in everyone. The inherent goodness of human nature is the foundation on which the good side of society exists and thrives. But in Buddhism, doing good has become a means of accumulating merit to reap rewards. When Buddhists exhort the public, they…

I personally agree with and admire most of the philosophical views of Shakyamuni Buddha, but I strongly disagree with his teachings on reincarnation across three lifetimes and karmic retribution. Perhaps this sage of the ancient Indian forests was simply raised with such religious beliefs since…