Buddhism ⁽¹⁹⁾

Modern life seems not to involve much physical labor, but the mental pressure is enormous—especially for young people working and living in first- and second-tier cities, where the pressure is even greater. Over time, excessive stress easily leads to depressive illness. Physical and mental health…

Hong Yi's wife: Master, tell me, what is love? Master Hong Yi: Love is compassion. — Lines from the film One Round of Bright Moon A Christian friend invited my whole family to his wedding, my first time at a Christian ceremony. In the sacred…

The maxim "Keep your original mind, and you will reach fulfillment"—whose original source can no longer be traced—became popular thanks to Steve Jobs's advocacy. The concept of "original mind" (chuxin) comes from the "initial aspiration" (chufa xin) repeatedly mentioned in the Buddhist Avatamsaka Sutra. Yet…

Sima Daoxin was a native of Yongning County (also known as Guangji County; present-day Meichuan Town, Wuxue City, Huanggang Prefecture, Hubei Province). His father, Sima Shen, was the first county magistrate after Yongning was established; the family ancestral home was Wen County, Henan. The county…

When I was young I was a fierce critic of Buddhism. I had read the philosophers and the scientists; I thought religion was superstition, that the talk of reincarnation and karma was the product of an ignorant age, and that any intelligent person should outgrow…

(Part One) June 25, 2015 Longquan Monastery, in the Fenghuangling (Phoenix Ridge) scenic area of Haidian District, Beijing, is the temple where I once took refuge. After taking refuge, although I was not entirely satisfied with many things at the temple, I still liked this…

My grandmother believed in Buddhism all her life; at seven I began teaching her to recite the sutras, reading from pinyin. She often went to temples to worship the Buddha and brought back many hand-copied sutras; the monks told her that reciting them would bring…

Goethe called the “seeing” in discussing art the ability to “enter, comprehend fully, and penetrate.” To comprehend fully is to be unbiased; to penetrate is to be without obstruction; to enter yet be able to exit is nearly to be free of the blindness that…

Every belief is a way of living. Different people choose different beliefs because their karmic conditions differ, which leads to a diversity of life choices. Some choose religion, others choose some ideology within secular life. As long as it does no harm to others and…