The Monastery
“Apply yourself both now and in the next life. Without effort, you cannot be prosperous. Though the land be good, You cannot have an abundant crop without cultivation.” —Plato
What does it take to commit your life to the spiritual journey? Learn insights from those who breathe, walk, and embody the teachings of Buddhism. Here, you’ll find reflections from monks and nuns, as they share perspectives from the path.
In January the Zen Chan Buddhist Catholic Dialogue took place at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. Among the twenty-two participants were teachers and monks from Dharma Realm Buddhist University, professors from Catholic Theological Schools, a representative from the American Council of Bishops and representatives from the Zen tradition on the West Coast. The Dialogue [...]
It was a slow, calming but also energizing practice. We did about five hundred bows every day, which took about six hours. Shortly after classes ended in May, the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas hosted a bowing session for twenty-three days. During the session we bowed to the ten thousand Buddhas that our community gets [...]
As the school year wraps up, we asked the 4-6th graders to reflect on what they learned in meditation class. Their responses were both insightful and simple, serious and witty: I feel like my mind got a bath …. “I think meditation has been helping me. Not only my behavior, but my mind. I feel [...]
Bestow kindness and aid the poor, so that they can be at peace. When you witness people killing, have thoughts of compassion. – The Shramanera Vinaya I’ve been noticing…. One is that people seem to always have some kind of interpersonal conflict going on, and a second is that there’s always news of violence and [...]
September 29, 1977 Feelings that can’t be described, only felt: the steam-fire energy sometimes crescendos past my control. If I can turn it (like a stampede of cattle) and slowly and quietly gather it in, “everything is okay.” It passes. This is called “Waiting out the fire.” If I can’t, all hell breaks loose. Very [...]
Forty-eight days after my stepfather passed away, I had a dream. In the dream I am in the house I grew up in, the house where my mother still lives. My mother and two of my uncles are there, and also several people from the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. People are standing around the [...]
[Admin’s note: This post is out of sequence due to Admin error. Much apologies!] Today marks the beginning of my second week as a volunteer and student at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. I’m just starting to feel settled in, having found some work to do so that I can make a contribution to [...]
This summer, Dharma Realm Buddhist University and Pacific School of Religion present a direct encounter with a living Buddhist tradition dating back to ancient China. Students will have the rare opportunity to experience the daily pace and patterns of a Buddhist contemplative and explore a way of life designed to instill peace, equanimity, and awakening. [...]