cultivation
I’ve been wondering to myself, what does the name Earth Store mean? Earth Store (Chinese: 地藏 Dìzàng) session started on Sunday, and just like in other retreats, we will be spending a good deal of time reciting Earth Store Bodhisattva’s name. Partly because of this, and partly due to my own curiosity, I’ve been wondering [...]
For me, authentic creativity comes from nothingness, from the space we open to possibility. Other forms of creation are reactionary, responses to immediate stimuli propelled by past habituations. They are imitations of an object or how we imagine others might respond to this object and its so-called creator. Jason brings up an important point, namely [...]
Just like that, we’re off to a new academic year at DRBU! During Orientation last week, keynote speaker Dharma Master Heng Chih invited participants to ponder the following verse by the Venerable Master. 不生煩惱莫疑心 總要管己少管人 多認不是莫爭理 安然清淨智慧生 — 宣化上人 By putting afflictions and doubts to rest, By watching ourselves more and others less, By admitting [...]
[Admin’s note: This is part 2 of 2 from Lauren’s reflections on the 7-day Guan Yin retreat. During the Guan Yin session, participants recite the name of Guan Yin Bodhisattva. In our Chan tradition, meditation brings the mind back to whatever method of practice we are doing, whether it’s mental awareness, reciting, bowing, etc… Inevitably, [...]
[Admin’s note: This is part 1 of 2 from Lauren’s reflections on the 7-day Guan Yin retreat. During the Guan Yin session, participants recite the name of Guan Yin Bodhisattva. In our Chan tradition, meditation brings the mind back to whatever method of practice we are doing, whether it’s mental awareness, reciting, bowing, etc… Inevitably, [...]
On our way back from a visit to Dharma Realm Monastery in Liugui, a rural district of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, our local host took us to visit another Buddhist establishment in the vicinity. This particular monastery sits half-way up one of the many hills in this mountainous region in Southern Taiwan, and like many other hill-side [...]
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 [...]
Recently, great posts by Alexandra and Audrey got me thinking. In their posts, along with my previous conversations with others who are trying to gain a little insight into their minds, often the word or the image of “edge” comes up. Alexandra wrote about becoming aware of one’s subconscious thoughts, of going to the “edge [...]