Acharya Sujatin (temple host)

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Dharmavidya:

I have recently read an essay about Theravada meditation. Of its type it is an excellent essay. It decribes samatha (calm meditation) and vipassana (insight meditation) and the relations between them, showing how in some schools samatha provides a foundation and basis from which viapassana develops, either naturally or as a result of…[Read more]

Dharmavidya:

Pure Land practice is simple. It doesn’t require that the practitioner be learned in Buddhist thought or exceptional in moral virtue, meditation, or spiritual discipline. It is suitable for those with busy lives, and it is as suitable for those who are struggling with self-destructive habits or feelings of despondency, anger, sa…[Read more]

Dharmavidya writes:

There is a form of Zen or Chan meditation that is called silent illumination. It has been said that illumination simply means awareness and that this method is, therefore, that of sitting still in complete awareness, simply allowing life to pass by.

I have a different idea of silent illumination. Illumination means light.…[Read more]

Dharmavidya writes:

Self is an intervening fantasy that masks reality. What does this mean?

Perhaps one eats too much chocolate. One feels a bit sick. One learns not to eat so much of it at one go. Simple.

However, what may happen is that after eating too much chocolate and starting to feel a bit sick one feels bad about oneself. One passes a…[Read more]

Dharmavidya writes:

The Three Jewels are the heart of Buddhism. The three are the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. They are the foundation and core of the Buddhist religion. When one becomes a Buddhist one takes refuge in the Three Jewels. So what are they and what does it mean to take refuge in them and how is it that this is a religion and so…[Read more]

Dharmavidya:

There is a wonderful text that records the saying of the Desert Fathers or Abba. The Abba were hermits who lived in the desert of North Africa in the early Christian period. The stories are of a similar genre to the Buddhist stories of enlightenment encounters that one reads in the records of the transmission of the Dharma.

Here is…[Read more]

Dharmavidya:

On December 8 we celebrate the anniversary of the enlightenment of Shakyamuni Buddha. Let us reflect a little upon this.

Siddhartha Gotama was somebody who threw himself into things. In his early life he evidently was a sensitive lad given to reflection and it must have been a deep trouble to him that his birth had occasioned the…[Read more]

Dharmavidya writes:

[This piece is work in progress. I may come back to it at a later date. I post it now for anybody who is interested. Feedback welcome :: here]

This essay tackles the tricky question of dualism. On the one hand, this is an abstruse philosophical issue. On the other hand, it has a lot of practical and attitudinal implications.…[Read more]

Dharmavidya:

INTRODUCTION
The notion of oneness can mean many things. Here I wish to advance one particular Buddhist significance of the term.
Eka means one. Ekagata thus means to go singly. In the Rhinoceros Discourse, the Buddha says, “The wise person, valuing freedom, goes alone.” We should, therefore, enquire what is meant by true a…[Read more]

Dharmavidya:

Religion as a Vehicle
The Sanskrit word yana means vehicle. Buddhism is broadly divided into yanas. A yana may encompass a variety of denominations, orders or sects. Different yanas are characterised by some common broad orientation, so the term can sometimes be used for the attitude rather than for the grouping.

The two best known…[Read more]

Dharmavidya writes:

Who Loves Dies Well

Buddhism is often called a way of life. However, it can also be called a way of death. Many of the Buddhists I have met in Japan would regard it this way. The “great moment” is what really matters. All the rest is preparation, reassurance and gratitude for the assurance. Thus, where Western pra…[Read more]

Dharmavidya writes:

EGO OBSESSION

Buddhist psychology can be seen as a cure for addiction or obsession. Addiction is officially defined as a compulsive behaviour pattern in which one develops unpleasant symptoms if one does not get one’s fix. There are, however, any number of lesser compulsive habits of thought and action, that we might call o…[Read more]

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