Acharya Sujatin (temple host)

Link to the short (1 minute 54 seconds) video on this subject https://youtu.be/PAXSL5Hv_Iw

The first Dharma talk of the 2019 Bodhi Retreat at Amida Mandala. Dharmavidya writes:

In my Dharma talk today I suggested that we are now in the fourth age of the Dharma. In the first age of the Dharma Buddha Shakyamuni was still in this world or had recently passed away and people became enlightened by direct encounter with him or with one of…[Read more]

Dharmavidya:

In both turning away and turning toward the element of faith is of crucial importance. Without it the turning does not complete because, panicking inside, we cling on to our old ways. In the case of turning away, one might arrive at the feeling of revulsion, yet still slip back into the bad habit. We might indulge obsessions and…[Read more]

Feeling in awe and gratitude for this amazing universe we are blessed to live in – look at these photos! Namo Amida Bu

Dharmavidya:

Paravritti, turning back, is negation.  To turn back or let go is to negate something that was previously considered important.

Western people are often puzzled by the way that Buddhist teachings are often framed in the negative form. We are enjoined to practice non-hatred, non-greed, non-delusion and so on.  This has led some t…[Read more]

Dharmavidya:

“I’m better than these people” “I’ll never be as good as these people” “They’re all cleverer than me” “I must let everybody know that I know important people” “I’ll include in my little speech all the important books and concepts I have read so that others know I’m not inferior” “I’m worth it” “I’m not really worth it” “I don’t…[Read more]

David Loy, author of Ecodharma, answers Kaspalita Thompson’s question: What is Buddhism For? This video was presented at the 2019 NBO AGM and annual gathering. There is a specific focus on Buddhism and the climate crisis.

:: link to video

Dharmavidya:

INSIGHT AND CALM

In the approach known now as Insight Meditation, there are two phases to practise. The first is to calm the mind and the second is “looking into the true nature of things as they are”. In other words, calm is a basis for the development of insight. However, in our Amida Shu approach it is the other way around. Fir…[Read more]

Dharmavidya:

This article is published by Tricycle magazine at

https://tricycle.org/magazine/dogen-and-enlightenment/

The bodhisattva, having turned back, lives life as a gift, not a trade, in mercy rather than justice.

THE PATH

We have seen how turning back from involvement in the conditioned life of samsara leads one to go forth on one’s spiritual quest, as did Siddhartha Gotama himself, and how that quest itself culminates in a turning back from satisfying e…[Read more]

Shan Tao talks about The Three Minds – Sincere Mind, Deep Mind and Mind that Transfers Merit for Ojo. Ojo means birth in the presence of Buddha. Because of the Christian association, one might flinch from the idea of being a “born again Buddhist”, but all true spiritual paths are, in one way or another, about being reborn.

SINCERITY

Sincere min…[Read more]

Dharmavidya:

In the life of Sidhartha Gotama who became Shakyamuni Buddha, there are two great turning points. Both are instances of paravritti, of turning back.

THE FIRST GOING FORTH

The first of these is the occasion of his leaving home. We are told that after his experience of seeing the Four Sights – an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and a…[Read more]

Dharmavidya:

There is a famous carving in wood of Amida Tathagata glancing back. This glancing back statue is very famous. The expression on the face of the Buddha as he looks back is both tender and dignified, poised yet concerned.

In the year 1082, in February, before dawn, a monk called Eikan was practising nembutsu, circumambulating the…[Read more]

Dharmavidya:

The term paravritti often gets translated by something that sounds rather grand such as a turning around in the seat of consciousness. This kind of translation is not wrong and I have used it myself, but I have to admit that it probably gives a false impression to most people. DT Sukuki translates the word as “revulsion”. This has…[Read more]

Dharmavidya:

Faith (shraddha) arises in the condition of dukkha, says Buddha in the Nidana Vagga in the Samyuta Nikaya. Dukkha is the circumstance of our being sensitive to living in a world of suffering, a world of birth and death. If we were not sentient in this way we would not need faith. A rock does not need faith because it does not mind.…[Read more]