Archived Posts
Instant Versus Gradual – August 24, 2012 Meditation
35 Day Practice Day 26
Because of You
Often I will hear how someone feels their part in making the world a better place is unimportant or insignificant. Occasionally their discouragement is so great they feel like giving up. In the passage I quoted today the phrase I encourage us to consider is “we, too, have obtained benefits.” Because the Buddha attained enlightenment we receive benefits. Without enlightenment, we may not have even known there had once been a Siddhartha who lived in…
Put it on Their Heads & Tefillah
As I read the Lotus Sutra this morning I turned to this page and the phrase “put it in their head” stood out. The act of putting the Sutra on the head is a practice we copy during our service. When we say the Verses for Opening the Sutra we lift the Sutra at the point when we say: “When we see, hear, or touch the Sutra…” While we do not actually put it on…
Know All These Illusions
Today I chose this passage about the Twelve Link Chain of Causation and the reality of the illusion and ignorance which leads to suffering. Here in Charlotte we have witnessed first hand in our community the unrest and suffering caused by devaluing and unfairly treating our neighbors because of a difference in skin color. We have in affect based this injustice on an illusion of difference. I ask is the value of a diamond any…
Shakyo Practice – Meditative Sutra Copying
I had a conversation the other day with a temple supporter who told me about an artist who uses words from various Buddhist texts to create some beautiful art. Immediately ideas began to pop up in my mind. So I have begun exploring the merging of text from the Lotus Sutra to a visual representation beyond merely words on paper. I’ve only done this for two days and this is what I have experienced. One…