Tag Archives: Becoming
Avoiding Poison
The recent bombings and increased activities of religious extremists have provoked a myriad of responses, both rational and irrational. In the United States people of power tend to react instead of responding. The reaction is normally superficial and immature. They … Continue reading
Awakening to Our Nature
There is a view that sees nirvana as the termination of excessive influence by trsna (Skt) or tanha (Pāli), literally meaning “thirst” but usually suggestive of “desire” or “craving.” There is nothing wrong with being thirsty; it’s the value we put … Continue reading
Poor Suffering Baby
We have a problem — you have and I have it. I may have worked on it a little longer on it than you have, but maybe not. Here is the problem: we have very little motivation to give up … Continue reading
Rational Amidism, Modes of Existence
In the past I was able to teach the Buddha’s Dharma throughout the day without ever mentioning him or using a Pali or Sanskrit word. I’ve given up on that. Once the Buddha is taken out of the equation people … Continue reading
The Distortion of Perception — the Vipallasas
The vipallasas are the distortion of views, perceptions and thoughts affected by either defilements or by the words of another. So my thoughts, perceptions and especially my views about what I am now writing is an example of how these … Continue reading
The Need To Be Heard
We live in a society that demands we be fair, honest and sensitive to the “needs” of others. There is the claim that we want every voice to be heard. We sometimes, albeit rarely, make the distinction between “hearing” and … Continue reading
Growing Up Human
Visit the Hongaku Jodo Website Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. The experience of stress, pain, suffering is not a simple thing. The Buddha once observed, we respond to its complexity in two ways: And what is the … Continue reading
Growing Up or Growing Old?
“Deny the passport, throw it away and make a great decision that you will not leave this shore until and unless you have liberated all the human beings.” — The Buddha This quote is all over the internet, usually without … Continue reading
Does the Pure Land Have a Starbuck’s?
Nagarjuna urges us not to mistake the finger for the moon. He tells us not to confound words and meaning, that is, not to mistake the secular words that are used to point to ultimate truth for that truth itself. … Continue reading
Age Is No Guarantee of Wisdom — Unskillful & Skillful Desires
We observe reality from a point denied by our species (and cultural, and individual) makeup, our observations can only be made through representations, and representations always both add to and subtract from what they represent. —Derek Bickerton The idea of … Continue reading
Fists Full of Sand 