Monthly Archives: June 2017

Morality contrary to the Dharma manifests as a sense of superiority over those who do not observe it, competition with those who guard it more purely, and the desire to obtain advantage and gain as a consequence of our ‘admirable’ … Continue reading →

Just as grammarians begin with reading the alphabet, the Buddha teaches doctrines that students can bear. To some, he teaches doctrines for the reversal of sin; to some, those to win merit; to some, doctrines based on duality. To some, … Continue reading →

Revering and trusting in the Buddha, we will wear the armor of patient endurance. We will cherish neither our bodies nor our lives, but care only for the unexcelled Way. Repeatedly we will be driven out and exiled from our monasteries and stupas. … Continue reading →

The covetous delight in things. The ambitious are pleased by flattery. The ignorant rejoice at meeting another fool. The virtuous exult at hearing the truth. —Sakya Pandita

Some people ask why it is that I advocate so frequently and insistently on universal radical compassion, especially toward non-human animals. They are of the opinion that a Buddhist monk should concentrate his efforts on sharing a “broader and higher” … Continue reading →

The usual has a way of becoming reified as well as invisible. Like fish in water, when we are home we do not see our surroundings for what they are, and we come to believe that this is what reality … Continue reading →

Whenever we become aware of having performed an unskillful act, regret is beneficial and necessary. It is the first of the ‘four powers’ of purification (regret, reliance, resolve, reparation). Regret is defined as the realization that negative acts produce negative … Continue reading →

What is in the past is already destroyed. What is in the future has not yet arrived. What is in the present does not abide. Although we contemplate in this manner the production, destruction, scattering, and demolition of phenomena, we nonetheless remain constant in … Continue reading →

All of the suffering in the three lower realms and the two higher realms does not arise without causes and conditions. The cause is non-virtuous actions. Although there are various enumerations of non-virtuous acts, the principal ones to be abandoned are summarized as ten. … Continue reading →

The various Buddhist views of reality are not competing with or refuting each other. They are indispensable at various times, and for different persons. They are necessary while helpful. There is an orderly progression, from Vaibhasika realism, through Sautrantika subtle … Continue reading →