Anyone familiar with Buddhism must be familiar with the P?li term “Dhamma” or the Sanskrit term “Dharma”. Leaving aside all the philosophical connotations implied by the term Dhamma, most would understand
The Buddha says he teaches only two things, namely, suffering and cessation of suffering. The Buddha saw that beings are experiencing various types of suffering
The Buddha once decreed that the Dharma be spoken in one’s own language. The doctrine of skilful means (up?ya) indicates that “language” does not literally mean
“The bowl may be overturned for a lay follower endowed with (any of) eight qualities: He/she strives for the monks’ material loss, strives for the
This article develops on some of the points made in my previous discussion on Yogacara Buddhism’s philosophy of language. Last week I explained that in
Introduction The short answer to this question is very simple: we do not really know. That, however, is not really an acceptable answer to most
Introduction For people who try to adopt a scholastic approach to Buddhism, the issue of “rebirth” often poses a vexing problem. Initially, one may try
It is said that there are nearly 1,700 kung-an (Japanese: koan) that Zen masters used. In Zen, practitioners use kung-an as subjects for meditation until
Where is my key?One night a man was crawling around on his hands and knees to look for something underneath a lamppost. When his friends
In classical Greek philosophy, the word eudemonia is translated as “flourishing,” a very special state of being that entails finding meaning, purpose, and satisfaction in one’s life
One theme never recedes into the background of Buddhist discipleship. This theme is love, and countless masters and dharma-preachers have spent their lives ascertaining how
Last Thursday there was a debate held about the relevance of classical music in contemporary British society. The motion at the Cambridge Union was aptly put as,
