The Manchus who ruled China from 1644 to 1912 were strong believers in and generous patrons of Tibetan Buddhism. Various Manchu emperors sponsored and promoted the religion in various ways and one emperor had the whole Tipitaka newly edited, published … Read the rest
The Buddha’s contribution to human knowledge was primarily focused on ethics and to the analysis of consciousness; its contents, its workings and to how it could be harnessed and transformed. He also had an indirect influence on the development of … Read the rest
The Buddha founded the bhikkhu and bhikkuniSangha to offer the optimum environment in which to pursue the highest spiritual goal, attaining Nirvana. However, from almost the very beginning some have been attracted to the Sangha for very different reasons … Read the rest
Within hours of a person’s death their body begins to deteriorate. The first sign is the swelling of the abdomen as gasses build up in the stomach. Soon the cells break down and putrefaction sets in producing a foul odour. … Read the rest
It is said that the world’s most beloved flower is the rose and the second-most loved is the lotus. Found from northern China and Korea all the way through south, south-east and east Asia and down to northern Australia, the … Read the rest
Sibi is a small rural town in Pakistan’s Balochistan Province and like many such places it has little to recommend it. It is occasionally the scene of terrorist attacks by Balochi separatists, it has no forts, palaces or ancient ruins … Read the rest
In some sense Anagarika Dharmapala can be seen as the first modern Buddhist. For all its emphasis on change (anicca) Buddhists at the end of the 19th century were still locked in the past, content to do what had always … Read the rest
Today is Vesak, the most universally observed of all Buddhist celebrations or holidays. Traditionally it is believed that the Buddha was born, awakened and passed into final Nirvana on the same day, the full moon of the second month of … Read the rest
In the Mahavacchagotta Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya the Buddha mentioned that he had many thousands of disciples, a good number of whom had attained one or another of the stages leading to enlightenment. However, the Buddha’s first disciples were … Read the rest
We usually think of the Buddha’s Dhamma as being “deep, difficult to see, accessible to the wise, and “going against the stream” – and with good reason. The Buddha himself described his Dhamma like this. Further, when we examine it … Read the rest
