Category Archives: guanyin

13Jun/17

7 Paradoxical Teachings in Buddhism

Typically, we reject contradictions. Buddhists, however, embrace a number of oxymora that serve as levers for opening into profundity likened to light at the end of the tunnel. The unexpected folding into of what is unfolding, and the unfolding of that which is enfolded bend our conscious mind so that…
26Oct/14

Meditating on Sounds: Listening Your Way to Enlightenment

Part III Am I Listening Correctly? Sounds cannot be eliminated. No matter where you are or how quiet it is, there are sounds that cannot be eliminated. The “sound of silence” can therefore be acknowledged as an impossible-to-eliminate sound, the sensory object of quietude. Knowing the different types of sounds,…
14Oct/14

Part II of Meditating on Sounds: Listening Your Way to Enlightenment

With What We Do Not Listen  First of all, “the nature of hearing” is not in or with the physical ears. This nature of hearing is fundamentally the sea-like consciousness that stores all karmic interactions. It is the single entity with six functions, of which include the seeing of the eyes,…
03Oct/14

Meditating on Sounds: Listening Your Way to Enlightenment

PART I According expert meditator and teacher Jiaoguang of China’s Ming dynasty, meditators must get to know our illusions well before we may experience bursts of insight.With regard to the types of sounds for those who practice hearing as a form of meditation, Jiaoguang elaborates: There are sound categories of…
08Aug/14

The Avatamsaka Four Dharma Realms and the Shurangama Meditation of Listening Intersect in Zen

Preview of Upcoming Presentation Seen as stages of practice, Chinese preeminent monk Chengguan’s theory of the Four Dharma Realms and Guanyin’s perfected meditation method via one’s ears inevitably meet complementarily to enhance our understanding of meditation as a practice. More than mere philosophy, the teaching of the Four Dharma Realms…