Category Archives: sangha

17Feb/18

2 Ways to Create a Sanctuary

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The physical environment makes an impact us. You look forward to being home after a long day’s work, maybe the same spot on the couch or in bed. You walk into certain places and you immediately feel a sense of peace or agitation. Yeah, you can practice meditation in the middle of a mass protest, a sports outing, or a rock concert, but that’s just not where you’d want to create a sanctuary on a regular basis. Although the Shurangama sanctuary instructions provided below, the easier way, allows you to create a short-term or long-term sanctuary energetically anywhere, I would recommend you take advantage of creating a physical space too to support the consistent build up of energy. We’re after a sanctuary that is more than something in the mind alone, and one that we can come home to.
24Jul/14

Admonitions: Part II

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More from Buddhist monastic teachers. With instructions from different people, pronouns shift.Again, as explained more fully in “Admonitions: Part I“, these instructions were directed at monks and nuns and excerpted from my translation of Admonitions for Monastics 緇門警訓. — Even monastics perpetrate grave errors . . . . behavior that can be…
16Jul/14

Admonitions: Part I

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The Buddha Shakyamuni never established any rules for his Order until problems developed. Most of the Buddhist proscriptions were established as individual cases occurred. For instance, it was not until several dozen monks committed suicide by their own or another’s hands due to extreme (and excessive) disgust for their bodies,…
27Jun/14

Buddhist Persecution Past and Present

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Whereas Shakyamuni Buddha accepted students from all walks of life, including the Untouchables who were born into the lowest echelon of the hierarchical Indian caste system, some so-called monastic teachers have told other monastics that they are ill suited for the monastic life.  Political infighting in Buddhist monastic orders past…