Tag Archives: shurangama

06Jan/18

3 Analogies that Describe Enlightening Progress in Your Practice

01/06/2018awareness, buddhist, listening, meditation, spiritual, zenbuddhism, clarity, heart, meditation, mind, shurangama, states of mindTCN

It helps to know that you are on track with your practice, Here are 3 similes in Mahayana Buddhist texts that enlightened beings often employ to describe mostly indescribably states of mind.

13Nov/17

10 Benefits from the Shurangama Mantra

11/13/2017mantra peace prayer, meditation, shurangamabenefits, buddhist, mantra, meditation, shurangamaTCN

Why supplement the practice of listening with a practice around the Shurangama mantra? In general, some spiritual humps are difficult to overcome on your own. The Shurangama mantra is the lever that bounces you right over any obstacle. You can memorize this long mantra and recite it regularly, you can…

13Nov/17

The Shurangama Mantra

11/13/2017mantra peace prayer, shurangamabuddhist, Chinese, English, mantra, sanskrit, shurangamaTCN

The Shurangama mantra in Chinese and Sanskrit, then in Chinese and English transliteration of a version extant in Chinese. Read about the benefits of the Shurangama mantra here. …

18Oct/17

7 Possible Places to Locate the Divine Source

10/18/2017buddhism, Buddhist teachings, buddhist text, dharma, meditation, sacred text, shakyamuni buddha, shurangamabuddha, buddhism, mind, shakyamuni, shurangama, source, teaching, wisdomTCN

Where is the divine Source? If the Source is a father figure God in the sky for you, you may resolutely proclaim that God is UP there. If you’ve been meditating to the point that you’re just blissed out and could careless about the world, you may lift your gaze from your navel and slowly utter the words, “In here.” If you’re a nature lover who is fond of hiking, the whistles of the leaves, and the sounds of the birds, you may claim that the Source is everywhere in nature, in creatures large and small. What’s the right answer? Is there a right answer? Well, let me recount seven incorrect answers for you first.

20Aug/17

11 Steps to Listening: a Buddhist Meditative Practice

08/20/2017buddhism, Buddhism Buddhist teachings scripture teacher advice patience text sacred learning Chinese English, buddhist, Buddhist canon, Buddhist teachings, listening, meditation, practice, spiritual, zenbuddhism, listening, meditation, shurangamaTCN

1. Find an uninterrupted period of time, whether five minutes or an hour. 2. Find a quiet place that you can hopefully establish as your sacred space for regular practice. 3. Sit down on a cushion or your bed. It helps to have a cushion or pillow below your buttocks. Sit with your legs crossed.

10Aug/17

8 Types of Sounds

08/10/2017buddhism, listening, shurangamabuddhism, listening, meditation, shurangama, silence, soundTCN

What types of sounds do you tend to notice? Pleasant sounds or unpleasant sounds? Music or noise? Loud sounds or white noise? A preeminent Chinese Buddhist teacher, Master Jiaoguang, developed some illuminating and useful categories of sounds for people who practice listening as a meditation. Check and see if you…

10Aug/17

8 Listening Exercises

08/10/2017buddhist, Buddhist teachings, listening, shurangama, spiritual, zenbuddhism, emptiness, listening, shurangama, sound of silence, zenTCN

1. Listen for the sounds around you now: people’s voices, TV, music, cars, chirps, breeze. . . Stop what you’re doing. For three seconds, still yourself and hear what’s around you. 2. Listen for the sound of silence. Turn off any noise in your control. At a time when all’s…