Monthly Archives: November 2008

More “Hi Buddha”!

Recently, I wrote about my daughter’s habit of saying hi to the Buddha lately. She is 23 months old now, and has now learned how to blow kisses to people. She will often blow me kisses before I leave for … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhism, Family, Religion | 2 Comments

A Sucker Born Every Minute

This is a good example of something that seems so real, it has to be believed: Take the ESP Experiment. Once I figured out how it actually works, the results were very amusing. It’s amazing how people can be so … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhism, Religion | 14 Comments

Where’s the Buddha?

NO, I am not referring to a new ad for Buddha Burgers,* I am talking about the Buddha, the nature of the Buddha. Yesterday while writing another post, I was reminded of a certain famous sutra of the Pali Canon, … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhism, Jodo Shinshu, Religion, Theravada, Zen | 3 Comments

No-self in laymen’s terms

Random flash of insight, but it occurred to me while pondering Rinzai Zen Buddhism for some odd reason, that in modern, every-day language, the Buddhist term of ‘no-self’ (anattā in Pali) just means that we’re big phonies. This is nothing … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhism, Religion, Theravada, Zen | 8 Comments

Happy T(of)urkey Day!

Picture is “The First Thanksgiving”, painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1863–1930). Recently, having finished the Roger Zelazny novel, Eye of Cat, I really developed a greater appreciation for Native American culture, and I like this painting as it highlights … Continue reading

Posted in General, Zelazny | 2 Comments

Japanese Sound Effect Words

I haven’t posted anything in a long time about Japanese Language, but I’ve been sitting on this topic for a while.* Since raising Baby to be bi-lingual in Japanese and English, I’ve come to learn a lot of “baby” Japanese … Continue reading

Posted in Japanese, Language | 4 Comments

My Brother’s Keeper

Amazing what kind of random stuff you can find in the Buddhist texts at times. I was looking online through the Pali Canon looking for stuff for another post I recently wrote, when I accidentally found this sutra, the Sedaka … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhism, Religion, Theravada | 1 Comment

The Ojoyoshu: Essentials of Birth in the Pure Land

This is my last post on the subject of mortality, but I wanted to close with a look at a famous Japanese Buddhist text, the Ōjōyōshū (往生要集), or “Essentials of Birth in the Pure Land”. The text was written before … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhism, Jodo Shinshu, Jodo Shu, Religion, Tendai | 2 Comments

Pure Land Buddhism: Words of Encouragement

Genshin (源信), a 10th century Buddhist monk of the Tendai sect and author of the famous medieval text, the Ōjōyōshū (往生要集), or “Essentials of Birth in the Pure Land”,1 writes to us in another text, the Yokawa Hōgo (横川法語): Even … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhism, Jodo Shinshu, Jodo Shu, Religion, Tendai | 1 Comment

A Meditation Upon Death

Here “meditation” means “contemplation”, not the act of crossing one’s legs in a lotus posture that we Buddhists like to fixate on. Sometimes I wonder if we spend too much time on forms, not enough time on just good ol’ … Continue reading

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