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Angulimala and Tantric Buddhism
The British scholar of Buddhism Richard Gombrich has a seemingly endless supply of insightful readings of texts that we as Buddhists assume we know through and through. Take Angulimala (please). The standard story is one of the most famous in all of Buddhism. A fierce robber and murderer named Angulimala cuts off the fingers of unwary travelers in his forest. He wants to get 1,000 fingers and already has 999 sewn together in a monstrous necklace (hence his name: anga, finger + mala, garland/necklace). Along comes the Buddha. Angulimala chases him and though the Buddha simply walks at a slow and stately pace and Angulimala runs as fast as he can, the villain can't catch up. Amazed by this and by the Buddha's calm in the face of danger, Angulimala renounces his evil ways and becomes a devoted Buddhist. More » -
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I can't believe it's not Buddha: the Buddha Butter Dish
Image: Photo taken at the Beacon's Closet in Williamsburg, Brooklyn More » -
Where is the ethical dimension of Buddhist meditation in Zen?
In a recent edition of The Eastern Buddhist, Professor Brian Victoria continues his criticism of the writings of D. T. Suzuki. (The article is here, in PDF. The Eastern Buddhist is published in Kyoto and the original organization was founded by D. T. Suzuki in the 1920s. TEB's openness to debate on Suzuki's writing and record is to be commended.)More » -
Mayadevi and the Birth of the Buddha
The birth of the Buddha was preceded by portents: In a dream, a white elephant holding a lotus circumambulated the Buddha's future mother, Queen Maya, three times before striking her on the right side with his trunk and disappearing inside her. The Buddha was later born in Lumbini, as recounted in our Mother's Day post last year: At the time of the Buddha's birth more than 2,500 years ago, Lumbini was a grove of natural grandeur, bursting with rare and beautiful flowers, where bees of five different colors hummed. Queen Maya Devi was passing through this earthly paradise on the way to her parent's house in Devadaha, capital of the Koliya kingdom, from Kapilavastu when the pangs of labor hit. After bathing in a nearby pond the queen walked 25 paces, took support of a Saal tree branch and gave birth standing up. She died a week later. More » -
Tricycle visits Bhikkhu Bodhi at Chuang Yen Monastery
Earlier this week, some Tricyclers were lucky enough to make it up to Carmel, New York in order to visit with Bhikkhu Bodhi at Chuang Yen Monastery. Chuang Yen is a Chinese Chán monastery, and my colleague Monty was immediately moved by the fact that Bhikkhu Bodhi, a Theravada Monk, takes residence there, saying, "At the end of the day Buddhists truly are one big family." More »
