**Buddhism A-Z**

[Parinaz_M]

abbot ¤è¤V


The abbot is the head of a monastery.


One Chinese term for abbot, fangzhang 'ten feet square' is a term used primarily in Chan monasteries and refers to the ideal size of the abbot's quarters. The great enlightened Buddhist layman, who lived during the time of the Buddha, was said to have lived in a stone room of that size.

Another frequently used Chinese term for abbot is zhuchi, literally "dweller and upholder", is explained as meaning that the abbot is one who protects the Dharma while abiding peacefully in the world.



Abhidharma ªü¬s¹F¿i


The Abhidharma is the third of the three divisions or "baskets" of the Tripitaka or Buddhist Canon. Its Dharma is organized thematically and logically; it can be said to be a systematic exposition of Buddhist psychology of mind.


The Abhidharma taught by the Buddha is the seven books of the Abhidharma-pitaka. Later Abhidharma includes systematic treatises by enlightened masters. The most well-known of the Hinayana Abhidharma treatises is the Abhidharma-kosa by the Venerable Vasubandhu (see entry). Among the most widely studied of Mahayana Abhidharma treatises is the Treatise on Consciousness Only (Cheng Wei-shi Lun) by Tripitaka Master Xuanzang (see entry).



Ajita (Bodhisattva) ªü¶h¦h(µÐÂ&# 196


Another name for the Bodhisattva Maitreya. Ajita is Sanskrit and means "unconquerable". See Maitreya (Bodhisattva).



Amita (Buddha) ªüÀ±ªû(¦&#24 2


Amitabha's body is the color of gold,
The splendor of his hallmarks has no peer.
The light of his brow shines round a hundred worlds,
Wide as the sea are his eyes pure and clear.
Shining in his brilliance by transformation
Are countless Bodhisattvas and infinite Buddhas.
His forty-eight vows will be our liberation,
In nine lotus-stages we reach the farthest shore.
Homage to the Buddha of the Western Pure Land,
Kind and Compassionate Amitabha.



The Buddha Amita is the Buddha of the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. He is also known as Amitabha 'infinite light', and Amitayus 'infinite life'.

"Both Amitabha Buddha and Shakyamuni Buddha were people who became Buddhas . . . . "


Amitabha (Buddha) ªüÀ±ªû¦&#242 ;


See Amita (Buddha).




Amitabha Sutra ªüÀ±ªû¸g


The complete title is The Buddha Speaks of Amitabha Sutra. Two sutras, the large and the small, have this title, both taking as subject Amitabha Buddha, his pure Buddhaland to the West, and the means to rebirth therein. Sukhavati, or, as translated from the Chinese, Ultimate Bliss, is the name of this land. A third sutra also describes Sukhavati: the Meditation on Amitabha Sutra (Amiturdhyana-sutra).

Together, these three sutras comprise the basic texts of the Pure Land School.



The large Amitabha Sutra explains the causal affinities resulting in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. It relates Amitabha Buddha's vows made in a former life and their realization in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

The Meditation on Amitabha Sutra is concerned with quite another matter. It is a guide to cultivation and describes a series of sixteen meditations which lead to various grades of rebirth by transformation in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.



Both sutras contain Dharmas preached in specific response to the requests of sentient beings: the large Amitabha Sutra at the request of Ananda, "who had still to be advanced on the path of disciples"; and the Meditation on Amitabha Sutra at the request of Vaidehi, queen mother of the wicked Prince Ajatasatru:

"My only prayer," she continued, "is this: O World Honored One, mayest thou preach to me in detail of all the places where there is no sorrow or trouble, and where I ought to go to be born anew.

I am not satisfied with this world of depravities, with Jambudvipa, which is full of hells, full of hungry ghosts (pretas), and of the brute creation. In this world of depravities there is many an assemblage of the wicked. May I not hear, I pray, the voice of the wicked in the future; and may I not see any wicked person."


The small Amitabha Sutra, although the shortest of the three, is by no means unimportant. Nor is it just a summary recapitulation of the doctrine set forth in the other two.

It is unique, because the entire sutra belongs to the "self-spoken division." In other words, the Buddha spontaneously preached the Dharma of this sutra, overstepping the usual practice of speaking Dharma only upon request.


The very fact that no one in the Great Assembly knew to ask shows the extreme importance and inconceivability of the Dharma of this sutra. The Buddha proclaims in the text of the Sutra: "You should know that I, in the evil time of the Five Turbidities . . . for all the world speak this Dharma, difficult to believe, extremely difficult."

The Sutra explains the causes and circumstances for rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.


"The essential message of this sutra is to teach us to recite the name 'Namo Amitabha Buddha'. Amitabha Buddha has a great affinity with living beings in the Saha world. Before realizing Buddhahood, he made forty-eight vows and each one involved taking living beings to Buddhahood. At that time, he was a Bhikshu named Dharma Treasury.

He said, 'When I realize Buddhahood, I vow that living beings who recite my name will also realize Buddhahood. Otherwise, I won't either. . . .'

"By the power of his vows, Amitabha Buddha leads all beings to rebirth in his country where they realize Buddhahood. This power attracts living beings to the Land of Ultimate Bliss, just as a magnet attracts iron filings. If living beings do not attain enlightenment, he himself won't realize Buddhahood. Therefore, all who recite his name can realize Buddhahood." (AS 20)

[soniq]

i like chocolate in shape of buddha

[Parinaz_M]

One of the ten great disciples of the Buddha Shakyamuni.

"Ananda was the Buddha's first cousin and his attendant. He also compiled and edited the sutras. His name means rejoicing, because he was born on the day the Buddha realized Buddhahood.

His father also rejoiced and gave him that name. The entire country celebrated the Buddha's enlightenment on that day. With his flawless memory, Ananda was able to remember all the Sutras the Buddha spoke and was foremost among the Buddha's disciples in erudition."

"The Shurangama Sutra was spoken for Ananda's sake, precisely because he didn't have sufficient samadhi-power. He had not done the work of meditation required to develop it. When others were sitting investigating dhyana, Ananda would go read a book or write instead . . . . Put another way, Ananda hadn't cultivated real mark prajna; he thought he could realize Buddhahood through literary prajna alone. He thought that since he was the Buddha's cousin, the Buddha, who had realized Buddhahood, would certainly help him realize Buddhahood too, and so it didn't really matter whether he cultivated or not. He ended up wasting a lot of time.

"One day, as the Shurangama Sutra relates, Ananda went out begging for food by himself. He took his bowl and went from house to house, and while alone on the road he encountered the daughter of Matangi . . . . Ananda was particularly handsome, and when Matangi's daughter saw him she was immediately attracted to him. But she didn't know how to snare him. And so she went back and told her mother, 'You absolutely must get Ananda to marry me. If you don't, I'll die.'

"The mother, Matangi, belonged to the religion of the Kapilas, the 'tawny haired', and she cultivated that religion's mantras and dharma-devices, which were extremely effective. Since Matangi truly loved her daughter, she used a mantra of her sect-it was a mantra formerly of the Brahma heaven-to confuse Ananda. Ananda didn't have any samadhi-power, and so he couldn't control himself. He followed the mantra and went to Matangi's daughter's house, where he was on the verge of breaking the precepts.

"The first five precepts prohibit killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and the taking of intoxicants. Ananda was about to break the precept against sexual misconduct. The Buddha knew about it as it was happening. Realizing his cousin was in trouble, he quickly spoke the Shurangama Mantra to break up the mantra formerly of the Brahma Heaven of the Kapila religion. Ananda's confusion had made him as if drunk or as if he had taken drugs-he was totally oblivious to everything. But when the Buddha recited the Shurangama Mantra, its power woke Ananda up from his confusion, and there he was wondering how he had gotten himself into such a situation.

"He returned, knelt before the Buddha, and cried out in distress. 'I have relied exclusively on erudition and have not perfected any strength in the Way. I have no samadhi-power. Please tell me how the Buddhas of the ten directions have cultivated so that they were able to obtain samadhi-power.' In reply the Buddha spoke the Shurangama Sutra."

The Dharma Flower Sutra records the Buddha bestowing the prediction of future Buddhahood upon Ananda:

At that time the Buddha told Ananda, 'You in a future age shall become a Buddha by the name of King of Self Control and Penetrations with Wisdom like the Mountains and Seas Thus Come One. One Worthy of Offerings, One of Proper and Universal Knowledge, One Perfect in Clarity and Practice, Well-Gone One, Unsurpassed One Who Understands the World, Hero Who Subdues and Tames, Teacher of Gods and Humans, Buddha, World-Honored One. You shall make offerings to sixty-two million Buddhas, protecting and upholding their storehouses of Dharma.

After that you shall obtain anuttarasamyaksambodhi. You shall teach and transform twenty-thousand myriads of millions of Ganges' sands of Bodhisattvas, causing them to accomplish anuttarasamyaksambodhi. Your country shall be called Banner of Victory Always Raised. That land will be pure, with lapis lazuli for soil.

The kalpa shall be called All Pervasive Wonderful Sound. Your lifespan as a Buddha shall be countless thousands of myriads of millions of asankhyeyas of aeons. Were someone to attempt to reckon it through countless thousands of myriads of millions of asankhyeyas of aeons, they could not do so. The proper Dharma shall dwell in that world for twice that length of time. The Dharma Image Age shall dwell twice the length of Proper Dharma.

'Ananda, the merit and virtue of the Buddha King of Self-Control and Penetrations with Wisdom Like the Mountains and Seas shall be praised by all the Buddhas of the ten directions equal in number to the sands of countless thousands of myriads of millions of Ganges rivers.'

[Parinaz_M]

Be careful not to believe in your own mind: your mind cannot be believed. . . . Once you have become an Arhat, then you can believe your own mind.


"Arhat" is one of the four kinds of truly enlightened beings (see enlightenment). It is a Sanskrit word, which can be interpreted in three ways:

1) "'One worthy of offerings'. Arhats are worthy of offerings from humans and gods. On the causal ground a Bhikshu makes the alms round for his food, and as a result, as an Arhat he is 'worthy of offerings'."

2) 'Slayer of thieves'. 'The thieves referred to are not external thieves, but the thieves within you: the thieves of ignorance, the thieves of afflictions and the six thieves-the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Unknown to you, they rob you. . . . These six thieves steal your unsurpassed true treasures . . . ."

3) 'Unproduced'/'Unborn'. "They have attained the patience with the non-production of dharmas. They do not have to undergo birth and death again... Although they have not attained anuttarasamyaksambodhi, the unsurpassed, proper and equal right enlightenment, they will not fall into the Three Realms

Those three aspects of being an Arhat are the result of causes created in cultivation as a Bhikshu.

Constantly observing the 250 precepts, they enter into and abide in purity. By practicing the four true paths they realize Arhatship.


"Having been certified as having attained the patience with the non-production of dharmas, the Arhat is beyond coming into being and ceasing to be. Wouldn't you agree that the state of the Arhat is really terrific? The Arhat isn't busy in the least.

Four Stages of Arhatship

Strictly speaking the term Arhat refers to the fourth stage only, but is often used to refer to those of all four stages. (The term can also include Pratyekabuddhas and is also employed in its more general meaning as one of the Ten Titles of the Buddha.)

1) First Stage

"The Arhat of the first stage is called one who has 'entered the stream' (srota-apanna). He has entered the stream of the Dharma-nature of the sage, and he goes counter to the flow of the stream of the six senses of common people. He still has to undergo seven more rebirths among those in the heavens and among humans before he comes to the end of the Path."

The srota-apanna . . . has seven deaths and seven births remaining, and then will be certified as an Arhat. Severing love and desire is like severing the four limbs; one never uses them again.

2) Second Stage

"The Arhat of the second stage is called a 'once-returner' (sakrdagamin). He has one more birth to undergo in the heavens and one among humans.

The sakrdagamin . . . ascends once, returns once more, and thereafter becomes an Arhat.

3) Third Stage

"The Arhat of the third stage is called a 'never-returner' (anagamin). He does not have to undergo birth again in the human realm."

At the end of his life an Anagamin's vital spirit will ascend to the nineteenth heaven [i.e., the highest heaven of the fourth dhyana-see Four Dhyanas] and there he will be certified as an Arhat.

4) Fourth Stage

"The Arhat of the fourth stage is called 'unborn'. The fourth stage Arhat has attained patience with the non-production of dharmas. This means that he does not see the slightest dharma come into being or the slightest dharma cease to be. Such a vision is not easy to bear, but he has the patience to bear

"What proof is there that someone has been certified as a fourth stage Arhat? A fourth stage Arhat's feet don't touch the ground. His feet are off the ground by three-tenths of an inch, and because of that, he never squashes worms or ants. . . . Not only can one of the fourth stage do this, one of the first stage can also do this."

Arhats can fly and transform themselves. They have a lifespan of vast aeons, and wherever they dwell they can move heaven and earth

"Wherever an Arhat dwells, the gods, dragons, and others of the Eightfold Division protect his Dharma, and it is very peaceful wherever he is. There aren't any hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanoes, tidal waves, or any such disasters, because the Dharma-protectors and good spirits are always protecting him and making auspicious things happen to him."

"People who have been certified as fourth stage Arhats have freedom over birth and death. They are truly free; no one can watch over them. If they want to live, they can live. If they want to die, they can die whenever they want. If they want to die standing up, they can die standing up. If they want to die sitting down, they can die that way. If they want to die walking, they can die walking. If they want to die sleeping, they can die sleeping. It's up to them. . . ."

When the Venerable Master Da-Syou decided it was time to leave, he chiselled a space out of the rock cliff next to where he lived and meditated and then fashioned some doors. He then sat down inside, arranged his body in full-lotus position, closed the doors, and entered the final stillness. Upon the doors he had inscribed this verse:

There is no great, no small, no inside nor out, Cultivate yourself, understand yourself, and make your own arrangements.

The Non-Ultimacy of Arhatship

In the Dharma Flower Sutra assembly the Buddha explains that the enlightenment of the Arhat is not ultimate. At that time five hundred Arhats in the assembly proclaimed:

"World Honored One, we had always thought that we had gained the ultimate cessation (i.e., nirvana). Now we know that we were like unknowing ones. Why is this? We should have obtained the Thus Come One's wisdom, but were content instead with lesser knowledge." (DFS VIII 1466)

[Parinaz_M]

Together with his teacher the Bodhisattva Maitreya, Asanga was the founder of the Yogacara, or Consciousness-Only, School of Mahayana Buddhism.
The oldest of three sons, all called Vasubandhu, born in Purusapura (Peshwar) who were members of the Kausika family of Indian brahmins. All three became Buddhist Bhikshus. Asanga's youngest brother was known as Virincivatsa, while the middle brother was known merely as Vasubandhu

Asanga was a man who was endowed with the innate character of a Bodhisattva. He became a Bhikshu of the Sarvastivada School, but afterwards he practiced meditation and became free from desire. Though he investigated the doctrine of emptiness, he could not understand it. He was about to commit suicide.

Pindola, an Arhat, who was then in Eastern Purvavideha, having perceived this, came to him from that region and expounded the doctrine of emptiness peculiar to the Hinayana. He arranged his thoughts according to what he was taught and at once comprehended it.

Though he had attained the doctrine of emptiness peculiar to the Hinayana, he, nevertheless, did not find comfort in it. Thinking that it would not be right to drop the matter altogether, he went up to the Tusita Heaven using the supernatural power peculiar to the Hinayana and inquired of Maitreya, the Bodhisattva, who expounded for him the doctrine of emptiness belonging to the Mahayana.

When he returned to Jambudvipa, he investigated according to the methods explained to him and soon became enlightened. While he was engaged in investigation, the earth began to quake (of its own accord) in six ways. Since he understood the doctrine of emptiness, he called himself "Asanga", which means "without attachment".

He afterwards often went up to the Tusita Heaven in order to ask Maitreya about the doctrines of the Mahayana sutras. The Bodhisattva explained them extensively for him. Whenever he acquired any new understanding, he would come back to Jambudvipa and teach it to others. Most of those hearing him did not believe him.

Asanga, Teacher of the Dharma, then prayed, saying, "I now intend to bring all beings to believe fully in the doctrine of the Mahayana. I only pray that you, O Great Master, come down to Jambudvipa to expound the Mahayana so that all beings may become fully convinced of its truth." Maitreya, thereupon, in accordance with his prayer, came down to Jambudvipa at night, flooding it with great rays of light, had a large assembly of those connected with the Dharma called in a lecture hall, and began to recite the Saptadasabhumi sutra. After having recited a passage, he would explain its purport.

The seventeen bhumis were finished during the nights of four months. Although all were together in one and the same hall listening to the discourse, it was, nevertheless, only Asanga, Teacher of the Dharma, who had access to the Bodhisattva Maitreya, while the others could merely hear him from afar.

At night, all together heard the religious discourse by Maitreya, while in the daytime Asanga, Teacher of the Dharma, commented once again, for the sake of others, upon what had been taught by the Bodhisattva. In this way all the people could hear and believe in the doctrine of the Mahayana.

Maitreya, the Bodhisattva, taught Asanga, Teacher of the Dharma, to learn the "sunlight" samadhi. As he learned according to what he had been taught, he subsequently attained entry into that samadhi. After he attained entry into that samadhi, what he formerly could not understand all became intelligible. Whatever he heard or saw was never forgotten, his memory having become retentive, whereas he formerly could not fully understand the sutras of the Mahayana, such as the Avatamsaka, previously taught by the Buddha.

Maitreya explained for him all these in the Tusita heaven; thus the Teacher of the Dharma became well-versed in them and remembered them all. Afterwards in Jambudvipa he composed several upadesa on the sutras of the Mahayana, in which he expounded all the teachings of the Mahayana taught by the Buddha. (Paramartha, "The Life of Vasubandhu", J. Takakusu, tr.



One of many Sanskrit words signifying an extraordinarily long or infinitely long period of time.
The Abhidharmakosa states that an asankhyeya is a period of time equal to 1 followed by 59 zeros number of great kalpas.





Asuras have a violent nature,
Laden with blessings, lacking power.
Absolutely determined to fight,
They bob along in karma's tow.

The path of the asuras is one of the Six Paths of Rebirth asuras are also one of the Eightfold Division of Ghosts and Spirits

Asura is a Sanskrit word that is explained as meaning either a) one without heavenly beer, or b) ugly one, or c) not a god.

"They are without intoxicants because after drinking heavenly beer offered by Sakra, they became extremely drunk and were hurled out of heaven onto the slopes of Mount Sumeru on Sakra's command. Upon regaining their awareness, they vowed never again to drink the heavenly beer (sura). Therefore, they were called asura 'without intoxicant'."

Asura is said to mean 'not a god' because the asuras have the blessings to be reborn in the heavens but not the virtue of the gods and so are defeated by them.

"The category of asuras includes all beings who like to fight. Asuras who use their pugnacious natures beneficially join the armed forces and protect their countries. Asuras who use their propensity to fight in a bad way end up as thieves, robbers, and gunmen. Asuras may live in the heavens, among people, in the animal realm, or as ghosts..."

"Male asuras are extremely ugly; the females are beautiful. It is the nature of the male asura to initiate fights. The female asura also is naturally fond of fighting, but wages covert wars, unlike the overt physical battles of the males. She uses weapons of the mind such as jealousy, obstructiveness, ignorance, and affliction. . . .

The world is full of asuras who are constantly battling with one another, and they will keep on fighting forever. During the Age Strong in Fighting, that is, the present Dharma Ending Age, we should vow not to fight. If we do that, every place we go will become a place of genuine Dharma. If everyone fulfilled this vow, the Dharma Ending Age would become the Age of Proper Dharma."

[Parinaz_M]

Attachments are what keep us turning on the wheel of rebirth. Becoming enlightened is nothing other than severing all our attachments. What is meant by "attachment"?

It is the investing of mental or emotional energy in an "object". We can become attached to people, things, experiential states, and our own thoughts and preconceptions. In Buddhist teachings attachments are usually divided into two general categories: attachments to self and attachments to dharmas.




The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara rubbing the top of the head of a suffering living being.

One of the four Bodhisattvas of greatest importance in Mahayana Buddhism, Avalokiteshvara is the Bodhisattva of Compassion and disciple and future successor of the Buddha Amita in the Pure Land of the West.

His name, which is Sanskrit, is often translated as Observer of the Sounds of the World. It can also be interpreted as meaning Contemplator of Self-Mastery.





See Flower Adornment Sutra.




The 'lowest' hell, in which suffering is greatest and longest.

[Parinaz_M]

Why should I look for treasure abroad?
Within yourself you have a bright pearl.
(quoted in Watson, tr. Cold Mountain)
Founder of the Pi-lu lineage of Chan Buddhism.

"In Nanking a woman named Ju heard the sound of a small child's cries coming from an eagle's nest, went searching, and got him out. At age seven he left home. Later he went to Wan Mountain in the province of Dz??chuan at Jianshui ("Sword Water"), a treacherous area of the Yangtse River.

He was commonly known as Zhigong ("Noble Zhi"). His face was rectangular and gleamed like a mirror, reflecting the faces of those who came before him. His hands and feet looked like birds' claws, and he ate minced fish. He would spit the fish meat back into the water where it would once again become living fish.

"Emperor Wu instructed a monk named Sengyou to paint the Master's portrait. The Venerable One scratched open his face with his talons, and from the gashes, one after another, emerged the twelve faces of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara-too extremely beautiful to paint!

"In the 13th year of the reign period Tianzhen (515 AD), he went unexpectedly to the emperor to announce his departure. The emperor was alarmed and asked, "How long will I live?" Zhigong smiled and did not reply. He merely drew his finger across his throat and left.

[Note: This ominous gesture was probably the Master's prophecy of the emperor's subsequent death by starvation. In a past life Emperor Wu had been a cultivator. Annoyed by a pesky monkey, he locked it in a cave. After a time he forgot about it, and the monkey died of starvation. In a later life, the cultivator had accumulated blessings enough to become emperor, but bandits, with the monkey reborn as their leader, locked him in a tower and left him to starve.]

Returning to his temple, he lit one candle and gave it to a secretary named Wuching. Wuching made this known to the emperor, who lamented, 'Does the great Master have nothing further to leave? Inform me of his death as soon as it happens.' Afterwards the emperor sponsored the construction of a five-story pagoda (stupa). On the day of his burial, the Master was seen standing among the clouds.

"His eulogy says:

Come forth from an eagle's nest,
He made strange tracks, impossible to fathom.
Ripping open his face,
A Body was disclosed.
There remains an image of purple sandalwood,
And, what is more, a standard of rules.
He stood alone above the clouds,
Leaving his traces in the void!"




Bhikshu is a Sanskrit word; it is the technical designation for a fully ordained Buddhist monk, one who leads a pure and celibate life and who upholds the basic 250 monastic regulations (227 in the Theravada tradition).

"Bhikshu has three meanings, and so it is not translated from Sanskrit. It means 'mendicant', 'frightener of Mara'[i.e., the king of the heavenly demons], and 'destroyer of evil'. Above, a Bhikshu seeks the food of Dharma from all the Buddhas to nourish his Dharma body.

Below, he seeks food from living beings to nourish the life of his wisdom. In making the alms round for food, he must seek alms from the rich and poor equally. What benefits does making the alms-round for food bring? It gives living beings a chance to plant blessings. Living beings make offerings to the Triple Jewel in order to attain blessings and virtue.

Unless they make offerings to the Triple Jewel, their blessings thin out, and day by day they accordingly undergo more suffering. Many people don't know enough to make offerings on their own, and so the Bhikshus make the alms-round for food to make them aware of this practice. Seeking alms helps the Bhikshus to reduce their greed.

It also helps lay people give rise to charitable states of mind. When Bhikshus seek alms, they make the alms-round in succession, from one house to the next; they can't skip over the poorer families and seek alms from the rich, hoping for better offerings. They must not discriminate in their seeking alms. They have to seek alms equally from all living beings, so that all will have an equal opportunity to plant blessings.

"The second meaning of the word Bhikshu is 'frightener of Mara'. When a person leaves the home-life to become a Bhikshu, the heavenly demons are upset. This is like your coming here to study the Buddhadharma: the demon kings use all their tricks to get you to quit studying, because they don't like it one bit.

If you leave the home-life, the demons are even more unhappy. When a Bhikshu steps up on the Precept Platform for the [Bhikshu] Precepts to be transmitted, the three masters and seven certifiers, representing the Buddhas of the ten directions and the three periods of time, who administer and certify the precepts, ask him, 'Have you brought forth the Bodhi mind?' And he says, 'Yes.' Then they ask him, 'Are you a great hero?'

And he says, 'Yes I am.' At that time, an earth travelling yaksa takes the news to a space travelling yaksa, and the space-travelling yaksa flies up to the demon kings in the heavens and informs them that, among human beings, yet another one has left home to become a Bhikshu. When the demon king hears this, his palace quakes, as if there were an earthquake, and the demon king is afraid. Thus, Bhikshus are called 'frighteners of Mara.'

"Third, the word Bhikshu means 'destroyer of evil'. Bhikshus break through all the evils of the afflictions. People have afflictions which come to them at birth. When they are born, they lose their tempers and get angry and cry. Bhikshus break through afflictions, and just that is Bodhi. They give rise to the Bodhi mind.

"Since the word Bhikshu includes these three meanings, it is not translated but is left in the Sanskrit."

The three meanings of Bhikshu complement the three meanings of Arhat






Bhikshuni is a Sanskrit term that designates a Buddhist nun. It is the feminine form of Bhikshu


The Buddha made the revolutionary move of establishing an organization, the bhiksuni-sangha, for women who wanted to devote themselves exclusively to the Dharma.

In doing so he recognized the inherent spiritual worthiness of women and indicated that they too could become enlightened. Later, as recorded in the Dharma Flower Sutra, the Buddha predicted that particular Bhikshunis would become Buddhas.

[Parinaz_M]

One who cultivates blessings and not wisdom
Is like an elephant wearing a necklace;
One who cultivates wisdom and no blessings
Is like a Arhat with an empty bowl.


"How does one accumulate blessings? It is from a number of actions, not just one. There is a saying, 'Don't skip doing a good deed just because it is small, and don't do a bad deed just because you think it is insignificant'. . . . For example, you should not think that a little lie is of no major importance.

If you tell a lot of little lies, they become a big lie. In the same way, you should not think that killing an ant is a small and unimportant matter, because if one day you kill a person, it will have begun with your killing the ant. You should pay attention to little things and not follow your whims and wishes.

To cultivate diligently the accumulation of blessings involves being very careful to do the deeds that should be done, even if they accumulate only a small amount of merit and virtue. Gradually they cause an accumulation of great merit and virtue. Mount Tai [a sacred mountain in China] is made up of individual motes of dust, but even though motes of dust are small, many of them gathered together make up a mountain. So too is the creating of blessings." (UW 77)

The Buddha, said, 'When you see someone practicing the Way of giving, aid him joyously, and you will obtain vast and great blessings.'

A Shramana asked, 'Is there an end to those blessings?'

The Buddha said, 'Consider the flame of a single lamp. Though a hundred thousand people come and light their own lamps from it so that they can cook their food and ward off the darkness, the first lamp remains the same as before. Blessings are like this, too.' (S42 23)

Sometimes a distinction is made between worldly 'blessings' or good karma and world-transcending merit and virtue.

Blessings attached to marks reap the
result of the heavens.
But just as an arrow shot into space
Falls as its velocity wanes,
So too, what you get in the life after that will make you unhappy. (FAS Ch24 44)

Building temples and giving sanction to the Sangha, practicing giving and arranging vegetarian feasts is called 'seeking blessings'. Do not mistake blessings for merit and virtue. Merit and virtue are in the Dharma body, not in the cultivation of blessings.

(PS 133)

A confused person will foster blessings,
but not cultivate the Way,
And say, 'To practice for the blessings
is practice of the Way.'

While giving and making offerings
brings blessings without limit,
It is in the mind that the three evils
have their origin.

By seeking blessings you may wish
to obliterate offenses,
But in the future, though you are blessed,
offenses still remain.

You ought simply to strike the evil
conditions from your mind
By true repentance and reform
within your own self-nature.





If the mad mind stops, its very stopping is bodhi.
(SS)

All the things that exist in the world are the wonderfully bright inherent mind of bodhi.

(SS III 196)

"Bodhi is Sanskrit. It is interpreted to mean 'awakening to the Way'. . . . Where does bodhi come from? Bodhi doesn't come from anywhere or go anywhere. Each of us is endowed with it.

No one person has any more or less of it than anyone else. It neither increases nor decreases, neither comes into being nor ceases to be, nor is it defiled or pure." (SS I 180)

"The back of your hand is affliction, and the palm of your hand is bodhi. Realizing bodhi is just like flipping your hand from back to palm. When you turn affliction around, it's bodhi.

Afflictions are the same as bodhi. Birth and death are the same as nirvana. If you understand, then afflictions are bodhi. If you don't understand, then bodhi is affliction. Bodhi isn't outside of afflictions, and there are no afflictions outside the scope of enlightenment.

And so I very often cite the analogy of water and ice. If you pour a bowl of water over a person's body, even if you use a lot of force, you still won't hurt the person. However, if the bowl of water has turned into ice and you hit the person in the head with it, the person may very well die. Bodhi is like the water; afflictions are like the ice. If you melt ice, it becomes water; when you freeze water, it becomes ice."

[Parinaz_M]

The twenty-eighth Indian patriarch and founder and first patriarch in China of the Chan School in a lineage traced back to the Buddha Shakyamuni. He was in China in the late fifth and early sixth centuries A.D.
The Twenty-Eighth Indian Patriarch Great Master Bodhidharma

"The Patriarch was a native of Southern India, the third son of king Utmost Fragrance, of the Kshatriya class. At first the king made offerings to Prajnatara, because of being tested with a precious pearl. The patriarch Bodhidharma became clear about the mind ground Dharma Door. Prajnatara accordingly transmitted the Dharma to him. Venerable Prajnatara was the Twenty-Seventh Indian Patriarch. Some accounts say that Prajnatara was Patriarch Bodhidharma's disciple, and others say that he was Bodhidharma's teacher. And so in Buddhism there are many things that cannot be determined precisely because of the fallibility of historical records. We will consider the Venerable Prajnatara the Twenty-Seventh Indian Patriarch as many accounts do. But some books list him differently. From this we should realize that not all books are accurate. A verse says;

The mind ground produces all seeds.
because of specifics there further emerges principle.
When the fruit is full, bodhi is perfected.
When the flower blossoms, the worldly arises.

The specifics reveal the principle. But it can go either way, depending on what people do. The fruit can ripen into Bodhi or it can flower into all kinds of worldly problems.

"When the patriarch had obtained the Dharma for a very long time, he called to mind that conditions in China were ripe, and so he sailed by boat to see the reigning king Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty. When he reached Guangzhou (Canton), a subordinate envoy of the royal house of Xiao sent word to Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty, who thereupon asked him to come to see him.

"He asked him, 'What is the sagely truth in the primary sense, the primary principle?'

"The Patriarch said, 'There simply isn't any sage.'

"Emperor Wu of Liang simply didn't understand what he was talking about, and so he said, 'Then who is before me? Who is it who is talking to me?' His meaning was, 'You're a sage, aren't you? You are talking to me, and so who is that?'

"The Patriarch said, 'I don't recognize him.' I don't recognize who he is.

"The Emperor did not make the connection. Emperor Wu of Liang did not understand that sages have no attributes of a self. He considered himself a sage and was very self-satisfied, but he basically was the same as any ordinary person. Because of that, the Patriarch crossed the Yangtze River and passed through the part of China that was under Wei reign. The Liang dynasty reigned in southern China with its capital at Nanjing. The north of China was at the same time governed by the Wei Dynasty with its capital at Loyang. This was during the Five Kingdoms period (386-581), and so China was divided into many different countries with different rulers. He arrived at Shaolin Monastery on Song Mountain. Afterwards he met Shenguang and transmitted the Great Dharma to him. He transmitted the Patriarchs' Proper Dharma Eye Treasury to Shenguang. And then accompanied him to Thousand Sages Monastery in Yunnan. He transformed himself while seated. He sat down and went off to rebirth. That is what this account says. But many books say that Patriarch Bodhidharma did not enter the stillness (i.e., nirvana) at all. These are inconceivable events and are not subject to ordinary proofs and tests of truth. He was buried at Bear's Ear Mountain. Emperor Taizhong of the Tang dynasty conferred the posthumous title of 'Perfectly Enlightened Great Master' upon him. his stupa inscription reads: 'Contemplator Of Emptiness'.

"A verse in praise of him says:

When he first came to China,
He did not recognize who was before the emperor.
Overturning nest and bowl,
He beat emptiness until it bled.
He met a person who cut off his arm.
At Bear's Peak the path came to its end.
He divided his marrow and divided his skin,
Adding frost on top of snow.

'Overturning nest and bowl' means he broke through the antiquated patterns, and so there wasn't any 'niche' for him. The Second Patriarch cut off his arm for the sake of the Dharma, and so Patriarch Bodhidharma transmitted the Dharma to him. Arriving at Bear's Ear Mountain, where he transmitted the Dharma, he had no further place he needed to go. 'He divided his marrow and divided his skin.' Some obtained the marrow of the Patriarch's teaching, some obtained the skin. The analogy is of frost added to snow. Snow is very cold to start with and when frost is added it is even colder still.

[Parinaz_M]

'Bringing forth the Bodhi resolve' means generating a true intention in your mind to become enlightened. That intention is a seed that can grow to create a Buddha. Bringing forth the Bodhi resolve is the beginning of the Path to enlightenment.

"When you have your first thought of faith in the Buddha, that's bringing forth the Bodhi resolve.

"To want to cultivate is called bringing forth the Bodhi resolve.

"Bringing forth the Bodhi resolve is simply benefitting others. Not having selfish thoughts of benefitting oneself is bringing forth the Bodhi resolve."


"The Bodhi resolve arises when, during the course of one's cultivation, one is most singleminded. One becomes a Buddha right here in the world, and it may occur at any time throughout several hundreds of thousands of myriads of aeons. Shakyamuni Buddha cultivated for three great asankhyeya (see entry) kalpas. And how long is an asankhyeya kalpa? It can only be described as a limitless length of time. . . . That means that Shakyamuni Buddha cultivated for three limitlessly vast expanses of time.

"Therefore, in the Flower Adornment Sutra we are told how at the time of first bringing forth the resolve, one realizes Proper and Equal Enlightenment. When one is singleminded to the utmost, the Bodhi resolve suddenly comes forth, and one becomes a Buddha. It can also happen in one's mind in the course of walking the Path of Bodhi.

In cultivating the Six Paramitas (see entry) and the myriad practices, one is also bringing forth the Bodhi resolve. When one is non-retreating to the point that one would never turn back, one is also bringing forth the Bodhi resolve. By being vigorous day and night, one is also bringing forth the Bodhi resolve.

For example, those who live at the Way-place here do Morning Recitation, work all day long, and then when evening comes, they forget about sleep-even after working so hard all day long. That's all part of bringing forth the Bodhi resolve. Therefore, you should all be attentive and not reject these aspects of bringing forth the Bodhi resolve-don't neglect them.

Use whatever skill you have in cultivation, and consider the Bodhi resolve to be your personal responsibility and your responsibility toward others. In that way, you will be vigorous in your work. That is how one can be a superior and lofty person