Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Guide

10/28/2023

Vanessa Zuisei Goddard on the famous Zen koan “Mu,” and how it helps us dive into buddhanature.

10/27/2023

“A plum blossom in the snow is the one-time emergence of the udumbara flower. How often do we see our Buddha Tathagata’s true dharma eye, yet miss his wink and fail to smile? Right now, we have authentically transmitted and accepted that the plum blossom in the snow is truly the Tathagata’s eyeball.” —Dogen

Shohaku Okumura explains the connection between non-sentient beings and buddhanature.

10/27/2023

"This precious human life, as miserable and confounding as it can feel, affords us the rare chance to recognize and realize our own pristine mind nature." —Heidi Nevin in the Fall 2023 issue of Buddhadharma

Buddhist teacher-practitioners from across traditions share personal moments that gave them insight into the true nature of mind.

10/26/2023

The Fall 2023 issue of Buddhadharma features in-depth teachings and articles on buddhanature. Inside, we explore why it matters, key buddhanature texts, meditations on buddhanature, and more.

See what's inside the latest issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Guide.

10/26/2023

Through September and October, Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche, the spiritual heir and grandson of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, visited the US to offer teachings in New York, Montana, and Colorado.

10/19/2023

"For Shinran, the humble acknowledgement of our incorrigible status turns out to be the beginning of an authentic dharma life."

I am such that I do not know right and wrong And cannot distinguish false and true; I lack even small love and small compassion, And yet, for fame and profit, enjoy teaching others. —The Collected…

10/19/2023

"We usually think that if something is not one, it is more than one; if it is not singular, it is plural. But in actual experience, our life is not only plural, but also singular."

To mark the fiftieth anniversary of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi‘s Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, we present two teachings from the book.

10/18/2023

"In the Tibetan culture described by Lewis, compassion is not just a vague moral imperative. Rather, it’s a pragmatic skill to transform the experience of suffering."

Katherine King reviews Spacious Minds: Trauma and Resilience in Tibetan Buddhism by Sara E. Lewis. Buddhism in the West is having a difficult time. With allegations of misconduct made against…

10/18/2023

"The seed of ease and awakeness, we’re taught, resides in all of us, but that’s not to say that we don’t feel outrage, that we don’t take a stand." -Doshin Mako Voelkel

How do we hold the realities of racism in our hearts, asks Doshin Mako Voelkel. And how do we hold the parts of ourselves that might want to look away?

10/17/2023

The more fundamental extinction we’re facing is the extinction of truth. All the other forms of extinction come under that.

In order to shed light on the realities of climate change, says Ajahn Sucitto, first we should get more comfortable with the darkness.

10/17/2023

"To disentangle a great tree from an invasive vine, you must become intimate with both."
-Willa Blythe Baker

Willa Blythe Baker explores the idea of “entanglement,” coming to the conclusion that the opposite of attachment isn’t detachment — it’s intimacy.

10/16/2023

"Hope acquired through direct experience gives us insight into change."

Oren Jay Sofer, Sister Clear Grace, and Ayya Yeshe look at the meaning of hope in Buddhism and what it means in today's world.

10/15/2023

"The Zen narrative fit well into the nationalist impulses of the Vietnamese reform movement and was adopted as the main narrative of Vietnamese Buddhism, repeated in nearly all subsequent historical accounts of Buddhism in Vietnam."

A century ago, Buddhists in Vietnam—and in much of Asia—started rewriting their traditions, and in some cases even their history. Alec Soucy explains how what we think we know of Vietnamese Buddhism…

10/15/2023

"The way Buddhism was sold to white America was very individualistic. You sit on your cushion, you meditate, you work on your stuff, and you don’t have to deal with the world."
—Carol Iwata

La Sarmiento, Margarita Loinaz, and Carol Iwata discuss the experiences of BIPOC Buddhist practitioners—the obstacles they face, and the contributions they are making. Moderated and with an…

10/14/2023

"While Buddhist texts themselves may not be political, the practice of Buddhism in combination with speech and action certainly can be." -Brenna Artinger

If we don’t allow our practice to include the political, asks Brenna Artinger, then how can we stand up to those who do?

10/14/2023

"Does an ethical stance require unwavering commitment to nonviolence, even when that means the country under attack will lose its territory and population to a murderous foe? Is nonviolent resistance obligatory when war crimes are committed in plain sight?"

How does Buddhism make sense of war? In the abstract, the teachings are straightforward. But according to Bhikkhu Bodhi, if we find ourselves supporting those who are fighting back in Ukraine, then…

10/14/2023

"Even an “empirical” proof of rebirth—were there one—would not necessarily confirm the Buddhist theory of rebirth, either in its broad strokes or its fine details."

Questions around rebirth—from how it works to whether it’s even real—have energized and divided Buddhists for millennia. In this excerpt from his book "Rebirth," Roger R. Jackson unpacks the…

10/13/2023

"“Wisdom seeks wisdom” is zazen practice, and everyday life is wisdom. Realization of our precepts is our everyday life; when our everyday life is based on wisdom, we call it “precepts.”"

In this teaching from 1965—taken from the oldest extant recording of his talks—Shunryu Suzuki Roshi explains what it means to understand your true nature.

10/13/2023

There are healing practices and rituals found across Buddhist traditions that reinforce the notion of the healing power of dharma. Dr. C. Pierce Salguero asks, what’s behind the Buddhist approach to healing and medicine? Is the healing power of dharma simply placebo or something more?

There are healing practices and rituals found across Buddhist traditions that reinforce the notion of the healing power of dharma. Dr. C. Pierce Salguero asks, what's behind the Buddhist approach to…

10/12/2023

This is an excerpt from Chapter 4 of The Making of American Buddhism by Scott A. Mitchell. Provided courtesy of Oxford University Press. We thank Oxford University Press for sharing this with Buddhadharma’s readers, and we thank our readers for supporting dharma publishers.

An excerpt from Chapter 4 of The Making of American Buddhism by Scott A. Mitchell. Copyright © 2023 by Scott A. Mitchell provided courtesy of Oxford University Press.

10/12/2023

Jill Shepherd explores the relationship between the perfection of energy and wisdom, and how applying our energy and effort wisely leads to less harm to ourselves and others.

10/06/2023

In this conversation with Buddhadharma, the Insight Meditation Society cofounder applies the “harmonized understanding” approach championed in his book One Dharma to the idea of buddhanature.

In this conversation with Buddhadharma, the Insight Meditation Society cofounder applies the “harmonized understanding” approach championed in his book One Dharma to the idea of buddhanature. In the…

10/06/2023

Rather than focus on the existence or non-existence of the self, he (the Buddha) focused on the real problem: the actions by which a sense of self is formed and becomes an object of clinging—what he called “I-making” and “my-making”

Thanissaro Bhikkhu, featured author in the Summer 2023 "Power & The Practitioner" issue of Buddhadharma, explores the Buddha’s teachings on how a sense of self is formed, how we use the five…

10/05/2023

"Buddhist scriptures were, first and foremost, material objects that radiated powers of protection, merit, and blessings."

Lama Hun Lye explores the power of images and how we can take inspiration from the different ways the awakened state has been represented across Buddhist traditions.

10/05/2023

Experientially, in Buddhist practice we are constantly shifting between these two poles or levels — the conventionally constructed self of form, and the deeper cosmic truth of emptiness and oneness.

Mark Unno explains how giving ourselves over to other power, an idea central to Asian Buddhist thought, can lead us to awakening.

10/04/2023

"If we practice right diligence, right faith, and right mindfulness, we won’t lose the path. If faith is fading, it means the other four factors have not been exercised properly."

Sister Dang Nghiem on how her teacher Thich Nhat Hanh taught the “five strengths,” and how we can transform and harness them into powers that drive and deepen our dharma practice.

10/04/2023

"Although Naropa’s knowledge, insight, and practice of the most profound Buddhist teaching was exemplary, he had not yet fully transcended the realm of the intellect to discover the vast openness and clarity of his own awareness."

Naropa, among the most revered figures in Vajra­yana Buddhism, began as one of Nalanda’s foremost scholar–practitioners. Elizabeth Monson tells the story of his transformation from brilliant pandita…

10/03/2023

Buddhist teacher-practitioners from across traditions share personal moments that gave them insight into the true nature of mind.

10/02/2023

Lopen Karma Phuntsho, writer-in-residence for Tsadra Foundation’s Buddha-Nature project, takes a look at the history and development of the Mahayana concept of buddhanature.

10/01/2023

Looking at the words of classical texts, Karl Brunnhölzl explores the notions of buddhanature and emptiness—how they may be understood as one and the same, and how they are not identical.

10/01/2023

“What if,” asks Tsadra Foundation executive director Marcus Perman, “we were brought up with the knowledge that each one of us is by nature capable of complete freedom from suffering, and that we possess wisdom and compassion on a nearly unthinkable scale?”

“What if,” asks Tsadra Foundation executive director Marcus Perman, “we were brought up with the knowledge that each one of us is by nature capable of complete freedom from suffering, and that we…

09/30/2023

Gary Donnelly shares a selection of key buddhanature texts to add to your reading list.

09/30/2023

Shohaku Okumura explains the connection between non-sentient beings and buddhanature.

09/30/2023

Four Buddhist teachers share concise instructions for recognizing the luminous nature of mind.

09/29/2023

Rev. Blayne Higa on the founder of Shin Buddhism’s “spiritual insight of imperfection and radical acceptance.” It can lead us to the ultimate realization of buddhanature.

09/29/2023

By letting go of the goal to realize buddhanature, says Paul Condon, we can embody it more freely.

09/28/2023

Joie Szu-Chiao Chen reviews seven new books for the Summer 2023 issue of Buddhadharma.

09/28/2023

Roshi Joan Halifax, Ari Goldfield, and Rev. Konin Dhammadipa Cardenas share their thoughts on the direct experience of emptiness.

“I think I have some intellectual understanding of the Buddhist teachings on emptiness, but when I look at the world or at myself, I don’t see them as empty. How do I go from a philosophical…