Dharma Wheel

Jundo: "Anyway, the Soto-shu does not "recognize" any Soto Zen priest's Dharma Transmission anywhere unless they wish to administer a Soto-shu temple in Japan or overseas." That is my point. I read the website to strongly imply that Matsuoka Roshi was giving "transmissions&q...

Wonderful Bokusan qoute!

"A cloudless, blue sky still needs to be hit with a stick".

Well, I guess "I was mocking" is an even clearer indication that I was not jumping to conclusions. The statement Virgo references is in no way a contradiction of the Four Noble truths and is instead built on them. Variants of it will be found in almost all Mahayana and modern Theravada Bud...

I would be very surprised to lean that Welch was a Buddhist teacher. I studied (academically) with people who knew him and I assume they would have mentioned it. The controversies over Reverend Soyu Matsuoka, the other "transmitter," are well known. The Soto organization, despite the websi...

"It would be great to invite some of the Hongaku Jodo guys here..." Isn't that unnecessarily cruel?

Virgo asked, "Suffering is not real, slavery is not real, abuses are not real, people are not real, harming others is not real?" Any basic text on Buddhism will explain this in more detail, but in short slavery, etc. is not real, neither is it not real, etc. same with ignorance, old age, d...

Anything that actually helps people seems like a good thing.

Tomamundsen, I suspect you see a disconnect because Jundo is talking about Zen Buddhism and knows of what he speaks. There are many, many such books about practioners' awakening and examinations of such over the last thousand and more years readily available. Producing them sometimes appears to be o...

"Are there any Zen sources that describe what Buddhahood is, in an externally-verifiable kind of way? If we're going to compare Zen to Indian Mahayana, this will be helpful. Otherwise, it feels like we may be comparing apples and oranges." I just don't understand the question. However, I d...

Getting back to Zen for a second since this is a Zen section (and I am dependent on words or letters) I should add that Korean Zen does not typically use a system of koans (gongan) or wato (hwadu), partially to avoid any appearance of belief in gradual enlightenment (Seung Sahn sunim created a Japan...

In Korean Zen there is a still continuing debate about Sudden Enlightenment/Gradual Cultivation vs. Sudden Enlightenment/Sudden Cultivation As I understand, in the latter position "initial awakenings" are not considered as awakenings at all,only "profound awakenings" count as awa...

Being named in a lineage chart has great value, but is not being "declared a Buddha" (or more or less of A Buddha than others!) in the various Zen traditions. It comes primarily from the Chinese tradition of naming/honoring your ancestors, both physical and spritual (who taught who?).

As Hakuin would tell you, inspirational books can be of great, but limited, value. I say this as a person who loves and values reading Hakuin by the way. If you want to really practice with koans please fInd a teacher.

Polygamy in East Asia (and I believe in India, but am not sure) would be quite rare outside of the upper class. In East Asia concubines would be common among the rich and aristocracy. Polyandry is very rare outside of certain isolated Himalyan regions.

That's supercool! :bow: Kirtu wrote "Also there used to be a temple that was online ~ 2000 where you could copy sutras (online). I found it and copied a except from the Tannisho. A moth or two later they sent me a yellow plastic juzu and thanked me in meticulously typed print on the thinnest on...

This may be of interest. Yuienbō's recollections of the words of Shinran are available in free PDF form at http://www.bdk.or.jp/pdf/bdk/digitaldl/dBET_Tannisho-Ofumi_1996.pdf (BDK has offered quite a few of its translations for free in the same form.) Aditionally they will ship you for free a paperb...

I am using standard terminology as used in the US. I am fully aware of US laws and practice in regard to the media and familiar with the law and practice in many countries. I was actually trying to advance the discussion and be helpful. That does not seem to have happened so I will move on. :namaste:

A "media gag order" is an order to the media not to publish something, in effect, prior censorship. It a term and process quite legally used in England. However, it cannot be used in the US as the Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled. Take a look at the landmark NYT Pentagon Papers case if y...

Just a note that we don't have "media gag orders" in the US. The dead are not taxed; their heirs are taxed on their income, including what they receive as inheritances. This is important because in the US some claim that this is a case of double taxation or of "being taxed when you di...