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giving
Illustration: Green Tara making a gesture of giving, holding a lotus. The historical Buddha is seated on the left at Visali with a begging bowl filled with honey given to him by the monkeys. The...
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buddhas, bodhisattvas, mahasattvas
Illustration: Buddha teaching the bodhisattvas, green Samantabhadra, blue Vajrapani, yellow Maitreya, yellow Manjusri, and white Avalokitesvara. On the right is a wrathful Jambhala holding a mongoose...
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a timber, a plank
The Simile of the Ship “When a ship is wrecked at sea, those who do not hold onto a timber, or plank, or other solid support will drown in the water, never reaching the other shore. Subhuti, those...
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in boundlessness, no near or far
Illustration: Manjughosa on a blue lion with two bodhisattva attendants (possibly Prince Sudhana and Yamari, an emanation of Manjushri) The Simile of Space “Lord Buddha, space does not think, ‘What am...
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intimate secret
Yes, a little Sprout fix for those of you feline-inclined. February is Feline Appreciation Month by the way, so go out and hug something furry with sharp teeth and claws. Back to books. Tasty ones....
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first line of defense
Try telling an orally fixated kitten that you too like to lick your bowl clean. It’s a Zen thing, I explained. Clean your bowl! As you can see, he’s not impressed. I’m fascinated by Sprout’s...
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resting places
Being a bodhisattva would be overwhelming if form, feelings, perceptions, memories, and consciousness were real. Imagine the assault on our sensory powers and the domains in which they function! Red...
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the five fears of the beginning bodhisattva
Sprout discovers The Thing. It doesn’t fill him with as much fear as the Five Fears that assail bodhisattvas. I found this a fascinating tidbit about bodhisattvas in Red Pine’s commentary (and there...
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on the art of losing one’s head
The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara while moving through the deep chaos of renovations saw that form is emptiness. She lost her head over that insight. I take it only as a comment on the profoundity of...
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hearts that see the forest
I’ve been immersed in books lately. More so than usual. Unfortunately these are not books I’m reading but books that are arriving, arriving at the door. Books to be reviewed, books to be read, books...
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the practice of stuckness
Tomorrow is the Harvest Moon. It’s also known as the Fruit Moon which prompts the question: what have been the fruits of our practice? What will we gather together with the intention that it nourish...
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when the body does what the body does
“In this fathom-long body with its perceptions and thoughts there is the world, the origin of the world, the ending of the world and the path leading to the ending of the world.” -AN 4.45 It always...
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