Thus Have I Seen (and Heard)

Manjurshri Bodhisattva stands guard over the Chinese edition of 'Expounding the Absolute Truth Through the Heart Sutra' on the altar in the Buddha Hall at the Holy Vajrasana Temple.

Buddha-dharma Events Retreats

Hearing “Expounding the Absolute Truth Through the Heart Sutra”

Last week I read the first part of this amazing sutra based on the “Heart Sutra” by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III to those attending our week-long retreat at the Holy Vajrasana Temple. We will continue this effort with...

December 17, 2018

5 comments

203 views

3 min read

Art Buddha-dharma Events

Journey to the West

This 16th century novel Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature that provides a fictionalized account of the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk...

December 17, 2018

Add comment

380 views

2 min read

Buddha-dharma

Special Dharma Lessons in a Silver Box

We are on retreat this week, studying “Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Heart Sutra” at the Holy Vajrasana Temple, so we will not have a regular blog this or next week, but I would like to invite...

December 8, 2018

2 comments

95 views

2 min read

Art Buddha-dharma

Zhiyi (Chih-I)’s Meditation Manual on Shamatha and Contemplation

At the recent retreat where we focused on the “Supreme and Unsurpassable Mahamudra of Liberation (SAUMOL),” we had considerable discussion on the meaning of certain terms, especially those relating to...

December 2, 2018

Add comment

1,429 views

6 min read

Holy Mandala created through a stone slab.

Buddha-dharma Events Miracles

Who is a Worthy Master? Erroneous Views #40 & #46

Anyone who boasts that he or she is a virtuous or holy person and serves as a role model for others is not worthy of being a master nor are they an appropriate role model for anyone. A true guru doesn’t just speak...

December 2, 2018

Add comment

98 views

3 min read

Art Buddha-dharma

Showing Gratitude to your Root Master

Students should make offerings and show gratitude to their root master who transmits dharma to them as this master is the source of their liberation and enlightenment. Erroneous View # 57: THE VIEW THAT IT IS...

December 2, 2018

Add comment

84 views

2 min read

Buddha-dharma

What Is Unacceptable Behavior in a Master? Erroneous Views #72, #73, & #74

You should not accept as your Vajra Master anyone who is arrogant, filled with self-pride, ignorant, false, or does not have bodhicitta. The “Fifty Stanzas of Guru Devotion” do not apply to false gurus, only...

December 2, 2018

Add comment

65 views

3 min read

Buddha-dharma Events Quotes

QUOTE–Entering into the State of Liberation

Through the “Mahamudra of Liberation” that is supreme and unsurpassed, and the secret initiations and transmissions of holy dharma from my Buddha Master, I achieved control over my own...

November 25, 2018

Add comment

12 views

1 min read

Buddha-dharma Events

Dharma King Gar Tongstan “Verses of Respectful Farewell”

Namo beneficent Master, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Disciple Gar Tongstan Ciren Gyatso has decided to leave this world. As life is filled with suffering, I rushed about learning Buddhism and seeking enlightenment. I...

November 25, 2018

Add comment

100 views

2 min read

Dharma King Gar Tongstan's sharira from his 2018 cremation.

Buddha-dharma Events Miracles

Dharma King leaves shariras and relics as proof of his enlightened state

Dharma King Gar Tongstan attained mastery over his own birth and death. He said he would leave this world before the ink got dry and he did. After he was cremated, he left behind ringsels (Tibetan term for shariras);...

November 25, 2018

Add comment

133 views

1 min read