A Japanese term one hears when being introduced to Tendai Buddhism is Mikkyō. This refers to esoteric or tantric Buddhism. Esoteric Buddhism is often translated as the ‘secret teaching’. Esoteric Buddhism is Vajrayana (Vajra vehicle) and is practiced in...
Part 1: The Gift of Spring. This past winter was one of the warmest experienced in the Northeast U.S. in my lifetime. It seems that almost each month for the last few years has been the warmest in history. Snow fall, ice storms, and other ‘usual’ weather events were...
The Alabama ruling dealt with embryos being stored in an In Vitro Fertility clinic in Alabama. This case is a direct result of the upturning of the Roe vs Wade decision by the Supreme Court last year. It deals with many of the same issues that are involved in abortion...
Smṛtyupasthāna -The Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness – is often referred to as the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. The term Smṛty means to remember the dharmas, which allows one to see the true nature of phenomena or reality. The foundation of...
Part 1: Year of the Dragon Each Of the twelve animals in the Chinese astrological cycle the dragon is the only mythological beast. This creature is featured both as a symbol of state power and one of the primordial animals that is responsible for the creation of the...
Where’s Shumon and Monshin? Last month Shumon and I spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Honolulu attending the 50th anniversary celebration of the Tendai-shu Hawai’i Betsuin (Tendai Mission of Hawai’i), the installation of Rev. Tanaka Shojun as the new abbot, and...
