Tag Archives: bhiksus

A Docetic Mirror

As was stated in the introductory blog to this series, Chapter Five on The Adamantine Body will directly mirror what was covered in a Dharma-series last year entitled A Docetic Assessment. So once again, at this junction in the sutra, we will be engaging Michael Radich and his examination of the docetic factor in light of the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra. Recall that Docetic Buddhology is the belief that the Buddha only has “an apparent” material body. Radich argues that, in light of the first part of this chapter, that the Tathāgata’s true body is the dharmakāya-cum-vajrakāya. All this is broken down as follows (fully extracted from the aforementioned series): read more

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Something Rare

Chapter Three: Lamentations

(Charles Patton translation):

For a moment not long after Cunda had gone, the ground then shook and quaked in six ways. And on up to the Brahma realms. It was also again so. There were two earthquakes. One was an earthquake, and the other was a great earthquake. The smaller quake was called an earthquake. The greater quake was called a great earthquake. There was a smaller sound called an earthquake and there was a greater sound called a great earthquake. Where only the ground shook, that was called the earthquake. Where the mountains, trees, and the waters of the sea all shook, that was called the great earthquake. Where it shook to one side, that was called an earthquake. Where it shook everywhere and all around, that was called a great earthquake. When it shook and could lead the minds of sentient beings to shake, that was called a great earthquake. When the bodhisattvas from the Tusita heavens down to Jampudvipa first took notice, it was called a great earthquake. And when the first born left the households life to achieve the supremely unexcelled bodhi, to turn the dharmawheel, and to enter parinirvana, it was called a great earthquake. read more

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Emptiness on a Thursday Afternoon

Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra
46. Mañjuśrī Teaches Prajñāpāramitā
Translated from Taishō Tripiṭaka volume 11, number 310 read more

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