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Path: Stages in Practice (3/3)
Posted on23. Dec, 2011 by Hokai.
Shingon is an esoteric school of Mahayana, and Mahayana is a bodhisattva doctrine. Bodhisattva is interested in awakening others and himself equally. The general classification of the bodhisattva stages, according to the exoteric teachings, is as follows: a) ten stages of faith, b) ten stages of understanding, c) ten stages of practice, d) ten stages [...]
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Path: Stages in Practice (2/3)
Posted on22. Dec, 2011 by Hokai.
Nirbhaya literally means “fearlessness” or simply “no fear.” In Shingon, it means equanimity. However, it is also synonymous with ashvasa, meaning “to revive,” so it implies a surge of regeneration. Nirbhaya signifies an awakening through freeing oneself from the bonds of klesha and thus awakening to realize one’s inherent wakefulness (skt. bodhi). The six nirbhaya theory describes the [...]
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Path: Stages in Practice (1/3)
Posted on20. Dec, 2011 by Hokai.
In the Mahavairocana Sutra, we find the phrase “mind just as it is,” synonymous to what the seminal Awakening of Faith (skt. Mahayana-shraddhotpada) calls “inherent wakefulness.” Nirvana Sutra calls it buddha-nature (skt. tathagatagarbha or sugatagarbha or buddhadhatu), the Prajnaparamita literature calls it prajna, while the Sukhavativyuha literature calls it “pure land” (we might go as far [...]
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Path: Initial Awakening
Posted on18. Dec, 2011 by Hokai.
The two main visual mandalas used in Shingon – Garbhakosha and Vajradhatu – are iconographic representations of Shingon doctrine, which is a theoretical explanation of the identity of human and the Buddha, based upon the supposition of inherent buddha-nature. This identity of man and Buddha, however, represents the ideal. Human mind is ordinarily covered by [...]
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Ten Levels of Mind
Posted on16. Dec, 2011 by Hokai.
Although the ten levels of master Kukai, founder of Shingon in Japan, have been described and interpreted in different ways, basically they represent stages through which the esoteric practitioner passes as delusions are penetrated, and increasingly deeper strata of mind are reclaimed. In another view, these ten stages may be seen as descriptions of Buddhist [...]
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Buddhist Geeks Conference 2012
Posted on16. Dec, 2011 by Hokai.
The dedicated website for Buddhist Geeks Conference 2012, to be held August 9th-11th next year in Boulder, Colorado, is now live. The Buddhist Geeks Conference is one of the only events on the planet where you can participate at the intersection of Buddhism, technology, and global culture and brings together preeminent leaders in the fields [...]
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Interview with David Chapman
Posted on14. Dec, 2011 by Hokai.
An engaging and provocative 2-part interview with David Chapman, that I did as host for Buddhist Geeks, is available online now. It’s mainly on what David calls “Consensus Buddhism” of the past 30-40 years, and a little bit on possible alternatives. Please enjoy! Part One Part Two
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Limited emotional range?
Posted on11. Dec, 2011 by Hokai.
(stuff I posted awhile ago on the original Dharma Overground community forum) It’s painful to think of awakening in terms of the limited emotional range model. Once our humanity has been “blown-out” and eradicated, how do we relate to anything or anyone? Is there just one reality and understanding the emotional range pre- and post-realization [...]
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Enlightened stewardship
Posted on08. Dec, 2011 by Hokai.
(stuff I posted awhile ago on the original Dharma Overground community forum) I’m certain it’s not the universe that punked you, or me, or anyone else.:-) Being punk’d and pwn’d is to be accepted cheerfully, no? Ultimately, this whole going on cannot be just an opportunity to develop evasion skills and thus get away without [...]
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Self and Human Desire
Posted on03. Dec, 2011 by Hokai.
The esoteric concept of “great bliss” (skt. mahasukha, jap. tairaku) was a further development of Mahayana teachings identifying birth-and-death with freedom, and delusion with awakening. In the esoteric expression, human desires are affirmed as bodhisattvic activities, while sexual drive in particular is used as metaphor for the practitioner’s yearning to unite with the deity, Great [...]
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- hokaisobol: North Korea’s dynastic succession - Le Monde diplomatique - English edition http://t.co/s47zYzgA February 3, 2012
- hokaisobol: RT @BuddhistGeeks: The Future of the Dharma in the West: Looking Deep with Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel on Feb. 25th http://t.co/xsQRA34g #f ... February 3, 2012
- hokaisobol: RT @TheBrowser: Philosophy As The Great Naïveté: Fascinating interview with philosopher of language, Jason Stanley http://t.co/dkJmLGBk ... February 3, 2012
- hokaisobol: RT @VincentHorn: Our capacity for self-delusion is incredibly high. That's one of the (many) reasons that we need each other. February 2, 2012
- hokaisobol: RT @_alan_chapman: Anyone who bases their view of enlightenment - and so reality itself - on science is inviting a great deal of egg on ... February 1, 2012
- hokaisobol: @Meaningness going deep may well be a prerequisite for going open, not an end in itself. February 1, 2012
- hokaisobol: In Europa http://t.co/ClB2udPk Excellent Dutch program! January 31, 2012
- hokaisobol: Most people never get far in practice. Is it really that difficult? Yes. But are we also doing a poor job at optimizing? #openDharma January 31, 2012
- hokaisobol: RT @BuddhistGeeks: Enlightenment for the Rest of Us http://t.co/qmT2BcUK January 31, 2012
- hokaisobol: To say that everything matters is such an understatement. #deepDharma January 30, 2012
