To neglect all your mothers from the past,
And remember only one is a form of attachment.
So don’t think that you’ve truly aroused compassion!
For as long as you have partiality and attachment,
There will be no liberation from saṃsāra.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a Mahayana Buddhist teaching- and group-based intervention, the Awareness Training Program (ATP), which is textually aligned to a Mahayana Sūtra so that its theory and practice are coherent. The ATP aims to alleviate stress by enhancing participant’s compassion and wisdom of nonattachment. Middle-aged working adults (n = 122) in Hong Kong participated in this randomized waiting-list controlled trial. Self-reported psychological questionnaires were used to assess the participants’ level of stress (PSS), sense of coherence (SOC), psychological well-being (GHQ), and nonattachment (NAS) at pretest, posttest, and 3 months later. The data showed significant improvements in the intervention group over the controls for all outcome measures at posttest and 3 months later. A mediation analysis demonstrated that nonattachment mediated both the treatment and the maintenance effects for all outcome variables.

It is difficult to overestimate the role that The Life of Milarepa has played in shaping the way Buddhism developed in Tibet and later came to be understood in the West. The present version, composed by Tsangnyön Heruka in the late fifteenth century, almost four hundred years after Milarepa, draws upon these early works. But the resulting narrative eclipsed them all, serving as the canonical record of Milarepa’s life ever since. It is now famous for its themes of sin and redemption, faith and devotion to the guru, perseverance in the face of hardship, dedication to meditative mastery, and the possibility of liberation in a single life.

An alternate English translation by Lobsang Lhalungpa (1982) can be found here.

Therefore, in Wŏnhyo’s One Mind philosophy, enlightenment is the act of returning to the One Mind. This can be achieved through the practice of the six paramitas—generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, meditative concentration, and wisdom—or by chanting to Amitābha with faith in the One Mind and the three Buddhist treasures.

This encyclopedic introduction to Korean Buddhism shows how Buddhism entered the Korean peninsula from China in the 3rd to 6th centuries and then developed uniquely through doctrines like Hwaŏm and Sŏn, becoming deeply embedded in Korean cultural, political, and philosophical life.

One who regards the 南泉 (Nánquán) gōng’àn as antinomianism is doctrinally confused, yet one who assigns feasibility to it is practically mistaken.

The study first unveils the pivotal role of the tathāgatagarbha and the central objective of “enlightening the mind and seeing the nature” (míngxīn-jiànxìng 明心見性). It then elaborates on the “two-tier scheme”—a metaethical structure suitable for explicating Chan philosophy. Following this, the study carefully analyzes three critical aspects of Chan morality: (1) The Chan attitude towards rules and precepts, which forms the practical basis for Chan ethics; (2) The characteristics and rationale of the spontaneous morality of enlightened beings; (3) Violence in Chan public cases (gōng’àn 公案), which transcends mundane ethics and epitomizes the great compassion of the Chan masters in transmitting the highest truth.

Of course, one who dies while sitting in zazen will never be unhappy. But it is nearly impossible to die in this manner if your body is suffering the pain of sickness. My own master (Gudō Kokushi) said, ‘Your zazen for one sitting is a lifetime of zazen.’ How edifying these words of his are.

A collection of short teachings to “seekers who would desire to go in the same way” originally compiled in 1670.

The translation here was published by The Eastern Buddhist in three installments in 1970 and 1971:

1. New Series vol 3 n 2, pp. 89–118
2. New Series vol 4 n 1, pp. 116–123
3. New Series vol 4 n 2, pp. 119–127

They are gathered here into a single PDF for your convenience.

I will concentrate on the intellectual exchange between Buddhism and Chinese culture and outline the major issues from the historical perspective.

A basic introduction to Buddhism’s introduction into China.

In elaborating the character of contemporary sūtra worship, the study considers the organisational structure of the worshippers of the sūtras, the sūtras’ popular significance in Nepal, and the manner in which their power is conceived of as related to the presence of life in the manuscripts, after which the practices of display (darśan yāyegu) and recitation (pā thyākegu) are explained.

For those great beings who desire
Supreme enlightenment
I shall explain the perfect methods
That the gurus taught

Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment, written by Atīśa Dīpaṃkara, is a key text in the Kadampa tradition and respected across all Tibetan Buddhist lineages. It provides a concise outline of the full Buddhist path, covering both sutra and tantra. This edition includes a new translation along with a commentary by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye, which presents the main points in a clear and practical manner.

In the teaching of my Guru, my mind is always happy.
Singing songs of inspiration, my mouth is always happy.
Wearing cotton from Nepal, my body’s always happy.
In delight I accomplish all and everything—
To me there is but cheer and joy.

This work is a collection of 60 songs by Milarepa, Tibet’s revered 11th-century yogi and saint. Translated by Garma C.C. Chang, the work displays Milarepa’s spiritual insights in accessible verses, covering themes like impermanence, renunciation, and the nature of suffering.

The old court eventually fell to a new military government which brought about the Kamakura period (1192–1333). The increasing discord and chaos of the times led to disillusionment and a call for the revival of faith. It was during these troubled time that Hōnen (1133–1212), Shinran (1173–1262), Eisai (1141–1215), Dōgen (1200–1253), Nichiren (1222–1282), and other Buddhist leaders appeared and expounded their teachings of salvation for all.

A concise history of Buddhism in Japan, tracing its development from its arrival to the present day. The work also explores the relationship between Japanese daily life and Buddhist rituals. It concludes with a hopeful message of fostering world peace through an understanding of oneness.

Gelugpas, on the other hand, were antagonistic to other-emptiness, and in their Mahamudra system, the emptiness of mind that must be discovered through insight meditation is a negation pure and simple, without any implication that mind’s ultimate nature includes positive qualities, not even luminosity

Roger R. Jackson explores how Dzogchen and Mahamudra, two prominent Tibetan Buddhist traditions, approach the nature of mind. Both traditions emphasize the recognition of the mind’s inherent qualities—emptiness, purity, luminosity, and awareness—as essential for spiritual liberation. While Dzogchen focuses on direct recognition of the primordial mind, Mahamudra offers a more gradual path, blending meditative practices with philosophical insights. Despite differences in methodology, both traditions ultimately aim to uncover the same underlying reality, highlighting a profound unity within Tibetan Buddhism.

I am just ‘who am.’ This ‘who am’ is never grasped as an object. To see this ‘who am’ without grasping or without using concepts is manifesting prajna (wisdom), just being present with ‘who am.’

This introduction to zazen is a collection of writings that includes reflections, instructions, a brief history of the Sōtō school, and translations of short foundational texts on the practice.

Legend has it that a ninth century Buddhist monk sailing back from China was caught in a storm. The monk, Kukai, appealed to a statue of Fudo for protection. The monk was rewarded with the vision of Fudo attacking the waves with the sword calming the storm and saving him the ship

Brief video introducing the guardian deity Fudo Myoo, an emanation of Mahāvairocana.

We are too spiritually weak and degenerate at this present time to carry out the earlier disciplines.

The two kinds of Japanese Buddhist schools are those that believe in jiriki (self-power) and those that rely on tariki (other-power) to lead to awakening.

Reciting the “Hero’s March Spell” every day causes goblins, demons, and strange ghosts to be sincere and refrain from harming people.

The Léngyán Zhòu (楞嚴咒), or Śūraṅgama Mantra, is a protective dhāraṇī that has long been chanted by East Asian Buddhists. This article explores the Śūraṅgama’s history and enduring appeal as well as the distinction between exoteric and esoteric magic.

… a translation of a small section of the first Bhāvanākramah (The Process of Meditation), a well-known Mahayana meditation manual written by Kamalasila (740-795 CE). This passage, appearing early in the text, allows us to gain a good sense of the context within which Mahayana concern for the well-being of animals arises.

Whereas the texts discussed in the first section generally argue for a stricter separation between these two domains, those in the second [Mahāyāna wave] strove to integrate medicine into the very heart of Buddhism.

On how the relief of medical suffering became central to Mahāyāna Buddhism.

Rather than the texts of a distinct form of Buddhism, it is better to regard them as a controversial class of text that spread within pre-existing Buddhist institutional structures.

Some have argued that early sūtras show an orientation toward asceticm and meditation, but the texts rarely mention these practices. They mainly advocate practices oriented toward the supernatural and the afterlife, especially textual practices focused on Mahāyāna sūtras themselves.

A quick debunking of some old theories about the early Mahāyāna.

Ethnobotanical surveys were conducted in six provinces of China to investigate and document Bodhi bead plants.

Forty-seven species in 19 families and 39 genera represented 52 types of Bodhi beads that were collected. The most popular Bodhi bead plants have a long history and religious significance. Most Bodhi bead plants can be used as medicine or food, and their seeds or fruits are the main elements in these uses.

I am able to show that the four phrases exemplified by “form is emptiness” were once a reference to the well-known simile, “Form is like an illusion”. As the Prajnāpāramitā corpus expanded, the simile became a metaphor, “form is illusion”. It was then deliberately altered by exchanging “illusion” for “emptiness”, leading to the familiar phrases.

This connection opens the door to reading the Heart Sutra, and the early Prajnāpāramitā sutras more generally, along the lines of Sue Hamilton’s epistemological approach to the Pāḷi suttas; i.e. as focussed on experience and particularly the meditative experience known in the Pāḷi suttas as “dwelling in emptiness.” In this view, the Heart Sutra makes sense on its own terms without having to invoke paradox or mysticism.

I do not believe one is committed to fundamentalism by the simple recognition that some traditions are more stable or more systematic than others, and it is a serious anthropological question to ask why.

The hypertensive risk of the Tibetan Buddhists is significantly decreased by 38% than Tibetan residents. As a Buddhist behavior, vegetarian diet highly approximates to be protective for Tibetan hypertension. As another Buddhist behavior, longer Buddhist activity participation time is associated with decreased prevalence of hypertension as well as lower blood pressure by analyzing subgroup of 570 Buddhists.

For the komusō, the shakuha-chi was not just a musical instrument but a veritable Dharma instrument (hōki).

On the long history of new media being used by Mahāyāna Buddhists to “spread the Dharma.”

By a misperception of emptiness
A person of little intelligence is destroyed.

A translation of a select seventy verses from Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā.

… self-referential passages functioned as self-promotion strategies suited to the employment of the emerging medium of the manuscript

… these devices come to be constitutive of Mahāyāna doctrine, as it is argued the Mahāyāna sutra texts themselves are constitutive of the Buddha’s true body.

What was the response of Soto Buddhist priests to the social situation facing Japan at the beginning of the twentieth century? What influence did their religious background have on their responses to the modernization of Japan? This article examines the lives and thought of two Japanese Soto Buddhist priests-Takeda Hanshi and Uchiyama Gudo-both with the same religious training and tradition, yet who chose diametrically opposite responses.

Takeda Hanshi supported Japan’s foreign policies, especially in Korea; Uchiyama opposed Japanese nationalism and militarism, and was executed for treason. What led them to such opposite responses, and what conclusions can be drawn concerning the influence of religious traditions on specific individual choices and activities?

… multiple ethical systems are vying for recognition regarding the self-immolations, and a certain Buddhist ambivalence around extreme acts of devotion complicate any easy designations of the act

Worlds upon worlds appear, each with bejeweled pagodas, within each pagoda a buddha

… the person represents the whole dynamic confluence of characters and actions in the world. Distinctions such as self and other, outside and inside, operate only as conventions within a story.

Was Baker’s commitment to Zen practice much greater than a number of other of Suzuki’s close, very committed senior disciples? Or was it that Baker, in addition to his commitment to Zen, was more committed to institutional growth than the others, and importantly, was the only disciple who possessed the necessary skills and qualities to achieve the growth that Suzuki desired?

The recent and (relatively) well-documented passing of the SF Zen Center from Suzuki Roshi to his American student Dick Baker offers a fascinating and rare glimpse into the inner dynamics of a “Dharma Transmission” and the social role it plays in Mahayana institutions.

One is in the center of the market engaged in all kinds of work and yet he stays on top of the solitary peak, gazing at the sky.

A word on the importance of balancing the relative and absolute, engagement and renunciation on the Bodhisattva path.

What distinguished Chan were its novel use of language, its development of new narrative forms, and its valorization of the direct and embodied realization of Buddhist awakening. In contrast with the epistemic, hermeneutical and metaphysical concerns that shaped other schools of Chinese Buddhism, Chan’s defining concerns were experiential and relational

An encyclopedic introduction to Chan.

… arouse the thought of enlightenment…

The first five of Dogen’s ten points of advice on entering the path.

there’s no teaching more profound
Than emptiness with compassion

We must decide, with firm conviction, that all that appears to us is nothing but our own deluded perception

The path from a Tibetan perspective, showing how Vajrayana is an extension of the Mahayana.

The spell overflows with concrete nouns and dynamic verbs, with-out ever committing fully to semantic or syntactic cohesion. What does such language do? How does it act in the world of the speaker or reader? The Saddharmapuṇḍarīka itself offers guarantees of efficacy, but does not explain the precise mechanism of the dhāraṇī.

Medieval, Chinese exegetes were unanimous in saying that dhāraṇī should not be translated, but offered a variety of explanations why.

Literacy disrupted the continuity of the oral tradition and reoriented access to knowledge from the oral- and aural-sense world to the visual world.

How the emerging Mahāyāna movement in India capitalized on new technology (writing) to legitimate and spread their teachings, and how the new medium shaped them in turn.

… love and compassion cannot simply be dropped on people

A short series of talks on compassion and entering the Bodhisattva Path delivered in India, February 2010.

Up until the middle of the first millennium, Avalokiteshvara consistently appeared in a magnificent, idealized body, yet one in accord with human norms. But sometime around the 6th century, an iconographic revolution occurred in Indian art, and he began to acquire additional arms, heads, and eyes.

An introduction to the history of Avalokiteshvara through Buddhist art.

Genuine dharma practice is not separate from life. Generally, when everything is going well, anyone can appear to be a good dharma practitioner. However, when things go wrong, when adversity strikes, that is the real test

Kannon has taken many forms in Japan and is probably the most venerated of Buddhist divinities.

A short introduction to Guanyin.

You can also hear a reading of this essay on YouTube.

This book is intended to give a basic understanding of taking refuge to those who are new to the Buddhist path, and to bring greater understanding to those already acquainted with it.

Armed with the attitude of loving-kindness and compassion, we naturally no longer have any external enemies.

A commentary on the classic, Tibetan summary of Bodhisattva practices explaining how they transform our mind and character.

There are three ways: best, intermediate and inferior.

Continually, I shall take refuge…

… for Śāntideva, since vice is always ultimately rooted in confusion, and the elimination of confusion issues in virtue, there can never be a situation in which one really knows what is right but chooses what is wrong. There is always a failure of knowledge, not just of will, in vicious action.

An introduction to Śāntideva’s Bodhicaryāvatāra.

… committing one’s life towards a path to awakening is, in fact, freeing not binding

How a Bodhisattva should hold the Triple Gem.

Three steps, one bow: that was how they made their pilgrimage. […] an unadorned account of an authentic spiritual journey.

A monk and novice write letters to their teacher as they prostrate their way up the California coast.

Note: this Second Edition is entitled Highway Dharma Letters: Two Buddhist Pilgrims Write to Their Teacher.

Amida Buddha emerged in Mahayana Buddhism from among the multitude of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, or other Indian divine beings to become the primary expression of Unconditional Compassion and Universal Wisdom [for Pure Land Buddhists]

… unlike other Buddhist traditions based on teachings contained in one or more Buddhist sūtras, the Zen school validates itself on the basis of being “a transmission outside the sutras” (kyōge betsuden). That is to say, a transmission of the Buddha-dharma from the enlightened mind of a Zen master to his/her disciple(s). But what happens in those cases when the “enlightened master” isn’t truly enlightened?

Given certain Zen Masters’ vociferous support of Japan’s militarism during World War II, how can their students today claim to have a legitimate “Dharma transmission”?

For a critique of Brian Victoria’s attack on Makiguchi specifically, see A Critical Analysis by Daniel Metraux.

Subsequent wheels build on and correct misconceptions in earlier ones, and the schema construes each successive dispensation as more profound than the preceding one(s) and as better representing the Buddha’s final thought.

A brief introduction to the schema Mahayanists used for valorizing their chosen sutras.

Human born.
Faculties intact.
Full of youth.
To encounter the Dharma is marvelous!

A short outline of the ideal monastic career.

… it appears contradictory that Chinese who follow the teachings of Mahāyāna Buddhism have worshipped arhats. […] who was the arhat for Chinese Buddhists?

A translation of a number of primary sources which, taken together, paint a surprisingly complete picture of the arhat “invitation” ritual of ~11th c. China, including what these events looked like, where they were performed, how they were imagined, who conducted them and what benefits the sponsors hoped to gain from them.

zuk tongpa o | tongpanyi kyang zuk so
Form is empty; emptiness is form;

For a translation of the (more typical) Chinese version of the Sūtra, see the Western Chan Fellowship.

There is indeed a third alternative for resolving such inconsistencies, and it comes in the form of the doctrines of neyārtha and nītārtha. It is neither the authenticity nor the pragmatic truth of the [offending] scriptures which the [Mahayana] tradition questions, but [rather] their intended meaning.

… what text does not contradict reality? Different schools of Buddhist philosophy have answered this question in different ways. Indeed, it is this fact which makes them different.

An introduction to Mahāyāna hermeneutics.

Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that the MNS has provided the historical starting-point as well as the chief scriptural basis for enquiry into the problem of the Buddha-nature in China, and it would be difficult if not impossible to grasp the significance of the concept and its subsequent evolution in Chinese Buddhism without a proper understanding of the teaching of the MNS on the subject.

A thorough introduction to the concept of the “Buddha-nature” in Mahāyāna Buddhism through its most influential, textual basis.

For my part, I have no instruction more profound
Than altruistic love and compassion

Kind protector, compassionate deity, heed me now, I pray

Notice how the self-empowering doctrine of Karma leaves a strong yearning for an external source of grace. A common trend in later Buddhisms was to provide such a God: either as a tantric Buddha, like here, or as a “distant” Buddha, like in the Amitabha and Maitreya cults.

Svā Kṣitigarbha, Essence of the Earth, you who nurture all beings

Bodhisattvas who genuinely take the bodhisattva vow of ethical discipline do nothing but act for the benefit of beings, either directly or indirectly, but unless one is skilful in benefiting these beings, no matter how much one does, it might not benefit beings, but could actually be a direct or indirect cause of harm.

An excellent summary of what to take into account in ethical decisions: useful for any serious practitioner.

A period of disorientation or depression is a small price to pay for more accurate knowledge.

… whether or not a story could have been captured by a camcorder as an empirical fact does not really matter. Its truth lies in its symbolic meanings

An impassioned call for dogmatic Buddhists to take seriously both historical fact and religious myth.

They feel safe around you, and because you, out of genuine compassion, never intend to harm them but only try to be of help, they also feel a sort of joy in your presence.

A short introduction to the Bodhisattva Precepts and on seeing the positive side of the familiar five.

Useful both as a reference and just to get a sense of how large the Canon is.

In explaining the nearly impossible diversity of Mahayana texts, the book strikes an admirable balance between respect and skepticism, sticking mostly to the established historical facts. The reader is left to draw her own conclusions about the merits or demerits of the texts themselves.

This is the instruction for confusion dawning as wisdom.

A short poem beautifully summarizing the stages of the path: view, ethics, meditation, and wisdom.

I confess each and every misdeed.
I rejoice in all goodness.
I request and pray to all the buddhas to teach and remain in saṃsāra.
May I attain sublime, supreme, unsurpassed wisdom!

An short excerpt from the “Upāli’s Questions Ascertaining the Vinaya Sūtra” (Toh68 Vinayaviniścayopāli​paripṛcchāsūtra) used as a repentance chant in the Tibetan Nyingma School.

… whenever we practise the bodhisattva’s actions–the trainings in generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, meditation and wisdom–it will cause this bodhicitta that is the union of emptiness and compassion to increase further and further.

A transcript of a short talk on how the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra is taught in the Tibetan tradition.

For all the beings ailing in the world,
Until their sickness has been healed,
May I become the doctor and the cure

A free translation of chapter 3 from the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra on joyfully taking hold of “bodhicitta.”

All of us want some happiness and no one wants to suffer, so every action we take is motivated by the thought of how can I be happy, how can I avoid pain. In a world already divided in so many ways, we create a world of our own.

A short essay introducing the interplay between compassion and wisdom.

If you were then to use the sharp weapon of intelligence to cut and break apart this iron you would find that nothing, not even the subtlemost particle, remains. This is the meaning of ‘form is emptiness.’ … Not seeking to gain [pleasure] and avoid [pain] because neither is genuinely real, you will feel equanimity

I have seen much death in my lifetime–war, famine, disease. I am at the end of my life now. One day soon I will die. The lesson of the flood is still with me. I know that there is no use worrying about death. The important thing is to live fully until the moment when it comes.

A modern Zen master tells his story of hardship and diaspora, showing how Buddhism moved from China to Taiwan and, eventually, the West.

For the 2020 documentary, see Master Sheng Yen (Film).

There are a few English translations of this classic of world literature. Steven Bachelor has a free translation (linked above), but I strongly prefer the Padmakara translation published by Shambhala in 1999 for its unparalleled accuracy and force.

All conditioned phenomena are like a dream, an illusion, a reflection, a shadow, or a flash of lightning, or a few drops on the morning grass. So, for example, by the time you see the flash of lightning, it’s already gone. In no time, it’s come from somewhere and it’s gone somewhere else. You see it, and it’s gone. Which is to say that the world is something that you can see and experience but you can’t obtain or possess it.

Then one day, [the young man] utters these three words. When the young lady hears this, she trembles, because it is such an important statement. When you say something like that with your whole being, not just with your mouth or your intellect, but with your whole being, it can transform the world. A statement that has such power of transformation is called a mantra.

A lucid and concise explanation of emptiness and interdependence beautifully tailored to his American audience, this book is based on a lecture Thay delivered at the Green Gulch Zen Center, in Muir Beach, California on April 19, 1987.

I have referenced the fourth edition on this site, but the newest available version should be preferred.

I would say that the Nikāyas and Āgamas give us a “historical-realistic perspective” on the Buddha, while the Mahāyāna sūtras give us a “cosmic-metaphysical perspective.”

Bhikkhu Bodhi explores the Bodhisattva ideal from the perspective of the both the Theravāda and Mahayana, with a brief summary of its history. An excellent introduction to this vital topic.