Within the short time of our communication here, hundred
of thousands of people are being born or are dying. These occurrences
are so self-evident that we hardly take notice of them...
People often ask, "Is Zen a form of Buddhism?" The
answer to this question is both yes and no. The answer should be "Yes"
because, historically speaking, Zen is a form of Buddhism which was
founded by Bodhidharma in China in the sixth century. It developed in
China and Japan, later taking the form of the 'Zen sect', with its own
particular temples, rituals, priesthoods, and religious orders. In this
sense, Zen should be called a form of Buddhism which stands side by side
with other forms of Buddhism, such as the T'ien-t'ai sect, the Hua-yen
sect, the Chen-yen sect, and the Ching-t'u sect, i.e., Pure Land
Buddhism. Further, not only in terms of temples, rituals, priesthood,
and religious orders, but also in terms of teaching, thought, and
practice, Zen, in the course of its long history, has come to have its
own particular forms comparable to the other schools of Buddhism. This
may be called the 'traditional Zen sect'.
Washington D.C., USA -- The Dalai Lama made remarks in
both English and Tibetan on the opening day of the Kalachakra. Even
though I don’t speak the language, I found myself equally engaged when
he spoke Tibetan. As I watched him, I recalled seeing His Holiness link
arms with George Bush a few years ago when he received the Congressional
Gold Medal.
Washington DC, USA, 11 July 2011 - On July 11 His
Holiness left early in the morning for the Verizon Center to continue
his preparatory rituals. Thereafter, he visited the offices of Radio
Free Asia where he was received by its President Libby Liu and other
senior officials.
People often ask, "Is Zen a form of Buddhism?" The
answer to this question is both yes and no. The answer should be "Yes"
because, historically speaking, Zen is a form of Buddhism which was
founded by Bodhidharma in China in the sixth century. It developed in
China and Japan, later taking the form of the 'Zen sect', with its own
particular temples, rituals, priesthoods, and religious orders. In this
sense, Zen should be called a form of Buddhism which stands side by side
with other forms of Buddhism, such as the T'ien-t'ai sect, the Hua-yen
sect, the Chen-yen sect, and the Ching-t'u sect, i.e., Pure Land
Buddhism. Further, not only in terms of temples, rituals, priesthood,
and religious orders, but also in terms of teaching, thought, and
practice, Zen, in the course of its long history, has come to have its
own particular forms comparable to the other schools of Buddhism. This
may be called the 'traditional Zen sect'.
Chanting
plays an important role in the practice, preservation and continuation
of the Buddha Dharma throughout the centuries. Various Buddhist
traditions have developed Buddhist chanting over time either in Pali or
other national languages in harmony with their cultural and ethnic
traditions
One of the Buddhist teaching is to be「merciful」. 《Da Zhi Du
Lun》Chapter 27 explained :「Great mercy gives everybody happiness,
whereas the great sympathy aims to take away their pain.」This
compassionate and sympathetic behavior should be offered to everybody in
need, irrespective of whether you know him or not. Everybody is treated
equally, their pain looked upon as if your own with no discrimination.
Eventually it is extended to all creatures with feeling, so that you
always treat them with pity and love. I would like to take this
opportunity to discuss with you my title「Buddhist Charity and Community
Work」.
Buddhist charity is not only the need of
socialization of charity, but also the important way for the weak social
communities to obtain the social supports. To develop the active
function of Buddhist charity in constructing harmonious society,
Buddhism circle should cultivate and improve the concept of Buddhist
charity, building effective mechanism to it, create social credibility
of it, and build up charity brand.
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