Buddhism.net Blog
The best Buddhist blog in the world, except for all the others.
You don’t have all day to learn the Dharma? How about one minute-ish?
My name is Meng, and I have a confession: I don't like reading books. That was how I became an international bestselling author: I wrote books that even I was willing to read. So, for those of you who prefer to learn the Dharma by watching videos rather than by...
Land of Medicine Buddha: tour and interview
The Land of Medicine Buddha is a Buddhist retreat center close to Santa Cruz, CA. It consists of 108 acres of beautiful redwood trees, trails and sacred sites. It was founded by two Tibetan Buddhist teachers whom I admire: Lama Yeshe, and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. I...
Inaugural Meng & Friends video: Soryu Forall on Climate, Ideology and Innovation
Soryu and I live on opposite ends of the continental United States: he runs his monastery in Vermont, and I live along the coast in California. We were both so overwhelmingly busy we haven't talked in months. One day, I checked in on him. "Where are you?" I asked....
This week in Buddhism: Āsāḷha Pūjā
Coming up on 20th July 2024 (Full moon day of July) is Āsāḷha Pūjā. Āsāḷha Pūjā is a major Buddhist commemoration day that pays homage to the Buddha, his first sermon on the four noble truths and the founding of the Buddha's first sangha. This first sermon is commonly...
Starting Practice with Guided Meditation
Friends, What really changed my life was not learning Buddhism, it was practicing Buddhism. It started with mindfulness practice. My mind became calmer, my physical health improved, I became better at managing emotions, and most importantly, I finally learned to...
Gratitude to the Dalai Lama for Buddhism For All
Extracted from the Acknowledgement section of Buddhism For All: We are very grateful to and very touched by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama for giving his personal blessing to us and to this book. More than anybody alive today, His Holiness is an inspiration who...
Coming up: You Don’t Have to be a Buddhist to be a Buddhist
Friends, All good things must come to an end. We have now arrived at the end of the Buddhism for All series. Buddhism is not a faith tradition; it is an evidence-centric insight tradition. The Buddha does not invite you to believe, he invites you to...
Happy Father’s Day!
We would like to wish all fathers a Happy Father's Day! Buddha taught us to cherish and honor our parents. Possibly the most important thing the Buddha said about our parents is in AN 2.33. He said even if we were to carry them on our shoulders for 100 years, we...
Coming up: Having Sects in Buddhism
Friends, Imagine a religion with a strict power hierarchy where orthodoxy is tightly regulated from the top. Now let's do a thought experiment, and imagine a religion that takes an almost exact opposite approach towards orthodoxy. What would it look like...
Coming up: How Early Buddhism was Preserved
Friends, The Buddha passed without appointing a successor. Instead, he told the monks, “After my passing, the Dharma and the discipline (Dhamma-vinaya) I taught you shall be your teacher.” It took three remarkable individuals to preserve Dhamma-vinaya for all of us...
This week in Buddhism: Vesak Day
Vesak Day is widely celebrated by Buddhists all over the world on the full moon day of the fourth Lunar month. It is considered to be the most important Buddhist celebration in the year. Buddhists commemorate the birth, enlightenment (nibbāna/nirvana) and final...
Vesak Day Celebrations & Teachings
Happy Vesak Day! Vesak Day is celebrated on the full moon day of the 4th lunar month, or on 22 May 2024. Vesak Day commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and final passing of the Buddha. This is a day of celebration of the joy of being alive, to remember and offer our...
Coming up: The unexpectedly intimate relationship between Buddhism and science
Friends, Having learned the non-theistic nature of Buddhism (see Topic #13), it should not surprise you to also learn that Buddhism has an uncanny degree of comfort with science. The Dalai Lama calls Buddhism “The Science of Mind”, and goes so far as to call...
Happy Mother’s Day!
Mother's Day is celebrated on the 12th of May 2024! We would like to wish all mother's a Happy Mother's Day! Buddha taught us to cherish and honor our parents. Possibly the most important thing the Buddha said about our parents is in AN 2.33. He said even if we...
This week in Buddhism: Wen Shu Bodhisattva (Manjushri) Birthday
Coming up on 11th May 2024 (4th day of the 4th Lunar Month) is Manjushri Bodhisattva’s Birthday. Let us use this day, to cultivate a Bodhi mind and connect to Manjushri Bodhisattva's compassion and wisdom in ourselves. "Manjushri (Chinese: Wen shu shi li, 文殊師利;...
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