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#buddhist

13 posts12 participants0 posts today

I completed a 7 day intensive #Zen retreat today ("sesshin").

I'm not finished in my contemplative practice, but a couple wonderfully profound glimpses on this retreat remind me:

The #Buddhist terms "no self" and "emptiness" and "no mind" — those aren't beliefs. They're words which are expressive of an experience, one that's matter-of-factly before words.

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"no self" is from the Pali *anatta*

"emptiness" is from Sanskrit *śunyatā*

and "no mind" translates the Japanese *mushin* (無心)

🟡 Benzaiten & Dragon, Goddess of Music & Good Fortune 1832 Aoigaoka Keisei⁣

#19thcentury, #AoigaokaKeisei, #Benzaiten, #Buddhist, #Fortune, #God, #Goddess, #Hindu, #Japan, #Japanese, #Luck, #Music, #Sarasvati

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Dainichi Nyorai Statue, Enjo-ji, #Japan. The earliest work of the #Buddhist sculptor Unkei. Unkei's style is characterized by strong, masculine facial expressions, but because the main image was created when he was 20 years old, his facial expressions are not fully original. This work gives us a glimpse of the conflict between following the traditional style of the #Heian period or pursuing an original path.
#BuddhistArt #Buddhism

Replied to Kent Pitman

BBC offers video taken near Gounsa Temple, a large and historic Buddhist temple built in 618 AD, which they report as having "burned down" among raging wildfires in South Korea.

For some of us, our minds race, imagining ourselves there, what would we do? Measure the distance probably, decide if we're safe. We hope no action is required. If we're far enough away, we hope to decide we can go about our lives. This is not about us.

That a static measuring tool reassures us about a kinetic event is a hint about the kind of denial we're in. Too many people unconcerned about walls that are closing in, preferring to see it is a problem only for those closer to the walls. It fuels in our society a love of politicians willing to tell us that this will not affect us. No wonder alternative facts are so appealing.

If we can just be left alone to get through our own lives, surely it can be seen to be someone else's problem.

bbc.com/news/videos/c7982w809j

Large flames burning on hill behind temple
www.bbc.comSouth Korea: Historic Buddhist temple burns in wildfireThe wildfires in the country have left at least 18 dead and thousands evacuated

#Gemini is not only perfect for learning a new #language, but
also for studying deep philosophical subjects like #Buddhism. It knows the #Sanskrit roots that make up a Sanskrit word and its etymological meaning. It also understands classical Chinese. One can use it as a tool for understanding the classical #Chinese translations of #Buddhist #sutras. Then check the meanings of the Sanskrit words and compare them to the English #translations available on the internet which are often imprecise.