Category: Featured Article

The Good and Bad Ghosts

By Chan Gong'an

Some people may think it is strange that in this scientifically enlightened century anyone would want to talk about ghosts. In the past, even sages avoided the subject of the supernatural if they could. Confucius never spoke about ghosts. At the mere mention of ghosts, frightful images instantly arise in our minds of their pale faces, their wild hair and their sharp fangs. The truth is, however, ghosts generally are not very frightening. In fact, many of them are quite cute. Ghosts are like different types of animals: some of them are as frightening as lions and tigers, while others are as cute as bunny rabbits and as gentle as little kittens.

Music and Buddhism

By Buddhism in Everyday Life

Music gives us the capacity to express deep emotions. Whether through holy hymns or chants of praise, music is capable of uplifting the mind to an almost sublime state. As such, it has a significant role in the promotion of religion. All Buddhas and bodhisattvas are very skilled in utilizing music to teach the Dharma…

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How Buddhism Views the Mind

By Body & Mind

The analysis of the mind in Buddhism is both multifaceted and sophisticated. As a spiritual practice, Buddhism contains numerous descriptions of the nature and function of the mind and instructions on how to search for, abide with, and refine it. In this regard, Buddhist psychology has much to offer, as does Western psychology. In the…

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A Moment and an Eternity of the Mind

By Buddhist Philosophy

What is the fastest thing in the universe? Of course, everyone knows it is light, which moves at three hundred thousand kilometers per second. However, in Buddhism, the fastest thing is not light but a person’s mind. The speed of mind is several hundred times faster than light and is not limited by time and space. In a flash you can think of Li Bo, a famous poet in the Tang dynasty, and in the next moment you can think of the scenery in Los Angeles, California. In a moment of thought, you can travel up throughout the heavens and down into the deep underworld. Hence, the speed of mind is the fastest. Phenomena of the world are not separate from the mind.