Daily Buddhism

A Mother’s Advice
Jiun, a Shingon master, was a well-known Sanskrit scholar of the Tokugawa era. When he was young he used to deliver lectures to his brother students.
His mother heard about this and wrote him a letter:
“Son, I do not think you became a devotee of the Buddha because you desired to turn into a [...]

Women in Buddhism Part 2: Pajapati / Mahapajapati
As mentioned yesterday, (Maha)Pajapati was Queen Maya’s sister, and also a wife to King Suddhodana. When Maya died, Mahapajapati raised young Prince Siddharta Gotama. She raised the boy as her own, but did have two children who became the step-brother and step-sister of Buddha, Nanda and Sundari Nanda.
After [...]

Women in Buddhism Part 1: Maya
Last week a reader posted a question on the blog beneath the “Buddha Boy” post. She asked whether or not it was possible for a Bodhisattva to be a woman. It was an innocent enough question, but ended up with me explaining how sexist the ancient East was.  Another reader [...]

Koan: Shoun & His Mother
Shoun became a teacher of Soto Zen. When he was still a student his father passed away, leaving him to care for his old mother.
Whenever Shoun went to a meditation hall he always took his mother with him. Since she accompanied him, when he visited monasteries he could not live with [...]