A few basics of Buddhism and how to integrate them into our daily lives - Session 11 - Topic: The Bodhisattva Path, Part II: Commitment—The Ten Great Vows of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva

The following Microsoft Word file is a translation of Chapter 40 of the Avatamsaka Sutra: Prajna_translation_Avatamsaka_Sutra_chapter_40.docx

For those of you who requested information about karma, here is the material we had originally planned to discuss in this week's session (but the agenda was changed): The Core Teachings, Chapter 5: Karma (a Microsoft Word file)

This is a Powerpoint that was presented at Fo Guan Shan Hawaii when an English-language Dharma class was proposed. Run the presentation to see the beard grow!

These translation of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sutras are part of the Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai translation project. As the English-language BDK website explains:
"The Tripitaka being translated by the BDK English Tripitaka Project is the Chinese Tripitaka, which was published over several years in Japan in the early part of the 20th century: The Taisho Shinshu Daizokyo. It is generally known as the Taisho Edition, and contains 2,920 works (3,053 including variant versions), 11,970 fascicles and 80,645 pages."

This site has translations of a number of Theravada (early Buddhist) texts. For example, the site includes a translation of the Brahmajāla Sutta: The All-embracing Net of Views. The translator in this case is Bhikkhu Bodhi, a well-known Theravada Buddhist monk/scholar. This text includes an admonition from the Buddha about fortune-telling of many types, referring to them as "such wrong means of livelihood, ... such debased arts."

There is also on this website a wonderful little sutta (sūtra) that seems highly relevant in these contentious times, despite the name: Dutthatthaka Sutta

This is a product of the Fo Guang Shan International Translation Center. Venerable Tzu Chuang is a Buddhist monk.

This version also has commentary by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Dr. Robert Thurman, a well-known Buddhist scholar, identifies the wisdom of Verse 5 as the most difficult to put into practice.

Verse 5
When others, out of jealousy,
Treat me wrongly with abuse, slander, and scorn,
May I take upon myself the defeat
And offer to others the victory.

Another version of the story of "Little Roadside" on two different websites:

Cūlapanthaka Thera from the "Pali Kanon" site

Cūlapanthaka Thera from the "What Buddha Said" site

And a slightly different story of "Little Roadside," calling him "Little Wayman."

Buddhist Legends. Book II. Heedfulness, Appamāda Vagga. II. 3. Little Wayman from the http://www.ancient-buddhist-texts.net website.

Mahāyāna sūtras are often described as being written in Sanskrit. Actually, many scholars refer to the language of Northern Buddhist texts as "Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit." Although, as time went by, more standard Sanskrit was used, the primary language used in the texts, according to Edgerton, contains many words and grammatical elements of Middle Indic dialects. In choosing which words to include in his dictionary, Edgerton noted in his introduction: "In principle, I have excluded from my grammar and dictionary all forms which are standard Sanskrit with the same meanings." Thus this dictionary is only helpful in understanding those words that are not standard Sanskrit. For standard Sanskrit terminology we need to consult a dictionary of standard Sanskrit, such as that of Sir Monier Monier-Williams.

In addition, Edgerton's dictionary was published in 1953. Much scholarship has occurred since that date.

The entries in Edgerton's dictionary are in Sanskrit-alphabetical order rather than English-alphabetical order. So, here is a scan from a page of A Sanskrit-English Dictionary of Sir Monier Monior-Williams giving the The Dictionary Order of the Nagari Letters. That will help you locate terms in Edgerton's dictionary.

This is an article by George Haskell, a biologist, discussing biological observations about life existing as a network. Although Buddhism is not mentioned, the observations fit well with the Buddhist ideas of interconnectedness and dependent origination.

Sample quote: "The fundamental unit of biology is therefore not the 'self,' but the network. A maple tree is a plurality, its individuality a temporary manifestation of relationship."