2023
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Self-nature Has Its Own Wisdom
Self-nature Has Its Own WisdomMay /27/ 2023—May / 28/ 2023 Hello everyone, welcome to our Dharma talk at Great Thunder Meditation Center. Wisdom (Sanskrit: Prajñā), also known as Bore, Boruo, etc., in Chinese, which means wisdom or insight, is one of the precepts, samadhi and wisdom three studies. Mahayana Buddhism listed it as one of the Six Perfections). Hence it also named “Prajnāpāramitā”. The “prajna” here is a Sanskrit Prajna transliteration, the original meaning is “wisdom.” The meaning of Prajñā’s word root is perception, knowledge, or understanding. The prefix Pra is a comparative degree, which means higher, bigger, more than or beyond. Therefore, literally, Prajñā is a kind of advanced…
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Your Buddha Nature Will Appear When Your Heart Stays in Samadhi
Your Buddha Nature Will Appear When Your Heart Stays in SamadhiMay /20/ 2023 – May / 21/ 2023 Hello everyone, welcome to our Dharma talk at Great Thunder Meditation Center. When Buddha attained the enlightenment, he said, all beings have the same nature as a Buddha.Let’s open the Mahaparinirvana Sutra to see what Buddha taught us: “So, I always say that beings all possess the Buddha-Nature. I even say that the icchantika [most spiritually blinded of persons keeps the Buddha-Nature. The icchantika has no right dharma. The Buddha-Nature too is a good Dharma. As there are the days to come, the icchantika also can possess the Buddha-Nature. Why? Because all…
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How to Practice Samadhi Dharma
How to Practice Samadhi DharmaMay /13/ 2023 – May / 14/ 2023 Hello everyone, welcome to our Dharma talk at Great Thunder Meditation Center. To practice Samadhi, we must first separate the two things, samadhi power and the realms with the samadhi cultivation. What is samadhi power? The “Great Nirvana Sutra” said: “It never leaves samadhi, nor follow samadhi, which named samadhi power.” That is to say; samadhi power is a kind of ability that enables people to stay at Samadhi, follow one’s heart, not follow the different realms with the samadhi cultivation. The realms with the samadhi cultivation are the various realm of consciousness that appears during the process…
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Four Dhyana and Eight Samadhi
Four Dhyana and Eight SamadhiMay /6/ 2023—May / 7/ 2023 Hello everyone, welcome to our Dharma talk at Great Thunder Meditation Center. The Shurangama Sutra says: Controlling your heart as the precepts, reaching the Samadhi due to the precepts and getting the wisdom because of Samadhi. We call it Three Non-Outflow studies. Since last month, we have begun to discuss and study the three Non-Outflow studies, precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. I believe we have already understood the origin and importance of “precepts”. Three Non-Outflow studies conclude the Eightfold Path: The right speech, right livelihood, proper conduct is precept studying, right effort, right mindfulness, right Samadhi are the samadhi learning, right…
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The Magical Effect of Samadhi Dharma
The Magical Effect of Samadhi DharmaApr /29/ 2023—Apr / 30/ 2023 Hello everyone, welcome to our Dharma talk at Great Thunder Meditation Center. 2,500 years ago, Siddhartha Gautama, the prince of Magadha empire, tried to explore the truth of the universe and rescue all living beings’ sufferings. At the age of 29, he resolutely gave up his throne and left his wife and son to pursue his spiritual life. He spent six years on the snow-capped mountains for ascetic practice; he worked so hard on samadhi cultivation. After that, he meditated for forty-nine days under the Bodhi tree and finally attained the enlightenment when he watched the morning star. He…
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Taking the Precepts as Our Guiding Principle
Taking the Precepts as Our Guiding PrincipleApr /22/ 2023– Apr / 23/ 2023 Hello everyone, welcome to our Dharma talk at Great Thunder Meditation Center. What is the guiding principle? We often concentrate on the main points; guiding principle is the main point or key point highlighted by its representative, normative, and lead characters. Some people disagree that taking the precepts as our guiding principle, they said that focusing on Zen, Pure Land or reciting the Buddha’s name is our program and the most important part of cultivation. This is a very common opinion. Many Buddhist ask me: Which Dharma gate should I learn? Should I recite Buddha’s name or…
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Taking the Precepts as Ancestors’ Teaching
Taking the Precepts as Ancestors’ TeachingApr /15/ 2023 – Apr / 16/ 2023 Hello everyone, welcome to our Dharma talk at Great Thunder Meditation Center. As we all know, there are four parts of the tripitaka sutra Dharmakara, collection of sutras, Viyana Pitaka，Abhidhamma Pitaka and secret Dharma. After Buddha’s Nirvana, Kasyapa held the first Buddhist council in the Saptaparni Cave with five hundred Arhats. Buddha never wrote down his teachings. Ananda recited an oral tradition of Buddha’s teaching from his memory, prefacing it with “Thus have I heard on one occasion”, which is a collection of sutras. Upali was 90 years old, he reciting the Vinaya or precepts. After being…
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Taking the Precepts as the Code of Conduct
Taking the Precepts as the Code of ConductApr /8/ 2023 – Apr / 9/ 2023 Hello everyone, welcome to our Dharma talk at Great Thunder Meditation Center. When studying sociological norms, teachers often say that the law is the minimum universal moral requirements. Can we also say that precepts are a code of conduct for different level cultivators? What is morality? Literally to say: Tao is a theory and a path, close to the truth, practice it the right way, attain the enlightenment, it called virtue. Master Tai Xu said: “Be suddenly enlightened means Tao; practice it cleanly and naturally called the virtue.” We can find that Buddhism’s morality takes…
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Taking the Precepts as Your Master
Taking the Precepts as Your MasterApr /1/ 2023 – Apr / 2/ 2023 Hello everyone, welcome to our Dharma talk at Great Thunder Meditation Center. The Shurangama Sutra says: Controlling your heart as the precepts, reaching the samadhi due to the precepts and getting the wisdom because of samadhi. We call it Three Non-Outflow studies. In April, May and June, we will discuss the precepts, samadhi and wisdom. It is well-known that the precepts, samadhi and wisdom is a summary of the Eightfold Path. They are three weapons to deal with desire, anger and ignorance, helping people ultimately relieve the afflictions and attain nirvana. The three are mutually reinforcing and…
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Trin Guhyani Being Oneness
Trin Guhyani Being OnenessMar /25/ 2023–Mar/ 26/ 2023 Hello everyone, welcome to our Dharma talk at Great Thunder Meditation Center. Buddhist often say: “Trin guhyani are the oneness”, but what exactly Trin guhyani are? According to the Mahā ratna kūṭa sūtra, Bodhisattva jiyi asked Guhyapada: “how many secret Dharma does Buddha have?” Guhyapada answered:” listen without your idiot thoughts, think about it after you hear it, I am going to tell you Buddha’s secret Dharma now, it has three kinds of secret, one is kaya -guhya , two is vag -guhya , three is mano -guhya.” After that, Guhyapada talked about the meaning of three different secret Dharma: kaya -guhya…
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The Secret Teachings from Buddha Actually Has No Secret At All
The Secret Teachings from Buddha Actually Has No Secret At AllMar /18/ 2023 – Mar/ 19/ 2023 Hello everyone, welcome to our Dharma talk at Great Thunder Meditation Center. We analyzed why the Esoteric Buddhism practice is so prevalent in China and understood that the so-called Esoteric Buddhism practice is not the secret teaching from Buddha. Some people might ask, then what it is? What is the secret teaching from Buddha Shakyamuni? In which Sutra? Who took the secret from Buddha and who is keeping those secrets? Quite good questions, let us just start from here and talk about what is the secret Dharma and what is the secret teaching…
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Secret Dharma is in Wonderful Functions
Secret Dharma is in Wonderful FunctionsMar /11/ 2023 – Mar/ 12/ 2023 Hello everyone, welcome to our Dharma talk at Great Thunder Meditation Center. Some people said, since the secret teachings from Buddha actually have no secret at all, then what is the significant meaning of it? In other words, why we need the secret teachings from Buddha, and how can we use it for practice? This is the topic we will discuss today. As we said before, the way we practice Dharma is to go to the resource of the river to learn the teachings from Sakyamuni Buddha, to learn the noble behaviour of Buddha. Today, we will study Buddha’s…
