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New Publications: An Explanation of The Noble Sūtra on the Four Factors

29 Sep 2023

This short commentary, ascribed to Vasubandhu, explains The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra on the Four Factors (Ārya­catur­dharmaka­nāma­mahāyāna­sūtra, Toh 251), a discourse on a set of four factors of the path of a bodhisattva: the thought of awakening, the spiritual friend, the twin qualities of tolerance and lenience, and dwelling in the forest.
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New Publications: Great Cool Grove

15 Sep 2023

The Sūtra of Great Cool Grove, one of five texts that constitute the Pañcarakṣā scriptural collection, has been among the most popular texts used for pragmatic purposes throughout the Mahāyāna Buddhist world. This sūtra promises protection for the Buddha’s “four communities”‍—monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen‍—against a range of illnesses and obstacles originating from the hosts of spirit entities who reside in remote wilderness retreats.
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New Publications: The Great Amulet

15 Sep 2023

The Noble Queen of Incantations: The Great Amulet, one of five texts that constitute the Pañcarakṣā scriptural collection, has been among the most popular texts used for pragmatic purposes throughout the Mahāyāna Buddhist world. As its title suggests, The Great Amulet prescribes the use of amulets into which the incantation is physically incorporated.
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New Publications: Four Publication of Sitātapatrā

4 Aug 2023

The above four texts from the Kangyur are centered on the goddess Sitātapatrā, the “White Umbrella goddess,” and her dhāraṇī or spell, the practice of which has been widely used in Buddhist traditions over the centuries to avert all sorts of misfortunes, illnesses, and obstacles, and is still popular today. Sitātapatrā was emanated by the Buddha from his uṣṇīṣa while he was in deep meditation in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. In some of the texts she is identified with other female deities such as Tārā.
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