For a period of about a thousand years after the beginning of the common era, The Teaching of Akṣayamati had a significant influence on Buddhist thought. The eighty so-called “imperishabilities” (akṣaya) described in the sūtra—qualities to be possessed by the bodhisatvas—were considered to contain the whole way of religious development of the Mahāyāna. Read more »

The Dwelling Place of Mañjuśrī follows a dialogue between Mañjuśrī and Śāriputra regarding the activity of “dwelling” during meditation, the nature of dharmas, and the “true nature.”
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The Questions of Sāgaramati begins in a courtyard in the city of Rājagṛha, where the Buddha Śākyamuni, a celestial bodhisattva named Sāgaramati, and many other gods and bodhisattvas converse on a wide variety of subjects relevant to the Great Vehicle. Read more »

This evocative and inspiring short text in verse is one of several works in the Kangyur related to the Buddha’s restoring the city of Vaiśālī to health after a major epidemic. A substantial portion of it is very similar to a passage in the Sanskrit Mahāvastu, and to a well-known Pali text, the Ratana-sutta. Read more »

The Ratnaketu Dhāraṇī is one of the core texts of the Mahāsannipāta collection of Mahāyāna sūtras that dates back to the formative period of Mahāyāna Buddhism, from the first to the third century ᴄᴇ. Read more »

Announced today, in The Inquiry of Lokadhara, the bodhisattva Lokadhara asks the Buddha to explain the proper way for bodhisattvas to discern the characteristics of phenomena and employ that knowledge to attain awakening. Read more »

All of us at 84000 were very sad to learn that our dear friend and colleague Steven Goodman, one of the founding members of 84000’s Working Committee, died in the afternoon of Monday, 3 August, at the age of 75. Read more »

Last month, Deborah Dorjee—an instructor at Siddhartha’s Intent—kindly hosted a session during our twenty-four hour virtual sūtra recitation. In these uncertain times, we decided to sit down and talk with her more about the potential for Buddhism to help build mental and emotional resilience. Read more »

In June, 84000 reached out to US-born,Taiwan-transplant Harry Einhorn for an original musical composition to accompany our recently published text, “The Dedication: Fulfilling All Aspirations.” Here, we sit down with Harry to talk about Buddhism and creative culture. Read more »

Published this week, Teaching the Practice of a Bodhisattva, takes place in the city of Vaiśālī, where the Buddha Śākyamuni and his retinue of monks have gone to gather alms. Read more »

The Dhāraṇī of Parṇaśavarī is a short incantation dedicated to the piśācī Parṇaśavarī, who is renowned in Buddhist lore for her power to cure disease, avert epidemics and pacify strife. Read more »