Buddhism is replete with symbolic objects. As their subject matter, these two closely related texts take one symbolic article known as “the ringing staff” – one of the requisites of a fully ordained monastic. Read more »

Cultivating Trust in the Great Vehicle unfolds at Vulture Peak Mountain, where the Buddha, surrounded by a great number of bodhisattvas from the human and nonhuman realms and many monks and limitless other beings, gives a discourse on the nature of trust in the Great Vehicle. Read more »

Imagine if your to-do list had 4,500 items on it. Ours does. The people who direct and manage the process of reviewing the translations, editing, proofreading, and marking them up, are the members of our growing Editorial Team. As far as we are concerned, they are the heart of 84000. Read more »

In response to 2020’s unique challenges, our first fully, digital outreach initiative—Sūtras for Well-Being—supports our global community in feeling inspired, connected, and uplifted, offering a multimedia look at the sūtras traditionally recited for resilience and well-being in times of adversity, and the stories behind them. Read more »

It feels somewhat bittersweet to share the news that after eleven years helping to incubate, develop, and advise 84000, Cangioli Che is stepping down from the Executive Committee. Since 2009, Cangioli has been instrumental in building the foundations to allow 84000 to become what we are today. Read more »

The overarching principle in The Jewel Mine is the understanding that there have been innumerable buddhas before the Buddha Śākyamuni, and that there will be an infinite number of buddhas after him, each presiding over their individual buddha realms. Read more »

In The Questions of Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, the sūtra’s interlocutor, Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, asks the Buddha Śākyamuni whether there might be other buddhas in other realms whose names carry the power to produce awakening. Read more »

The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara takes place in the unusual setting of the nāga king Sāgara’s court deep in the ocean. Here the Buddha gives a discourse on the importance of avoiding the ten nonvirtuous deeds. Read more »

The Chapter Teaching the Purification of Boundless Gateways is the second scripture among the forty-nine sūtras included in the Heap of Jewels (Ratnakūṭa) collection in the Degé Kangyur. The sūtra takes the form of a conversation between the Buddha and the bodhisattva Anantavyūha. Read more »

The Questions of Brahmadatta begins with the bodhisattva Amoghadarśin departing from the Jeta Grove of Śrāvastī, where the Buddha is residing. Together with more than five hundred bodhisattvas, he travels to the region of Pañcāla, where King Brahmadatta requests Amoghadarśin to impart teachings to him and his citizens. Read more »

The subject matter of this sūtra is indicated by the alternative title suggested by the Buddha himself in its conclusion: The Teaching That Clarifies Karma. In the opening section, the merchant Pratibhānamati, expresses concern about the state of society and what will become of the saṅgha in times to come. Read more »