Announcements

Appearing Differently to All While Not Departing from Emptiness, the Essence of the True Nature of Things

Appearing Differently to All While Not Departing from Emptiness, the Essence of the True Nature of Things

5 Jul 2024

This short philosophical discourse opens with the Buddha described as unmoving from the true nature of things. Although at this time he has no thought of teaching the Dharma, different members of the audience nevertheless believe that they have heard a teaching. On the basis of their differing perceptions, five distinct philosophical views concerning the true nature of things come to be held by different members of the audience.
Read more »

The Exemplary Tale of Sumāgadhā

The Exemplary Tale of Sumāgadhā

2 Jul 2024

This sūtra opens at Prince Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, in Śrāvastī, where the Buddha is staying. At the time, Anāthapiṇḍada’s daughter Sumāgadhā is married off to Vṛṣabhadatta, the son of a nirgrantha merchant in the distant city of Puṇḍravardhana. After arriving at the home of her in-laws, Sumāgadhā is repulsed and disheartened on encountering the nirgrantha mendicants.
Read more »

The City Beggar Woman

The City Beggar Woman

27 Jun 2024

This short Mahāyāna sūtra tells of a beggar woman from the city of Śrāvastī whose modest offering of a lamp at Prince Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park, is contrasted with the lavish offering of lamps being made at the same time by Prasenajit, who was the king of Kośala and a major benefactor of the Buddha Śākyamuni and his community.
Read more »

The Sūtra of Dharmaketu

The Sūtra of Dharmaketu

21 Jun 2024

While the Buddha Śākyamuni is staying in Śrāvastī, a bodhisattva named Dharmaketu asks him what qualities a bodhisattva must possess in order to reach awakening quickly. In response, the Buddha enumerates the ten most important qualities for bodhisattvas to cultivate.
Read more »

Advice to a King (2)

Advice to a King (2)

18 Jun 2024

While giving teachings at Vārāṇasī, the Buddha Śākyamuni discerns that the time is right to train King Udayana of Vatsa. When he meets the king, who at the time is embarking on a military expedition, the king flies into a rage and tries to kill the Buddha with an arrow. However, the arrow circles in the sky, and a voice proclaims a verse on the dangers of anger and warfare. Hearing this verse, the king pays homage to the Buddha, who explains that an enemy far greater than worldly opponents is the affliction of perceiving a self, which binds one to saṃsāra.
Read more »

Advice to a King (1)

Advice to a King (1)

18 Jun 2024

Discerning that the time is right to train King Bimbisāra, the Buddha Śākyamuni goes to Magadha, along with his entourage. The king is hostile at first but when his attack on the Buddha is thwarted and a verse on impermanence is heard, he becomes respectful.
Read more »

The Dharma Council

The Dharma Council

14 Jun 2024

The Dharma Council is a Great Vehicle sūtra in which the path of a bodhisattva is taught initially by the Buddha, but principally by a host of bodhisattvas and śrāvakas. Among them, the bodhisattva Nirārambha takes center stage, delivering long discourses and engaging in dialogues and debates on the key points of Great Vehicle Buddhism.
Read more »

Teaching on Sūtra | Venerable Thubten Chodron

11 Jun 2024

On Chökhor Düchen 2024, a day that celebrates the Buddha’s first turning of the wheel of Dharma, 84000 will host a Teaching on Sūtra with Venerable Thubten Chodron. A pioneering American Buddhist practitioner, teacher and founder of Sravasti Abbey, Venerable Chodron will teach on The Rice Seedling sūtra, one of the most important Buddhist texts on “dependent arising.” We hope everyone will join us for this online event.
Read more »

The Acceptance That Tames Beings with the Sky-Colored Method of Perfect Conduct

The Acceptance That Tames Beings with the Sky-Colored Method of Perfect Conduct

5 Jun 2024

In The Acceptance That Tames Beings with the Sky-Colored Method of Perfect Conduct, the Buddha Śākyamuni and several bodhisattvas deliver a series of teachings focusing on the relationship between the understanding of emptiness and the conduct of a bodhisattva, especially the perfection of acceptance or patience.
Read more »