6 May 2021
In this sūtra, the Buddha, who is staying in Prince Jeta’s grove in Śrāvastī, addresses the monks directly and teaches in detail about the lifespans of the beings inhabiting the different realms of existence of the Buddhist cosmos.
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29 Apr 2021
Maitreya’s Setting Out narrates the stories of two previous lives of the bodhisattva Maitreya and explains the circumstances for his initial arousing of the mind set on awakening.
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22 Apr 2021
The Questions of Brahmaviśeṣacintin is an important Mahāyāna sūtra that enjoyed significant popularity in Buddhist India, China, and Tibet over the centuries. The teaching itself takes the form of a lively discussion blending practical and theoretical strands of Mahāyāna and emphasizes how bodhisattvas should practice the Dharma—a training that transcends both the mundane and the supramundane.
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15 Apr 2021
The Account of the Noble Deeds of Śrīsena belongs to one of the most beloved narrative genres in Buddhism, the past life story (avadāna), and deals with one of the most powerful and pervasive themes in this genre, the bodhisattva’s bodily sacrifice for the benefit of living beings.
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9 Apr 2021
Over the last ten years, many scholars around the world have contributed to the translations published by 84000. To further strengthen the opportunity for younger scholars to contribute to the project, 84000 is now offering two post-doctoral grants to work on translations of texts from the Kangyur.
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8 Apr 2021
The Account of the Noble Deeds of Puṇyabala is written in one the most recognizable literary forms in Buddhism: the Buddha’s past-life stories. This tale focuses on the benefits of accruing merit. Puṇyabala is a young prince whose store of merit is so great that he acquires untold riches and power.
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31 Mar 2021
The Noble Dhāraṇī “The Mother of Avalokiteśvara”1 begins in the city of Vaiśālī, where the Buddha is residing amidst an assembly of monks and bodhisattvas. The bodhisattva Samantabhadra requests that he reveal the powerful dhāraṇī known as The Mother of Avalokiteśvara, and the Buddha agrees.
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25 Mar 2021
In this profound Mahāyāna sūtra, The Dhāraṇī of the Jewel Torch, the Buddha Śākyamuni explains, with the help of the bodhisattvas Mañjuśrī, Samantabhadra, and Dharmamati, how bodhisattvas progress toward awakening.
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18 Mar 2021
The Buddha Śākyamuni proceeds to give a detailed account of the previous aspirations of those seven buddhas to benefit beings who are veiled by karmic obscurations, tormented by illnesses, and plagued by mental anguish and suffering.
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11 Mar 2021
Exposition of Karma belongs to a group of Buddhist scriptures that scholars of Buddhism have called the Karmavibhaṅga or Śukasūtra class. The texts in this group deal extensively with the topic of karma and rebirth according to individuals’ actions.
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