monkeyironbuddha

tea and buddhism

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Emptiness.

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In the depth of his heart Vasili Andreevich knew that it could not yet be near morning, but he was growing more and more afraid, and wished both to get to know and yet to deceive himself.

Tolstoy, Master and Man

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Reading about Chinese concept of emptiness （空） and absence （无） in Zen and then find out that for the first 500 years there are no representations of Buddha in art. Just a tree or an empty chair. 

Image credit:

accessed from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:MaraAssault.JPG User:PHG

2nd century CE, Amaravati. Musee Guimet, Paris. detail and more detail - illustration 4a. "Aniconic", though from the same period as [1])

Personal photograph, released under GDFL.

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Lockdown Sutra: thoughts on the Lankavatara Sutra and lockdown. Zen Buddhists were originally known as Lankavataran’s because that text was so central to their thoughts on practice. It is not an easy read. Esoteric and confusing. It also helped the group to keep in touch over the last year, and connected with our practice. Https://bit.ly/mcrchanzine1

Lockdown Sutra Studying the Lankavatara Sutra during a pandemic

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道可道非常道

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Swampland Flowers: The Letters and Lectures of Zen Master Ta Hui

Quote shared via Kindle: "Old P’ang said, “Just resolve to empty all that exists: don’t make real all that doesn’t exist.” Just master these

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“I always teach emptiness / to transcend eternity and annihilation / samsara is like an illusion or dream / but karma is relentless”

Excerpt From

The Lankavatara Sutra

Red Pine

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Chinese digital artist Zhao Guodong summons malevolent beings of legend in his latest series

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Instagram post by 忘 川 山 人 • Jul 29, 2019 at 1:48pm UTC

53 Likes, 0 Comments - 忘 川 山 人 (@wangchuanshanren) on Instagram

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The layered bloom of hills and streams

Kingfisher shades beneath rose-colored clouds

mountain mists soak my cotton bandanna,

dew penetrates my palm-bark coat.

On my feet are traveling shoes,

my hand holds an old vine staff.

Again I gaze beyond the dusty world-

what more could I want in that land of dreams?

- Han Shan 106 trans. Red Pine

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Amitabha

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“Whatever precious jewel there is in the heavenly worlds, there is nothing comparable to one who is Awakened.” Ratana Sutra

Photo: Buddha's Tooth Temple, Singapore

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Preparing for guests, Buddha Tooth Temple, Singapore