Prince Siddhartha left the cloistered world of his palace home to wander in search of truth. His father had striven to shield him from the four aspects of suffering (Skt: duhkha), namely, birth, illness, aging, and death, that form the basis of the First Noble Truth of Buddhism. 

There are many reasons why Japanese Buddhism took hold in North America. While it is common to identify trends at the global level—the end of World War Two, the dialogue between American and Japanese writers and artists during the Beat Generation, and so on—we too often overlook the individuals who drove the diffusion of diverse traditions and the conversation between East and West.

Vancouver, Canada - The mere fact that Buddhism exists is proof that harmlessness can be the root motivation of human life just as powerfully as the 'western' world's embrace of righteousness as the best metric. In the Buddhist world view it is more important to be kind than to be right. As our world gets smaller the need for wisdom about how to live together on the planet grows in urgency.

One of the greatest Zen Masters of all time, who spoke powerfully to awaken without compromise, was Ch'an Master Lin-chi I-hsuan Hui-chao (Japanese, "Rinzai Gigen"). His recorded sayings, encounters and travels are preserved in the Lin-chi lu (Japanese, Rinzai-roku). The translation I'm using here is by Ruth Fuller Sasaki, working with a team of Japanese and American scholars, published in 1975 by the Institute for Zen Studies in Kyoto. It is a scholarly, rigorous work, yet preserves the color and vitality of the original language and dialogue.

People believe that everything they see and conceive of, including their so-called bodily selves, is fixed and permanently there to be used for fulfillment and enjoyment, yet this is not true and is based on delusional wrong view.

Throughout its 2,500-year history, Buddhism has engaged with its wider social and cultural environments. In its earliest days, it was tied to mercantile forces and traders traveling across Asia: businessmen would seek wealth, while the monks traveling with them sought followers. Temples would be built near or in the heart of bustling trade hubs and trade ports. From Indonesia to Central Asia, when business was thriving, temples prospered; and when cities lost their commercial advantages or prosperity, monasteries nearby struggled.  

The simple question of “What is a Buddha?” was raised in a casual discussion with a venerable Pure Land master in Vancouver. The group leader asked the participants to comment on this question before the master responded. The group was ready with their answers. After all, every Buddhist should have something to say on this vital topic, and most have enough information for a composite answer via Wikipedia or Google.

The Buddha’s teachings offers the most satisfactory explanation of where man came from and where he is going. When we die, the mind, with all the tendencies, preferences, abilities and characteristics that have been developed and conditioned in this life, re-establishes itself in a new being. Thus the new individual grows and develops a personality conditioned both by the mental characteristics that have been carried over from the previous life and by the new environment. The personality will change and be modified by conscious effort and conditioning factors like education, parental influence and society but once again at death, it will re-establish itself as life in a new being. This process of dying and being reborn will continue until the conditions that cause it, the mental factors of craving and ignorance, cease. When they do, instead of being reborn, the mind attains a state called Nirvana.

“People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road does not mean they are lost.” - Dalai Lama