Master XianZhi, nick name Master Z, the abbot (General manager) of Dharma Treasury Temple in the Sunset district, will be presenting American Chan Meditation at the Center SF this Friday from 7pm to 9pm.

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brief biography of Master Z:

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Master Z, a member of the BLI Sangha community, became the abbot of Dharma Treasury Temple in 2023. Previously, he served as the abbot of Jeweled Mountain Temple in South Korea, another BLI branch. Master Z’s strong affinity for Mahayana Buddhism began in his early 20s, with a deep desire to become a cultivating monk. However, it was only after meeting Master YongHua and learning from him that his faith and gratitude deepened, leading him to dedicate his life as a monk. In 2018, he left home life and became a Buddhist monk under Master YongHua. Visitors to DTT often report feeling a profound sense of peace when near Master Z. His presence and leadership continue to cultivate a tranquil and welcoming atmosphere at the temple.

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For more information, to sign up, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dharma-workshop-with-master-z-american-chan-meditation-tickets-1021652609457?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

If you don't want to spend money, Master Z will be leading a silent meditation on Saturday 9 AM at Dharma Treasury Temple, followed by a Dharma talk on Saturday 10 AM. You can watch the Dharma talk on Youtube.

Just wondering if there is a Chan Buddhist Discord server?

EDIT: This is the link for anyone wanting to join the new server https://discord.gg/hN6nYGt5YG

I've recently converted from Tibetan to Chan Buddhism, and was wondering if and how you do water offerings?

This "good man or good woman" appears a few times in this short sutra, and if we have any Sanskrit language teachers/students in this group, that would be great to know what the term originally was, or Mandarin speakers.

To understand what Buddha meant by "good man or good woman" I simply refer to his own words.

From the 'Sutra in 42 Sections' with commentary by the Ven. Master Hua:

Clarifying Good and Evil

The Buddha said, "Living beings may perform Ten Good Deeds or Ten Evil Deeds. What are the ten? Three are done with the body, four are done with the mouth, and three are done with the mind. The three done with the body are killing, stealing, and lust. The four done with the mouth are duplicity, harsh speech, lies, and frivolousspeech. The three done with the mind are jealousy, hatred, and stupidity. Thus these ten are not in accord with the Way of Sages and are called the Ten Evil Deeds. To put a stop to these evils is to perform the Ten Good Deeds."

Commentary The fourth section discusses how good and evil have no fixed form. It's as easy to turn from doing bad to doing good as it is to flip over the hand from the back to the palm. It's simply up to us to do it.

The Buddha said, "Living beings may perform ten good deeds." There are ten kinds of good deeds that living beings can do. Or there are also ten evil deeds. Although these are good deeds, if done incorrectly, they become evil. What are the ten? Three are done with the body, four are done with the mouth, and three are done with the mind.

The three done with the body are killing, stealing, and lust. * What is meant by killing? To kill is to take a life, to put an end to the life of another sentient creature. What is meant by stealing? It means to take some object without getting the owner's permission. Lust refers to sexual intercourse between men and women.*

The four done with the mouth are duplicity, harsh speech, lies, and frivolous speech. Duplicity, or "double-tongued speech," doesn't refer to someone growing two tongues. It means saying things in two different ways. You speak about Mr. Lee to Mr. Chang, and then you speak about Mr. Chang to Mr. Lee. You speak out of both corners of your mouth. Harsh speech means scolding or profanity. Telling lies means saying things that aren't true. Frivolous speech means talking about things that are meaningless--frivolous, inappropriate things. Frivolous speech reflects deviant knowledge and deviant views.

The three done with the mind are jealousy, hatred, and stupidity. Jealousy refers to envy. When you're jealous, you don't wish good to come to others. When something good happens to another person, you become jealous. Hatred includes haughtiness, resentment, maliciousness, and vengefulness. When one is stupid, one doesn't distinguish between principles and facts.

Thus these ten are not in accord with the Way of Sages and do not lead one down a good path. They are called the Ten Evil Deeds. To put a stop to these evils is to perform the Ten Good Deeds. The Ten Good Deeds are: not killing, not stealing, not being lustful, not being jealous, not hating, not being stupid, not engaging in duplicity, not using harsh speech, not telling lies, and not speaking frivolously."

So as Shakyamuni Buddha says in the Amitabha Sutra, '“Shariputra, if there is a good man or a good woman who hears spoken ‘Amitabha’ and holds the name, whether for one day, two days, three, four, five days, six days, as long as seven days, with one heart unconfused, when this person approaches the end of life, before him will appear Amitabha and all the assembly of holy ones. When the end comes, his heart is without inversion; in Amitabha’s Land of Ultimate Bliss he will attain rebirth.'

Therefore, I take good to be one who holds the five precepts and cultivates the ten good deeds. This would be the work, our Self-Power responsibility.

Ah, to sit on my back patio in the morning, appreciating the flowers, watching the swaying branches, & sip my coffee; what a simple joy! BUT as a Buddhist, I remind myself that this is a fleeting happiness, solely based on conditions. And conditions constantly change. This moment on the patio is peaceful, but it will be cause for suffering if I grasp too tightly. Soon it will be winter, and the patio will be closed. So what does a Buddhist do? Finish that coffee first haha, and then sit up straight, relax, close my eyes to the conditional world, and concentrate on the Buddha's name: Namo Amitofo. This concentrated mind is unchanging thru the countless autumns. Namo Amitofo as the leaves fall, and Namo Amitofo as the snow piles up, and Namo Amitofo as the snow melts, and the flowers bloom, and as the days get brighter & hotter, again. Namo Amitofo as my body grows old, decays, & dies. Namo Amitofo, Namo Amitofo, Namo Amitofo. Buddha nature, unchanging, an eternal light, & joy.

The Avatamsaka Sutra says:

Worldly and otherworldly/mundane and transcendent are differences in name only. . .
The Buddha Dharma is a nondual dharma. . .
The Buddha Dharma is right here and now in the world; there is no awakening divorced from this world. . .
Truth and falseness interlink and mingle;
within the ordinary mind one finds the buddha mind.

And this verse is from the Platform Sutra, where the great master Huineng says:

The Buddha Dharma is right here in the world,
There is no awakening apart from this world;
To search for Bodhi somewhere beyond this world, (or, ‘to leave the world in search of bodhi’ is to lose both)
Is like looking for a rabbit with antlers.

Gold Buddha Monastery is going to host an Introduction of the Meditation Practice online course. If you are interested, please register at https://gbm.drba.org/ or with QR code. Details below.

Gold Buddha Monastery

http://www.gbm-online.com/

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Amituofo 🙏 📿 Im asking not only for myself, but other practioners are there any strictly pureland or mahayana online shops you guys can think of? So we can compile a list, for new practioners looking for statues, hanging portraits, offering bowls, and books for their altars 🙏

I have been practicing Chan Pure Land for some time now, but the subtleties of dual cultivation only slowly become more clear to me. Since I currently don't have access to a qualified teacher I seek the guidance of more experienced practitioners. From my readings I gather that there are several different ways to go about dual cultivation.

Currently I recite the buddhas name as my main practice, vocally using prayer beads. When I sit in meditation I recite silently with my mind. But that only covers Samatha and I have struggled for some time how to transition into Vipasyana. I know a very popular way is hua tou practice with "who is mindful of the buddha". And I have tried to incorporate that into my meditation, using all the written and spoken instructions from several masters old and new I could find. Lately I have studies the 25 sages chapter of the surangama sutra, especially guanyins method of perfect penetration through the ear faculty. According to Xu Yun and others this is the basis for hua tou practice, but I also found teachers online that talk about reversing the hearing to hear the self nature during nianfo.

I am a bit confused what practice to really settle on, as I am currently alternating between several, which is always explicitly warned against. I am intrigued by the hua tou method, but I'm afraid that if I do it wrong, without a teacher to correct me, I will not progress. But I also love the practice of nianfo, I just struggle with the Vipasyana part of it.

I guess my questions are, how does your dual cultivation look like, in terms of division between nianfo and chan meditation (hua tou), or do you recite the name and contemplate it (by turning your hearing inward or some other way I dint yet know) ? I know, fundamentally chan mediation and buddha Recitation are the same, I just need a good practice framework to enact that.

Sorry for the long post, I hope I could get my problem across. Thank you in advance! Amituofo!

When I stayed at a Chan monastery the food was full vegetarian of course but there was a strict no onions or garlic I think the Shurangama sutra doesn't allow eating it.

If you're a pure land practicioner and practice Chan and not a monastic should you not eat those foods ? It's easy to be vegetarian in the west but garlic and onions are like the base for so many recipes here.

As the title suggests, I'm looking for an online Pure Land Sangha with Zen practice as well. My first Sangha years ago was Trealeaf Zendo, which was of Soto lineage. I'm just saying this because I was mainly introduced to Buddhism through Zen but have studied many forms of Buddhism, but still come back to both Zen and Pure Land. So just looking for an online Sangha with both practices.

I tried Master Yong Hua, but I don't really resonate well with him. I've watched several of his videos, and all he ever seems to do, is just judge other people, I never feel like I ever learned anything. Are there any other good teachers in Pureland, that will actually talk about the Dharma, Sutras, and so on? I appreciate any information or links provided thank you.

But mindfulness alone is not enough, neither being reborn in the Pure Land or awakening here and now through Zen practice. Those zen practitioners that assert there is no Pure Land in the West cannot be said to have attained Right View, even if they have achieved Right Concentration. In turn, Pure Landers that have not established some degree of samatha through their cultivating mindfulness of Buddha are not able to grow their lotus seeds adequately, and will be unable to progress in their practice, relying too heavily on Amitabha Buddha and not realizing that Amitabha empowers us through our own efforts to recognize him within our own Buddha-nature.

Thus the Chan and Pure Land dharma gates are most effectively cultivated in tandem, supporting one another, and both emanating from the foundational practice of mindfulness.

Nam mô A di đà Phật 🙏🏼