About the Author
Hello, this blog is about my life as a father, Buddhist and Japanophile / Koreaphile. Any useful information I can pass along will hopefully make the Internets a better place. Thanks for reading!
Monthly Archives: March 2011
Ven. Yin-Shun explains Buddhist meditation
One of my favorite books on Buddhism after all these years is Ven. Yin-Shun’s book on Buddhism called The Way to Buddhahood. I was thumbing through the book recently looking for something, when I stumbled upon this lengthy explanation about … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, China, Religion, Zen
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Continued problems in Japan
Although Japan is beginning the long, difficult task of rebuilding, there are a lot of problems that Western news agencies don’t cover, but are very real for people on the ground. I watch Nihon Terebi News daily for language-practice, but … Continue reading
Posted in Japan
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Japan and Practical Religion
Contrary to the kind of “neo-orthodox” or “protestant” approach to Buddhist religion you sometimes see (credit to the Worst Horse for finding this one) in the West, Japan’s approach to religion is, as Tanabe and Reader describe, very practical, concerned … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Religion
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My Old Friend, the Heart Sutra
As a final post for “Ohigan” week, I wanted to talk about something that has been of interest to me as of late: the Heart Sutra. In January, after getting inspired to cultivate more self-discipline, I decided to make a … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Hosso, Religion, Shingon
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Happy Spring Ohigan 2011
“Bodhi mind comes from the mind of compassion: from respect for elders and a wish to save one’s loving mother, bodhi mind expands to a vow to save all sentient beings and seek the Buddha Way. It arises from the … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Japan, Religion
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Winding down the blog a little
Hi all, As a general announcement, I have made a decision to reduce the blog schedule. 2011 in general has been very busy for me, with increasing commitments that I need to devote my time to, and this has made … Continue reading
Posted in General
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The “science” of Kanji, part 5: stroke order matters
I wanted to end the week on a lighter note, so I thought this would be a nice topic to discuss. So, I have bad handwriting. Really bad handwriting. I remember being 6 years old, and having to practice writing … Continue reading
Posted in Chinese, Japanese, JLPT, Language
4 Comments
More on Buddhist Altar and Chanting
Note: Another post I wrote before the Japan Earthquake, which I decided to leave here, for reasons I explain below. In recent weeks, this post I wrote two years ago about Buddhist chanting and altars has been a popular read, … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Hosso, Religion
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Rolling Blackouts in Tokyo, show your solidarity
While people around the world panic over the nuclear holocaust that will never happen in Japan,1 people in Japan are facing more practical, and concrete problems: mandatory blackouts, train shortages, and food shortages. Many Japanese residents in Tokyo and surrounding … Continue reading
Posted in Japan
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Life goes on
Japan is no stranger to earthquakes or terrible tsunamis. Consider the example of the Great Buddha statue in Kamakura, Japan (one of my favorite places to visit): This statue was actually once housed inside a temple. The grounds are still … Continue reading
