AT THE TEMPLE one of my jobs was to sweep. Making my rounds around a Buddhist temple with a broom & dustpan, sweeping up one dust mote at a time, concentrating on the Buddha's name: Namo Amitoufo.

Sweep, sweep, sweep, past, present, future, gone, gone, gone.

Dustpan eventually fills up & is emptied in the trash.

Then, I return my broom, wash my hands, and head to the main hall. Sun pours into that temple, large windows facing east, tiled floor reflects the sunlight as if the ground was yellow gold.

My other job was to "watch the main hall". Sitting full lotus behind a desk reading sutras, nodding at the odd tourist that wanders through. Some days were spent in such sacred silence & stillness, deep in study of the Dharma. Not bad at all! Just sweeping a hall, diving into the sutra treasury, & dwelling my whole heart on six sacred syllables; Na-mo A- mi- t'o- fo!

High in the mountains of Tibet, the secluded convent of Gebchak is home to women devoted to some of Tibetan Buddhism’s most demanding spiritual practices.

Here, nuns meditate in caves, practice dream yoga, endure freezing temperatures, and train in the Yoga of Inner Heat, drying soaked cotton sheets through the heat of their own bodies. Their ultimate spiritual aspiration is the mysterious Body of Light, believed to mark liberation from the cycle of reincarnation.

Guided by the wandering nun Ani, this journey enters a hidden world where extreme physical discipline, meditation and centuries-old beliefs remain part of everyday life.

Non-Sectarian: The community welcomes practitioners from all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, primarily drawing from the Nyingma and Drukpa Kagyu trad

Documentary: Tibet, the path to Wisdom\ Directed by: Hamid Sadar\ Production: DCMP, Les Gens Biens Production

Source: https:/lyoutu.be/e0zztTKKzlc

清朝雍正皇帝自許為禪宗法嗣，對佛法要求極嚴。他聞知揚州高旻寺的天慧實徹禪師是玉琳國師的法孫，便召天慧禪師入宮問話。
Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing dynasty, who considered himself a legitimate lineage successor in Zen (Chan) Buddhism, maintained extremely rigorous standards for the Dharma. Upon hearing that Master Tianhui Shiche of Gaomin Temple in Yangzhou was the Dharma-grandson of National Teacher Yulin, the Emperor summoned him to the imperial palace for an audience.

雍正問他：「你既然是玉琳國師的後裔，那你有沒有明白玉琳國師的宗風宗旨？」天慧禪師當時答不出來。
Yongzheng asked him, "Since you are the successor of National Teacher Yulin, do you understand the core teachings and style of your master?" Master Tianhui was unable to answer at that moment.

雍正當即下令將天慧禪師關進宮內的禪堂打七，並給他七天期限：「限你七日之內必須開悟，若不開悟，就用尚方寶劍砍你的頭！」
The Emperor immediately ordered Tianhui to be locked in the palace meditation hall for a seven-day retreat, issuing a strict ultimatum: "I give you seven days to achieve enlightenment. If you fail, I will have your head chopped off with the Imperial Sword!"

皇帝還派侍衛提著尚方寶剑在禪堂外監視，每天進去警告他、給他打香板，時間一天天過去，生死關頭懸於一線。
The Emperor even stationed guards holding the Imperial Sword outside the hall. Each day, they would enter to warn him and strike him with the meditation board (xiangban). As days passed, Tianhui’s life hung by a single thread.

到了第七天，侍衛提醒他再不開悟性命難保。
By the seventh day, the guards reminded him that his time was up and his life was on the line.

他在禪堂內瘋狂急走參禪（這正是後來禪堂「跑香」的雛形），因為走得太急，突然間「砰」的一聲撞在禪堂大柱子上，頭上腫起大包。
Driven by the utmost urgency of life and death, Tianhui paced frantically around the hall while deeply contemplating his koan (a practice considered the prototype of "running meditation" or Pao Xiang in modern Chan monasteries). Walking so fast, he suddenly crashed headfirst into a massive pillar with a loud "BANG!", instantly raising a huge bump on his forehead.

就在痛極與頓挫的瞬間，豁然大悟。
In that precise moment of excruciating pain and total disruption, his mind shattered its final obstacle, and he attained thorough enlightenment.

雍正親自來到禪堂，想試驗天慧禪師是否真的開悟，便厲聲问道：「你的頭在哪裡？朕現在就要砍你的頭！」
Emperor Yongzheng personally arrived at the meditation hall to test whether Tianhui had truly awakened. He shouted sternly, "Where is your head? I am going to chop it off right now!"

天慧禪師不慌不忙：「皇上的頭砍不得！」
Master Tianhui replied calmly and unhurriedly: "The Emperor's head cannot be chopped off!"

雍正本身深諳禪宗機鋒，一聽到天慧禪師回答「皇上的頭砍不得」，立刻明白他已經破除了對生死、權勢、人我差別的執著，徹底打破了障礙。雍正哈哈大笑，將尚方寶劍一收，高興地說：「砍不得！砍不得！」
Being deeply versed in Zen verbal sparring (jifeng), Yongzheng instantly realized that by responding "The Emperor's head cannot be chopped off," Tianhui had completely transcended the dualistic illusions of life and death, power, and self vs. other. The Emperor burst into laughter, sheathed the Imperial Sword, and exclaimed joyfully, "Indeed, it cannot be chopped! It cannot be chopped!"

天慧禪師隨即呈上了他悟後所作的開悟偈：
Master Tianhui then presented his Enlightenment Poem:
「天也崩，地也崩，
打個霹靂過虛空。
撞破虛空無一物，
原來萬法本來空！」
"The heavens collapse, the earth shatters,
A bolt of lightning strikes across the void.
Crashing through the void, not a single thing remains—
Ah, all phenomena are originally empty!"

【參考解讀 / Commentary】
自他不二：砍人即是砍己
Non-Duality of Self and Other: Striking another is striking oneself

在清淨法身中，心、眾生與佛本無差別，全體是一。如果皇帝砍了天慧禪師的頭，體性上就等於動念砍了自己的頭，也等於砍了皇帝自己的頭。
In the absolute reality of the Dharma-body (Dharmakaya), the mind, all living beings, and the Buddha are fundamentally non-different and one. If the Emperor were to sever Master Tianhui's head, in the realm of ultimate truth, it would be identical to severing his own head as an Emperor.

此公案也是現代禪堂「跑香」制度由來說法之一。
This koan is also widely cited as one of the legendary origins of the "running meditation" (Pao Xiang) tradition in modern Chan monasteries.

Im a late 20s male and I’m working through this material with a therapist as well as with others who Ive come across on Reddit. I have already found healing from admitting to myself that I had parts that killed or abused animals in my formative years and no longer deceiving myself about it, as well as speaking to others who share similar experiences. I do not partake in these behaviors anymore and I haven’t for a while, but I still have challenges dis identifying myself with who I was.

For the better or worse, it’s rare to find others who understand this soul wound of guilt and shame, and moreover to find others who are actively engaging in this work.

It would be a really nice opportunity for us to share and grow together from this. If you want to talk about it, feel free to dm me.

The first in a series on East Asian developments of Yogacara Buddhism. The most distinctive feature of Xuanzang’s transmission is the four aspects of consciousness. In addition to Dignaga’s three aspects, he posits a fourth: awareness of self-awareness.

If self-awareness is needed to apprehend regular awareness, then self-self-awareness is needed to perceive self-awareness! A scholastic addition that is one hundred percent Xuanzang’s style. His teachings were famed for their watertight logic.

Its legacy is, however, anything but scholastic. East Asian Buddhists adopted the four aspects into their meditative theory, making full use of what was once just an academic exercise.

Please read what I mean by "linear view of cosmic history" first.

Typically Buddhist schools of thought are either agnostic on the issue, or have a view of beginningless (and endless?) samsara (in the sense of general existence, not for an individual being). This is what is called a cyclical view of cosmic history. I'm wondering about alternative views.

Here's what I've found so far:

The closest I've found is "Chinese salvationist religions", schools of thought derived from the (Pure Land) White Lotus societies, they seem to have a linear view. In their view the eternal Mother (of Buddhas) generated all the minds, then there was some sort of fall that made many minds fall into samsara and get trapped in it, she sends the Buddhas to help, and eventually all the minds will be saved from samsara, samsara will be empty of beings, or not exist any more. So there's a beginning and an end. This is a linear view of cosmic history.

I know Mahayana schools have the idea of a bodhisattva vow of liberating all beings from samsara, which seems to suggest that there will be an end to samsara / that it will at one point remain 'empty', tho IDK if any schools explicitly say so.

Dhammakaya school is claimed by some to have a secret teaching according to which the timeline is linear, there was a creation of Nibbana by Dhammakaya and the creation of samsara by Mara, and the conflict between them will end with Dhammakaya winning and beings will be saved from samsara.

Does anyone know of more of such examples? Do you know of any Mahayana (or Vajrayana) traditions that mention and end to samsara (in general) - in the sense that it will become empty of beings, or cease to exist?

There might not be an exact number, but I wonder if there is at least an approximate total number of Mahayana sutras.

Also, are most Mahayana sutras found in both the Chinese and Tibetan canons, or are there many that can be found only in one of the two canons?

Edit : Okay, let me be specific. How many Mahayana sutras are there in the Taishō Tripitaka?

https://www.cttbusa.org/amitabhacommentary/amitabha5.htm

**Discussing the Function**

The fourth of the Five-fold Profound Meanings is to determine the sutra’s power and use. Its power is that of *“non-retreat”* and its use is *rebirth*. Reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, you attain to the stage of no retreat. Cultivators of other dharma-doors are somewhat insecure; no one insures them. They may recite mantras or sutras for several years and then retreat with a feeling of no accomplishment or gain. If not in this life, they may retreat in the next. Perhaps they are vigorous now, but later they take a rest.

To say nothing of common people, even Arhats have the “confusion of dwelling in the womb” and forget their spiritual penetrations. Bodhisattvas have the confusion called “splitting the yin ,” which means the same thing. If they meet a good knowing advisor who teaches them to cultivate, they can wake up. Otherwise, life after life, they retreat and find it very hard to bring forth the Bodhi-heart again. It is easy to regress.

Born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, there is no back-sliding, just vigorous progress. One attains the four kinds of Non-retreat:

**Non-retreating position.** Born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, you attain the Buddha-position. Born by transformation from a lotus, when the flower blooms, you see the Buddha, hear the Dharma, awaken to the unproduced dharma-patience, and never fall again.

**Non-retreating conduct.** Most people cultivate vigorously for one life, but in the next, they are lazy. In the Land of Ultimate Bliss there is none of the suffering of the three evil paths. The Kalavinka birds and two-headed birds all help Amitabha Buddha speak about the Dharma. Reborn there, one will no longer be lazy in conduct but will only go forward with courage and vigor.

**Non-retreating thought.** In the Saha world we cultivate vigorously, but after a time we feel it’s too bitter, too restrictive, too uncomfortable, and so we are no longer vigorous. Lazy thoughts arise and although we have not yet retreated in conduct, we have in thought. Several decades pass quickly and thoughts of retreat greatly out-number those of vigor. It’s difficult not to regress.

In the Land of Ultimate Bliss, one hears the Dharma spoken all day and all night long. One has no thoughts of retreat from the Bodhi-mind. All thoughts are irreversible.

**Ultimate Non-retreat.** Transformationally born from a lotus, you will never, under any circumstances, retreat again either to the level of a common person or to the Small Vehicle or Bodhisattva level. Born in the Land of Ultimate Bliss you obtain these four kinds of Non-retreat