The other big takeaway for me is the teaching that spiritual maturity follows the same principles as physical and social growth. To ride a bicycle, you must ride a bicycle on your own. To heal a wound fully, the bandage must come off when protection from infection is no longer needed. Do the work of changing who you are or you will never become.
#mastodharma If I wanted to illustrate chapter 16 (duration of the tathagata’s life) with a meme image, it would be two astronauts looking at the earth. The first would ask “enlightenment transcends time as we understand it?”
The second would be holding a symbol instead of a gun. The Dragon King’s daughter dancing in/on that glove feels right to me. “Always has been.”
#mastodharma If I wanted to illustrate chapter 16 (duration of the tathagata’s life) with a meme image, it would be two astronauts looking at the earth. The first would ask “enlightenment transcends time as we understand it?”
The second would be holding a symbol instead of a gun. The Dragon King’s daughter dancing in/on that glove feels right to me. “Always has been.”
The other big takeaway for me is the teaching that spiritual maturity follows the same principles as physical and social growth. To ride a bicycle, you must ride a bicycle on your own. To heal a wound fully, the bandage must come off when protection from infection is no longer needed. Do the work of changing who you are or you will never become.
A weekly, low-pressure peer-led Buddhist sutra discussion group for the Fediverse. It's not Buddhist school. Just a casual place for us to read and chat and share with each other
Each Saturday, we read and discuss one chapter of a Buddhist sutra starting with the Lotus Sutra
we're moving on to Chapter 13: Perseverance
How to Join
Read or listen to Chapter THIRTEEN before or on Saturday Dec 20
(if you're not caught up on the previous chapters that's okay. you can still join in the discussion of this chapter)
Post your thoughts anytime on Saturday using the hashtag #Mastodharma
Follow and/or pin the hashtag #mastodharma so you can keep up with the discussion and boost others
A weekly, low-pressure peer-led Buddhist sutra discussion group for the Fediverse. It's not Buddhist school. Just a casual place for us to read and chat and share with each other
Each Saturday, we read and discuss one chapter of a Buddhist sutra starting with the Lotus Sutra
we're moving on to Chapter 13: Perseverance
How to Join
Read or listen to Chapter THIRTEEN before or on Saturday Dec 20
(if you're not caught up on the previous chapters that's okay. you can still join in the discussion of this chapter)
Post your thoughts anytime on Saturday using the hashtag #Mastodharma
Follow and/or pin the hashtag #mastodharma so you can keep up with the discussion and boost others
A weekly, low-pressure peer-led Buddhist sutra discussion group for the Fediverse. It's not Buddhist school. Just a casual place for us to read and chat and share with each other
Each Saturday, we read and discuss one chapter of a Buddhist sutra starting with the Lotus Sutra
we're moving on to Chapter 13: Perseverance
How to Join
Read or listen to Chapter THIRTEEN before or on Saturday Dec 20
(if you're not caught up on the previous chapters that's okay. you can still join in the discussion of this chapter)
Post your thoughts anytime on Saturday using the hashtag #Mastodharma
Follow and/or pin the hashtag #mastodharma so you can keep up with the discussion and boost others
A weekly, low-pressure peer-led Buddhist sutra discussion group for the Fediverse. It's not Buddhist school. Just a casual place for us to read and chat and share with each other
Each Saturday, we read and discuss one chapter of a Buddhist sutra starting with the Lotus Sutra
we're moving on to Chapter 13: Perseverance
How to Join
Read or listen to Chapter THIRTEEN before or on Saturday Dec 20
(if you're not caught up on the previous chapters that's okay. you can still join in the discussion of this chapter)
Post your thoughts anytime on Saturday using the hashtag #Mastodharma
Follow and/or pin the hashtag #mastodharma so you can keep up with the discussion and boost others
A weekly, low-pressure peer-led Buddhist sutra discussion group for the Fediverse. It's not Buddhist school. Just a casual place for us to read and chat and share with each other
Each Saturday, we read and discuss one chapter of a Buddhist sutra starting with the Lotus Sutra
we're moving on to Ch.11 he Emergence of the Jeweled Stupa
How to Join
Read Chapter ELEVEN before or on Saturday Dec 6
(if you're not caught up on the previous chapters that's okay. you can still join in the discussion of this chapter)
Post your thoughts anytime on Saturday using the hashtag #Mastodharma
Follow and/or pin the hashtag #mastodharma so you can keep up with the discussion and boost others
Where to Read or Listen
text (html) https://sacred-texts.com/bud/lotus/index.htm
text (pdf) https://huntingtonarchive.org/resources/downloads/sutras/06lotusVimalakirti/Lotus%20Sutra.doc.pdf
audio with on screen text
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZFnYFP851A
A weekly, low-pressure peer-led Buddhist sutra discussion group for the Fediverse. It's not Buddhist school. Just a casual place for us to read and chat and share with each other
Each Saturday, we read and discuss one chapter of a Buddhist sutra starting with the Lotus Sutra
we're moving on to Chapter 13: Perseverance
How to Join
Read or listen to Chapter THIRTEEN before or on Saturday Dec 20
(if you're not caught up on the previous chapters that's okay. you can still join in the discussion of this chapter)
Post your thoughts anytime on Saturday using the hashtag #Mastodharma
Follow and/or pin the hashtag #mastodharma so you can keep up with the discussion and boost others
@Taweret I did not know that about Devadatta thank you for that addition
A weekly, low-pressure peer-led Buddhist sutra discussion group for the Fediverse. It's not Buddhist school. Just a casual place for us to read and chat and share with each other
Each Saturday, we read and discuss one chapter of a Buddhist sutra starting with the Lotus Sutra
we're moving on to Chapter 13: Perseverance
How to Join
Read or listen to Chapter THIRTEEN before or on Saturday Dec 20
(if you're not caught up on the previous chapters that's okay. you can still join in the discussion of this chapter)
Post your thoughts anytime on Saturday using the hashtag #Mastodharma
Follow and/or pin the hashtag #mastodharma so you can keep up with the discussion and boost others
and this chapter pairs this with the Dragon King's Daughter
the worst man and the most "impossible" candidate both make it
Mañjuśrī says: 'yeah, actually. The dragon king's daughter. She's eight. she gets it.'
Śāriputra starts listing reasons why she can't: she's a girl, a child, a dragon (animal realm = 'impure') he's citing scripture, he's technically right by the old rules
The dragon girl appears. doesn't argue. doesn't explain. she just
takes a priceless jewel, offers it to the Buddha. he accepts it.
she turns to Śāriputra and says: 'That was fast, right? watch this.'
and in the time it takes to accept a gift, she manifests a Buddha-field in the south, sits on a lotus throne, and achieves complete perfect enlightenment
she breaks every rule.
Female? Check. Child?Check. Non-human? Check. 'Impure' realm? check. she's the proof that the categories were never real. the Lotus Sutra exists to blow up the old hierarchies, and she's the dynamite
I suppose I am sitting quietly with #Mastodharma this week since the translations I am using combined last week’s and this week’s chapters into a single reading. It looks like the rest of it aligns, to the end of 27 chapters (28 chapters in most editions).
The Setup: Devadatta was the Buddha's worst enemy. tried to kill him. caused a schism. went to hell for it
The Twist: Buddha says "Actually, Devadatta was my teacher in a past life. everything I have, I owe to him. and guess what? He's going to become a Buddha too."
The Point: There is no one outside the circle. not your enemy. not the person who hurt you most. not even the guy currently residing in Avīci Hell. it may take them longer to get there, maybe a LOT longer but Buddha-nature is in everyone.
@Mrfunkedude @Taweret After much contemplation from this week's chapter, Jelly, prefers to believe the dragon girl only pretended to turn into a man before becoming Buddha. And that she remained a dragon-girl Buddha for those that don't discriminate against dragon girls.
#Mastodharma
@Taweret Ugh. Silly men and their silly insecurities. Can't a dragon girl get some respect?!?!
@Taweret the ultimate "We all good fam!"
book rec for Buddhist and buddhist-curious friends:
Emptiness and Omnipresence by Brook A. Ziporyn
looks like Hoopla has it if you have access to that
A weekly, low-pressure peer-led Buddhist sutra discussion group for the Fediverse. It's not Buddhist school. Just a casual place for us to read and chat and share with each other
Each Saturday, we read and discuss one chapter of a Buddhist sutra starting with the Lotus Sutra
we're moving on to Chapter Twelve: Devadatta
How to Join
Read or listen to Chapter TWELVE before or on Saturday Dec 13
(if you're not caught up on the previous chapters that's okay. you can still join in the discussion of this chapter)
Post your thoughts anytime on Saturday using the hashtag #Mastodharma
Follow and/or pin the hashtag #mastodharma so you can keep up with the discussion and boost others
note if you're reading the Kern translation it omits this chapter and has the next chapter as ch 12
@Taweret Ugh. Silly men and their silly insecurities. Can't a dragon girl get some respect?!?!
@Mrfunkedude @Taweret After much contemplation from this week's chapter, Jelly, prefers to believe the dragon girl only pretended to turn into a man before becoming Buddha. And that she remained a dragon-girl Buddha for those that don't discriminate against dragon girls.
#Mastodharma
