These early Mahayana teachings delve deeply into the nature of Samsaric constructions of identity and detachment for the Bodhisattva path.

We begin the review of Edward Conze‘s translation of The Perfection of Wisdom in 8000 lines.

Everyone has a different meaning for it, and few understand the full implications of this word; meditation. Every thought we experience in consciousness is a meditation; the real question is the purpose of it.

Well, All of Shakyamuni‘s sermons ARE chanting. Remember that the word chant or chanting is rooted in the French and Latin ”Sing or Singing”. Remember also, the Sutras are in verse form and were taught, learned, transmitted, using recitation and repetition; the same way you learned the alphabet.

I‘m thinking Sundays would be most ideal for an abbreviated Gongyo, five meditations, followed by some sutra study for a weekly activity to solidify our practice and study as a Sangha.

We study other sutra from the perspective of our Lotus Buddhism practice and Nichiren‘s Doctrines. Which do we choose next of these five; Vimalakirti, Lankavatara, Diamond, Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 lines, Nagarjuna Mulamadhyamakakarika.

Siddhartha Gautama was first inspired to seek enlightenment for the purpose of living a fully expressed life without the impedance of fear, pain, and despair. Buddha is the life condition of freeing the mind from the bondage of fear, pain, and despair.

Enunciate each and every syllable while considering the meaning of each of the characters. This will sharpen your focus to the ”Single-minded effort to see the Buddha” of your practice.

What is daimoku, what does it mean, why do we do it? Oh, and what should we be thinking?

It is long overdue. A complete re-write and overhaul of my 15 to 20 year-old publication of ”Beyond Zen”. The old rhetoric and difficult to read essay collection of decades gone by is no longer reflecting my far more educated scholarship and understanding of each concept explored in this book.