The blue 'Medicine Buddha' - Healer

WATCH NOW: The MEDICINE BUDDHA: Buddhism's Forgotten Healer | Bhaisajyaguru

The MEDICINE BUDDHA: Buddhism's Forgotten Healer | Bhaisajyaguru

(Buddha's Wisdom) March 4th, 2026: #MedicineBuddha #Buddhism #BuddhistHealing 🔍 THE MEDICINE BUDDHA HEALS WITHOUT CURING — AND HERE'S WHY:

The Medicine Buddha (BhaisajyaGuru) is one of the most fascinating figures in Mahāyāna Buddhism: a blue-skinned buddha associated with healing, compassion, and the Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli (a beautiful blue Afghan gemstone).

 

But if Buddhism teaches impermanence, non-self (anattā), and detachment from the body, why does it include a buddha devoted to curing illness?

This video explores the history, philosophy, and psychological depth behind Bhaiṣajyaguru...and what Buddhist healing really means.

This is the story of how Buddhism's "doctor who prescribes enlightenment" challenges everything we think we know about healing, suffering, and what it means to be broken.

📿 DISCOVER:

• Why Medicine Buddha's 12 vows made him Buddhism's most controversial figure
• How 8th-century Buddhist monasteries became the world's first integrated healthcare systems
• The blind Chinese Buddhist monk who taught healing despite losing his sight
• Why Tibetan, Japanese, and Chinese Buddhists practice Medicine Buddha in completely different ways
• What modern science reveals about meditation, stress, and the mind-body connection.

⏳ TIMESTAMPS:

• 00:00 The blue-skinned god that shouldn't exist
• 02:32 The twelve vows that changed Buddhism
• 08:55 When temples became clinics
• 14:55 The disease behind the disease
• 21:22 Three Buddhas, one Truth
• 30:51 The cure that isn't

🙏 If this exploration of Buddhism's healing paradox opens eyes to a deeper truth, subscribe to Buddha's Wisdom for videos that bridge ancient Buddhist teachings with modern questions. Hit the bell icon to catch this journey into Buddhism's most fascinating mysteries. 📱 Join a community: Instagram: / buddhaswizdom Facebook: / buddhaswizdom X: https://x.com/BuddhasWizdom Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5ndnBU5... TikTok: / buddhas.wisdom ☕ Support the channel: https://buymeacoffee.com/buddhaswisdom

#MedicineBuddha #Buddhism #BuddhistHealing #Bhaisajyaguru #BuddhismExplained #BuddhistPhilosophy #TibetanBuddhism #MahayanaBuddhism #AncientMedicine #BuddhistPractice #Enlightenment #Bodhisattva #Anatta #PureLand #Bhaisajyaguru

📚 SOURCES AND FURTHER READING:

• Primary Buddhist Texts: Bhaiṣajyaguru-vaiḍūrya-prabhā-rāja Sūtra (Medicine Buddha Sutra)
• Vinaya Piṭaka (Monastic Disciplinary Code)
• Dhammapada (Imprint of the Buddha's Teachings)
• Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path
• Madhyamaka Philosophy (Nāgārjuna)
• Yogācāra texts (Vasubandhu)

Historical Sources:

• "The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions" by Xuanzang (7th century) amzn.to/4b3eCYP
• Records of Jianzhen's journey to Japan (735-763 CE) Tōdai-ji Temple archives (Nara, Japan)
• Tang Dynasty medical records Tibetan Gyushi (Four Medical Tantras)
• Archaeological findings from Bamiyan and Gandhāra

Modern Scholarly Works:

• "The Healing Buddha" by Raoul Birnbaum amzn.to/4r5YNqp
• "Buddhism and Medicine: An Anthology of Premodern Sources" edited by C. Pierce Salguero amzn.to/4ct4ivS
• "Tibetan Medicine in the Contemporary World" by Laurent Pordié amzn.to/4rQuAwU
• Studies on placebo effect and meditation (Harvard Medical School, NIH research)
• Research on mindfulness and pain management Neuroscience studies on visualization practices

Related Academic Resources:

• Journal of Buddhist-Christian Studies Buddhist-Christian Studies journal articles on Medicine Buddha
• Contemporary research on Buddhist medical ethics
• Cross-cultural studies of Medicine Buddha practice

⚡ In a world obsessed with curing the body, Medicine Buddha asks a deeper question: If there is no permanent self…who is being healed? [Ugh, the momentarily dependently arisen "self" (atman, atta)?]

DISCLAIMER: This video is for educational purposes. Medicine Buddha practice is a spiritual/meditative practice and should not replace professional medical care. Always consult qualified healthcare providers for medical conditions.

Treasure trove beneath 1,300-y-o Buddha

 

The Buddha reclining into final nirvana (Unsplash/Sam Szuchan)

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Digging crew surprised to find ‘treasure trove’ beneath 1,300-year-old reclining Buddha statue in Thailand

พระพุทธไสยาสวัดพระเชตุพน (Wat Pho)

The discovery of treasure troves always makes for interesting stories. One such incident comes from Thailand, where workers found a massive collection of gold, silver, and bronze while digging a drainage system, states Popular Mechanics.

The workers were digging four feet below the famous reclining Buddha statue in the Wat Thammachak Sema Ram Temple complex in Northeastern Thailand when they came across the mind-blowing collection.

• Wat Pho, Bangkok's giant reclining Buddha

The community was stunned that the Buddha statue they had been venerating for years was lying on such a valuable treasure. 

The crew spotted the treasure inside a container. In total, the collection had 33 ancient ornaments, made from gold, silver, and bronze, according to Thailand’s Fine Arts Department. There were several kinds of jewelry pieces inside the container, ranging from rings, earrings, to hoops.

Researchers believe that the ornaments were 1,300 years old, based on their designs. The style of the found jewelry was very similar to what was popular in the Dvaravati period, which lasted from the 6th to the 11th century in Thailand.

Researchers think that the collection could be offerings to the Buddha Shakyamuni, as the temple was massively popular during the Dvaravati period, according to Interesting Engineering.

The work on the jewelry pieces is clearly indicative of the exceptional artistic talent within the community back then. Similar collections have been spotted in places like Phu Khao Thong in Ranong Province and Tha Chana in Surat Thani.

This implies that in the past, there was an extensive network of cultural exchange throughout the Southeast Asian country. More

• Somdatta Maity, Front Page Detectives via MSN.com, May 16, 2025; Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Irish Zen poem on St. Patrick's Day

SAINT PATRICK'S DHARMA: Welcome to Zen Buddhism Ireland (ZBI) with Myozan Kodo (妙山興道). Years ago, on March 17th, he delivered a little talk on Irish history concerning a possibly ahistorical figure named "St. Paddy" to mark St. Patrick's Day. Rev. Myozan Kodo lives his Zen Buddhist spiritual tradition on the Emerald Isle at zenbuddhism.ie, which is open to all.

New traditions

Welcome to ZBI: Zen Buddhism Ireland - Zen Buddhism Ireland

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Let's go beyond The Pale in Ireland

The Irish are nothing if not amazing storytellers. Our own resident poet, Seven O'Dhr, frequently performs his epic "Finnegan's Awake" to stunned crowds who cannot comprehend how there can be so many rhyming syllables delivered in a Gaelic cadence in what is ostensibly an all-English poem. The piece is, of course, a tip o' the hat to James Joyce and his magnum opus  Finnegans Wake, but both works are rooted in an old Dublin ditty everyone who's ever entered a pub has heard, "Finnegan's Wake." What now if the classic song were Buddhified? If the story of Saint Paddy can be, as certainly it was all dreamed up by the Church over the years to sanitize the genocide of the indigenous pagan "snakes" being chased off the snakeless island.

Finnegan's Wake (traditional)

"Finnegan's Wake" (Irish American comic ballad) Clancy Brothers and The Dubliners

Ballad of Tim Finnegan's Wake as explained and performed by The Clancy Brothers in Ireland

Tim Finnegan lived on Watlin Street

A gentleman Irish but mighty odd

Had a beautiful brogue so soft and sweet

To rise in the world he carried a hod

He had a sort of a tipplin' way

With a love of the liquor poor Tim was born

To help him on with his work each day

Had a drop of the craythur every morn

[CHORUS:]

Whack fol the dah of the di-do-day

Dance with your partner

Welt the floor your trotters shake

Wasn't it the truth I told?

Lots of fun at Finnegan's wake!

One mornin' Tim felt rather full

His head felt so heavy it made him shake

Fell from a ladder and dashed his skull

They carried him home his corpse to wake

Rolled him up in a nice clean sheet

Laid him out upon the bed

A bottle of whiskey at his feet

A barrel of porter at his head

[CHORUS]

His friends assembled at the wake

And Mrs. Finnegan called for lunch

First they brung in tea and cake

Then pipes tobacco and whiskey punch

Biddy O'Brien began to cry

"Such a nice clean corpse did you ever see?

Tim mavourneen why'd you go and die?"

Arragh shut your gob said Paddy McGee!

[CHORUS]

Patty O'Connor took up the job

"Ah Biddy" says she "you're wrong I'm sure!"

Biddy gave her a belt on the gob

That sent her sprawlin' on the floor

Then a war did soon engage

It was woman to woman and man to man

Shillelagh-law was all the rage

And a row and a ruction soon began

Mickey Maloney lowered his head

As a bottle of whiskey flew at him

Missed and fallin' on the bed

The liquor sprinkled all over Tim!

Tim revives see how he rises!

Timothy risin' from the bed

Sayin' "Whirl your liquor around like blazes

Thunderin' Jaysus do you think I'm dead?"

[CHORUS]

Finnegan's Awake (Zen version)

Seven O'Dhr for Wisdom Quarterly, St. Patrick's Day 2025

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Tim Finnegan did BE across kinhin street

A gentleman Irish but Almighty Odd

Had a beautiful OM so soft 'n sweet

To rise above the world, he sat in the sod

Tippin' over wave and save: awake!

He had a sort of a tippin' wave

With a love of Hardcore Zen Tim was reborn

To help him on with his work each day

Had a talk with the master every morn

[CHORUS:]

Work for the title of the Died-All-Day

Breathe with your partners

Welt the floor then your trousers shake

Wasn't it the Four Truths I told you?

Lots o' fun now that Finnegan's awake!

Welt the floor then trousers shake

One mornin' Tim felt rather dull

His head felt so sleepy it made him wave

Tipped right over and dashed his skull

He sprawled out his corpse to wake

Rolled his'self up in a nice bright sheet

Reclined his'self in lion's pose in bed

All bottled up frisky with cold feet

A barrel of sake's good till you're dead

[CHORUS]

His friends assembled at the wake

Then Mrs. Finnegan called for lunch

First they brung in green tea 'n cake,

Zen bamboo flutes with a sake punch

Biddy O'Brien began to cry,

"Such a nice clean corpse did you ever see?

Tim's in satori and he might die!"

Arragh, shut your gob said Paddy McGee!

[CHORUS]

Roshi O'Connor took up the job

"Ah Biddy," said he, "you're wrong, I'm sure!"

Then Biddy gave him a wordless belt on the gob

That sent him sprawlin' on the floor

Keisaku: Seven temples to experience Zen sitting meditation (zazen) (Jatrabridge)

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The keisaku is to awaken, but the shippei...

Then a debate did soon engage

It was man on woman and woman on man

Shippei-law was all the rage

And a row and a ruction soon began

Flicky Baloney lowered his head

As bottled-up frisky flew out of him

Missed and fallin' on the bed

The life sprinkled and touched ol' Tim!

Tim revives! See how he rises!

Timothy risin' from his deathbed

Sayin', "Whirl your hurl 'round like blazes

Thunderin' Dōgen, do you think I'm dead?"

[CHORUS: Whack for the diddle of the dido-day...]

Hardcore Zen: Zazen is NOT meditation

(Roshi Brad Warner) Zen punk on why Zazen is Not Meditation

• Everyone writes and sings it their own way: The Irish Rovers – Finnegan's Wake
• The Disturbing Truth About St. Patrick’s Day and Its Brutal History | by Three raccoons in a spacesuit | Medium
• Did St. Patrick Commit Genocide? Did He Kill Pagans? Did He Battle Druids? - Irish Myths
• Was St. Patrick Catholic? - Irish Myths
• Myozan Kodo, Zen temple Ireland, March 17, 2016; The Clancy Brothers; The Dubliners; Brad Warner; Dhr. Seven (parody poetry), Pat Macpherson, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Jewel Sutra (Ratana Sutta)

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All beings gathered here

from earth and aether

may we all be happy at heart

to listen carefully to what is said.

All beings, heed:

Love human beings,

who day and night make offerings

and please protect them diligently.

There is no wealth here or beyond,

no sublime jewel found in heaven,

that equals the Enlightened One.

This sublime jewel is the Buddha:

By this truth, may all beings be well!

Cessation, dispassion, deathless, sublime

attained by the Scythian Sage in samādhi --

without equal is that Dharma.

This sublime jewel is the Dharma:

By this truth, may all beings be well!

The purification praised by the Buddha Supreme

is said to be the “absorption with immediate fruit.”

No equal to that absorption is found.

This sublime jewel is the Dharma:

By this truth, may all beings be well!

The eight individuals praised by the wise

are the four pairs of the Awakened One’s disciples,

worthy of offerings and all other courtesies.

For what is given to them is abundantly fruitful.

This sublime jewel is the Noble Saṅgha:

By this truth, may all beings be well!

I go for guidance to the Teacher, the Teaching, and the successfully Taught (tricycle.org)

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Dedicated to the Buddha’s dispensation,

strong-minded, free of craving for sense,

they have attained the aim, plunged into deathless freedom

and enjoy a cooling they have thus gained.

This sublime jewel is the Noble Saṅgha:

By this truth, may all beings be well!

As a boundary-post set firmly in the ground

is unshaken by winds of the four directions,

I say a supreme person is just this way,

who knows-and-sees the enlightening truths.

This sublime jewel is the Noble Saṅgha:

By this truth, may all beings be well!

Those who fathom the enlightening truths [sacca]

taught by the one of deepest wisdom

do not undergo more than seven rebirths

even if they are extremely negligent.

This sublime jewel is the Noble Saṅgha:

By this truth, may all beings be well!

When they attain the eye of wisdom,

they give up three things:

personality view, skeptical doubt, and

any clinging to rules or rituals.

They are freed from four miserable planes

and cannot do six heinous (karmic) actions.

This sublime jewel is the Noble Saṅgha:

By this truth, may all beings be well!

Even if they do some unskillful deed

through body, speech, or mind,

they are unable to conceal it,

which is said of those who have seen the Truth.

This sublime jewel is the Noble Saṅgha:

By this truth, may all beings be well!

As a tall forest tree springing flowers

in the first month of summer

he taught the supreme Dharma

leading to cessation, to ultimate freedom.

This sublime jewel is the Buddha:

By this truth, may all beings be well!

The knower, giver, and bringer of the sublime

taught the most sublime Dharma.

This sublime jewel is the Buddha:

By this truth, may all beings be well!

The past is ended, nothing anew is produced:

Their minds hanker after no future rebirth.

Spent seeds desire no growth,

The ever-mindful become as still as this lamp.

This sublime jewel is the Noble Saṅgha:

By this truth, may all beings be well!

All beings gathered here

of earth and aether,

the Enlightened One is honored by devas and humans!

We honor the Buddha! May all be safe!

All beings gathered here

of earth and aether,

the Enlightened One is honored by devas and humans!

We honor the Dharma! May all be safe!

All beings gathered here

of earth and aether,

the Enlightened One is honored by devas and humans!

We honor the Noble Saṅgha! May all be safe!

• Dhr. Seven (trans.), Kalyani (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

Buddhism and Science (video)

• The Buddhist Publication Society put out Buddhism and Science as the third release in their popular Wheel series way back in the 1950s.
• Buddhism and the Age of Science
• Buddhism, Science, and Atheism
• Buddhist Perspectives on the Ecocrisis
• Buddhism in a Value-changing Society
• Scientific Approach to Buddhism and Appeal of Buddhism

Why scientists turn to Buddhism: The hidden science in Buddhism

Einstein thinks Buddhism is best for science

(The best Philosophy of Life) UNITED STATES. What is the relationship between Buddhism and science? It is a fascinating study that bridges ancient wisdom and modern knowledge-seeking. Both Buddhism and empirical science strive to understand the true nature of reality, albeit through different methodologies and perspectives. While Buddhism focuses on the inner experiences and transformative practices leading to enlightenment, science relies on empirical evidence and logical reasoning to uncover the laws governing the natural world. Despite these differences, there are significant areas of convergence where Buddhist teachings and scientific discoveries resonate and complement each other.

CHAPTERS

• 00:39 Buddhism’s philosophical framework
• 03:59 The scientific method and its contributions
• 05:01 Points of convergence
• 08:43 Integrating Buddhism and science
• 09:45 Conclusion

Buddhism and Science: Collected Essays

It is a historical fact that the scientific revolution that arose in the 17th century in the West was largely responsible for upsetting the earlier religious conception of the universe. Not only did science controvert the specific dogmas of Western religions, but it seemed to have undermined the foundations as well as the fundamental concepts implicit in the religious outlook on things.

The new cosmology of Copernicus, Galileo, and their successors altered the geocentric [earth at the center] picture of the universe although it was pronounced to be “contrary to the Holy Scriptures.” The new biology (theory of evolution) upset the doctrines of the special creation and the fall of man.

And the new psychology seemed to show that the human mind, like the physical body, worked on a pattern of causal law and that however deep one plumbed its depths, there was not discoverable in it an unchanging soul that governed its activities entirely.

EQ, BA (Supawan Green)

But much more serious was the effect of the scientific outlook on the general religious attitude, which involved a belief in a personal God, in purpose, and in the objectivity of moral values.

Science made its discoveries and progressed quite comfortably on the assumption of universal causation without the necessity for teleological explanations [karma and karmic results] or divine intervention. It dealt with an amoral universe indifferent to the aspirations of humans.

As among humans, moral values, like economic values, were subjective since they were dependent on the needs and desires of humans, and an ethical humanism was the best that could be hoped for.

Even such an ethics need not be universal, for as anthropologists discovered, different societies seem to have followed different moral codes that suited them, and ethical relativism was the scientific truth about the nature of moral values. More

#taoism #laotzu #philosophy #Buddhism #Stoicism [Is this AI answering a question or actual writers who can't write at @bestphilosophylife? It sure sounds like AI cobbled this all together.]

• Best Philosophy of Life, July 26, 2024; K.N. Jayatilleke, Buddhist Publication Society, Buddhism and Science (Wheel #3); CC Liu, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

9th avatar of Vishnu, Jesus or Buddha?

What the cartoonist (Dan Piraro) doesn't realize is that the Buddha did set down such a rule.

Great teachers of world's religions (Where's Mo?)

Christianity (particularly imperialist universalist Catholicism and hegemonical American Protestant Evangelism) is closer to Hinduism than Buddhism is, for all of their apparent similarities. The historical Buddha did not teach what Jesus or Krishna (avatars of a God like Vishnu), Brahma or Shiva taught.

All of these, we are told promoted devotional practices as the best that could be done by most humans during the Dark Age or Kali Yuga. Hinduism, to be more popular and tolerant, accepts other religions enough to swallow them and call them part of its own Eternal Teaching or Sanatan Dharma.

Hindu holy man, sadhu, sannyasin, ganja smoker

If Brahmin priests could not rid themselves of pesky wandering ascetic or shramanic traditions like Buddhism and Jainism, it simply dealt with them by incorporating them into its own structure and pantheon just as it did the ancient Vedas ("Knowledge Books") of proto-India and the Indus Valley Civilization, extending Hinduism (which was systematized and established by Adi Shankara a few centuries ago by coordinating and getting major points of agreement for many and diverse "religions" around the Indus River, thus resulting in the name of one conglomerate religion of Indus-ism where previously people did not live with the modern idea of being in a "religion" or doing anything more than practicing spiritual things as part and parcel of daily life).

• Was Jesus a Hindu avatar? | Catholicism Coffee

Tribal Jewish God in a polytheistic world

The British imposed the idea that one must name "spiritual" practices and/or superstitions and beliefs a "religion" and that those practicing in accordance or adhering to such beliefs must be "members" of that religion. The ancients in India, proto-India, Egypt, and elsewhere simply did not have this belief but simply went along when told by the dominant and oppressive colonizing culture. One has to imagine that pre-Christian pagans in Europe did not think they had a "religion" but were just living their cultural life and holding popular beliefs about how the world (with its spirits and mysteries) works.

Amitabha Cosmic Buddha

While Early Buddhism, just like Jainism, rejected the Vedas and gods as ultimate sources of wisdom or liberation, later (Mahayana) Buddhism was co-opted by the Brahmin priests and turned into a kind of Hinduism by other names. While there are certainly many devotional practices in modern Theravada Buddhism, a back-to-basics movement to preserve the historical Buddha's Teachings, many Mahayana traditions and practices went overboard to devote themselves to anyone but the historical Buddha.

Kwan Yin (female Avalokiteshvara)

That Buddha is respected but then quickly disregarded, forgotten, or shunned for "better" Mahayana Buddhist figures like the Cosmic Buddhas Amitabha (and His promise of praying to Him to be reborn in His heavenly Western Paradise, the Pure Land, where one can make efforts to reach enlightenment and liberation without bothering to do anything toward that here other than praying and devoting oneself to Him here and now) and Vairocana, or the ever-popular Virgin Mary figure Kwan Yin (Guanyin, Kwannon, Chenrézik, or Avalokiteshvara, the Goddess of Compassion, who like many other Mahayana figures is actually a bodhisattva, a person striving for Buddhahood, not a buddha at all) and Kṣitigarbha, who saves beings from the hells, which they fall into on account of their own deeds and views.

Pals Jesus, Budai, and Krishna with a cow

This devotional bent of Mahayana Buddhism has gotten so severe that who "the Buddha" is is often blurred, with most of the world mistaking him for the Mahayana figure Budai/Putai/Hotei the "Fat Happy Bodhisattva," the obese guy revered in Chinese restaurants around the world. Moreover, a distinction at one point had to be made between what Western elucidator of Buddhism Alan Watts points out in the Japanese Buddhist terms jiriki versus tariki -- enlightenment by one's own efforts or by outside help.

• Jiriki (自力, "one's own strength" [1]) is the Japanese Buddhist term for "self-power," the ability to achieve enlightenment and liberation (in other words, to reach bodhi and nirvana) through one's own efforts, whereas tariki (他力, "other power," "outside help") is the belief that it cannot be done on one's own. These two terms in Japanese Buddhist schools classify how one becomes spiritually awakened [2]. The first is commonly practiced in Zen Buddhism, whereas the much more popular Pure Land Buddhism refers to the power of Amitābha Buddha to "save" beings who merely have faith, believe, and worship an outside force like the mythological Amitabha [3].

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Does Christianity teach Christians and Catholics that they can save themselves, awaken themselves, enlighten themselves, or even get into heaven (which is viewed as final salvation) by their own efforts? Certainly not. Most modern Christian schools teach that it is ONLY by "grace" (God's underserved gift or His whimsical feeling like it) and never by "works" (one's own efforts) that anyone can be saved.

All three religions (Buddhism, Christianity, and Hinduism) believe in karma (the power of deeds to bring about a result, but Christians insist everything is either God's will or not and nothing we can do can change that, other than perhaps groveling, begging, bargaining, self-abnegation, and absolute devotion and throwing ourselves on His mercy can save us.

For Christians killing isn't so bad compared to not loving the God enough because that God can erase that karmic debt and sin, wipe it away in an instant of devotion, obedience, adherence, and voluntary slavery, whereas not killing in the first, who cares? That's not a big deal to most Christians or apologists. Of course, Hinduism now talks about karma a lot, but it is said that the Buddha was the first sage to go around telling ordinary people about the importance of their deeds.

Up until then it was more or less a secret among Brahmin priests and preservers of the Vedas, who were not keen on telling anyone other than Brahmins. The Buddha, who was regarded as a Karmavadin (Teacher of the efficacy of actions) not as a Buddhist (which came later with the Western idea that things have to be a "religion"), went around telling everyone, emphasizing karma to everyone as a principle, a fixed law, an orderliness to the universe we live in, be it a simulation or a real place.

One has to eventually put forward the endeavor and effort to awaken oneself; it simply cannot be "given" or gained by devotion. It does not belong to anyone to give, not even "God," who Himself, Herself, Itself is not enlightened nor liberated but rapt in this samsara.

So while it is beautiful that we can all be Hindus now, all go back to a time when there was just one universal religion everyone had to follow, a worldwide belief system with an all-attractive cult figure like Krishna, Christ, Thor, Zeus, Sophia, Aphrodite, Brahma, Mithras, Ahura Mazda, Allah (or His Prophet), the Great Spaghetti Monster, Odin, or countless other astrotheological figures, Buddhism does not need the Buddha to be an "incarnation of Vishnu."

• The great thing is, of course, that "Hinduism" is not really a religion even now when it is treated like one because it has always meant a collection of disparate views, practices, belief, and preferred central gods (one choice in picking any incarnation of an essential Brahman, or "reality behind all illusion") presenting itself as an avatar or aspect of the One True God(hood). The yogis have their way, as do the Shaivites and Vaishnavites, agnostics, atheists, Kali worshippers, devotees of the Goddess Saraswati, Ma Durga, Radha (Krishna's partner), Krishna, or 100,000 others.

In fact, it is insulting as it shows a severe lack of understanding by Brahmins and Hindus that such things could even happen. A buddha is an arhat (fully enlightened being), who therefore by that supreme enlightenment is never again reborn, does not incarnate, does not reappear or rearise. Of course, there will be other buddhas, like Mahayana Buddhism's second favorite buddha of all time, the Buddha-to-come, the Future Buddha, Maitreya.

But that being will not be the last one (Siddhartha Gautama Buddha) coming again. It will be a new one, just as there have been ones in the ancient past and in the distant future. It is never the same being returning to teach beings how to make an end of all suffering and all rebirth after realizing the too-subtle unique teachings of Dependent Origination and anatta (the impersonal nature of all existence) or egolessness.

The Lord's Prayer (Medieval English)

• Text by Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly

'Saltwater Buddha' surfing film (doc)

SWB Films, 1/28/22; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

Saltwater Buddha: Coming of age surf doc

(SWB Films) Fed up with teenage life in the suburbs, Jaimal Yogis ran off to Hawaii with little more than a copy of Hermann Hesse's Buddhist classic Siddhartha and enough cash for a surfboard.

Now an author and father, he recounts his journey from jungle hippie communes to Zen Buddhist monasteries, from the warm Pacific to the icy New York Atlantic shore.

Based on the internationally-acclaimed memoir, Saltwater Buddha is a chronicle of finding focus in the barrel of a wave and truth in the great salty blue.

Director: Lara Popyack. Executive Producer: Urijah Faber. Editor: Jordan Dozzi. Producers Mike Madden, Lara Popyack, and Jaimal Yogis. Director of Photography: Roberto Vezzone. Surfers in order of appearance: Jaimal Yogis, Logan Landry, Holly Beck, Andy Olive, Danny Hess, Jay Nelson.

BuddhaFest 2023 with Dalai Lama (online)

LionsRoar.com Lion's Roar (buddhafestonline.com, Sept. 9, 2023); Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Jen Bradford, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Lion's Roar presents BuddhaFest 2023 online festival (buddhafestonline.com)

The Last Daiai Lama? film festival 2023 trailer (buddhafestonline.com)

Richard Gere with the CIA-funded Dalai Lama: to preserve Tibet from Chinese hands

PHOTOS: What's the Dalai Lama up to now, summer '23? (The Office of 14th Dalai Lama)

Tricycle | BuddhaFest Online Festival from BrightStar | Events to Uplift (brightstarevents.com)

International Buddhist Film Festival

BuddhaFest (presented in partnership with Lion's Roar) begins this weekend.

Get tickets and save 54%. All are invited to the BuddhaFest Online Festival, a six-week celebration of Buddhist wisdom, compassion, and culture.

From Sept. 10 to Oct. 22, immerse in an extraordinary experience of Buddhist films, enlightening Dharma talks, and moving musical performances — accessible on-demand 24/7 from the comfort of home.

Tibetan-Buddhist nun Ven. Thubten Chodron

BuddhaFest begins this weekend, on Sept. 10, 2023. There’s still time to get a ticket at the limited early-bird discount. Get a 6-week online pass now for only $35. What to expect:

8 Captivating Films

The current Dalai Lama

Explore the life and teachings of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in "Compassion in Exile," "Heart of Tibet," and go behind-the-scenes of the iconic film "Kundun," including interviews with the Dalai Lama and Director Martin Scorsese.

• TRAILER: The Last Daiai Lama?

Witness the powerful Kalachakra Tibetan Buddhist initiation ceremony in Wheel of Time and follow Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche’s remarkable journey in Wandering...But Not Lost, among other remarkable films.

8 Enlightening Talks

Science says I'm the happiest in the world.

Explore eight new talks from leading Buddhist teachers, including Matthieu "The Happiest Man in the World" Ricard (French Buddhist monk and scientist), Professor Robert A.F. Thurman (tibethouse.us), Ruth King, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, Lama Tsultrim Allione, Craig Hamilton, and Ven. Thubten Chodron.

Catch exclusive, unreleased interviews with the Dalai Lama and a conversation between Pico Iyer and Gaetano Kazuo Maida.

Inspiring Music

Be enchanted by musical performances featuring Philip Glass, Tenzin Choegyal, and Drukmo Gyal Dakini.

A Special Tribute

Scene from BuddhaFest featured film, The Last Dalai Lama? (buddhafestonline.com)

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Past BuddhaFest event (insightla.org)

Join in celebrating the 88th year of the 14th Dalai Lama's life with a touching tribute.

Secure a 6-week online pass today for only $35 and get ready for an immersive and enlightening cultural experience. Get Festival Pass

Catch this unique opportunity to experience a rich combination of film, music, and Dharma. Join the BuddhaFest Online Festival — which all begins this weekend on 9/10/23.

Warmly, Lion’s Roar

Lion's Roar: Buddhist Wisdom for Our Time (lionsroar.com)

P.S. Get access to everything on-demand for the full six weeks with a festival pass.

Save 54% with a pass purchase today. Questions? Please contact BuddhaFestContact@gmail.com

Lion’s Roar newsletters on lionsroar.com website, product purchases, and event registrations invite special offers. Mailing address:

Past BuddhaFest mindfulness event online

Lion’s Roar Foundation

2403 Clifton St.
Halifax, NS B3K 4T9
Canada

FREE TO RSVP:

• Disclosure Project: BuddhaFest 2023 with the Dalai Lama, 6-week Lion's Roar festival (ONLINE)
• Nature Center: BuddhaFest 2023 with the Dalai Lama, 6-week Lion's Roar festival (ONLINE)
• PasaDharma: BuddhaFest 2023 with the Dalai Lama, 6-week Lion's Roar festival (ONLINE)

Who is the Dalai Lama? John Oliver finds out