Special Topics
From the Suffering of Separation from One's Likes to the Path of Awakening
Must separation from one's likes become a form of suffering? Is it possible to transcend and transform it? There is never an unending banquet, while every encounter means a reunion after a long time of being apart. Nagarjuna once said, "You may have experienced sorrow and joy, separation and reunion, but that is nothing to do with engaging in Buddhist practice, if you are simply living through it. If you realize impermanence, dependent arising (pratītyasamutpāda), as well as...
Applying "Four Steps for Handling a Problem": There Is Pain But No Suffering
We cannot change the arising and ceasing of causes and conditions, since impermanence is the reality in the world. When causes and conditions for companionship perish, it is important to know what is good for one another and for all. As we accept the separation from our loved ones, we are turning the painful feeling into strength that keeps us moving forward. Interview with Ven. Chang Ge (常格法師), Dean of Student Affairs for Nuns at Dharma Drum Sangha University (DDSU) When people...
Buddhist Legends: Removing the Thorn of Sorrow and Eradicating the Suffering of Separation from What One Likes
Editor's Note: Most people often believe that when love arises, it brings joy and happiness. So why did the Buddha say that all sorrow, sadness, vexation, and distress follow love? It is because of our attachment to those we love, and our unwillingness to accept changes in what used to please us. This is what is known as the "suffering of separation from what one likes." The Buddha told us that only by contemplating according to the Dharma and using the Dharma to remove the tho...
A Buddhist Legend about Paṭācārā: Walking toward True Liberation with Mindfulness
Editor's Note: When major life changes occur, grief and despair may set in; nonetheless, they also can be opportunities for awakening. The bereavement of losing her husband, children, and family members made the Elderly Nun Paṭācārā completely devastated. Yet, the Buddha's teaching helped her realize the transience of all phenomena. By practicing mindfulness, she thus awoke from the endless samsāra and walked toward true liberation. In the Buddha's sangha, the El...
Interview with Ven. Yan Shi: Suffering Nourishes Life
Traveling thousands of miles to become a Buddhist monk at Dharma Drum Mountain, Ven. Yan Shi, waved goodbye to his teaching position and the familiar face of his mother. In the course of his Buddhist practice, he learned to accept suffering, transform his attachment to self, and dissolve painful feelings. He realized that it is suffering that allows one to grow in life. Interview with Ven. Yan Shi, student of Dharma Drum Sangha University Walking into the Buddha Hall of Dharma Drum Sang...
Interview with Chiu Chih-ling: Real Love Is about Letting Go and Giving Blessings
Chiu Chih-ling has accompanied countless patients and their families through the separation in life or at death. When facing the consecutive deaths of her loved ones, she realizes that, despite the grief, the last mile of one's life can still be filled with love and blessings. Interview with Chiu Chih-ling (邱智鈴, supervisor of the Department of Nursing and Executive Secretary of Hospice-palliative Care of National Cheng Kung University Hospital) On the final journey of life, every...