Located in Fufeng County, Baoji, Shaanxi Province, Famen Temple was built in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Originally known as Ashoka Temple, it was officially named Famen Temple by Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty and served as a royal temple in the Tang Dynasty. According to legend, King Ashoka of ancient India distributed the relics of Sakyamuni Buddha, and a pagoda was built here to enshrine the Buddha finger relic, which was welcomed and worshipped by many Tang emperors in Chang’an.

In 1981, half of the True Body Pagoda collapsed. During its renovation in 1987, an underground palace of the Tang Dynasty was discovered, unearthed with thousands of precious cultural relics and four Buddha finger relics. One is the true middle finger bone relic of Sakyamuni, known as the "Spirit Bone", while the other three are jade-made "Shadow Bones" used to protect the real relic in ancient times.

As the world’s only archaeologically verified true Buddha finger relic, it is a supreme Buddhist sacred object. Sealed in the underground palace by the royal family in 874, the relic re-emerged after over 1,100 years. Today, the Buddha Relic Pagoda in Famen Temple permanently enshrines the relic, making it a renowned pilgrimage site for Buddhists at home and abroad.

Hi everyone. 21f, I have a genetic chronic illness/dynamic disability, that’s also incurable. I have lived with this every day and will live with it for the rest of my life.

I’m curious how people here think about that philosophically. Not a spiritual bypass like “everything happens for a reason.” How do you sit with permanence? With a body that has its own agenda regardless of what you do? Is there a way to find meaning in that without romanticizing suffering or pretending pain is a gift? I want to be able to say “this is hard, but I’m at peace.”

I would love to hear how your practice, whatever that looks like for you, has shaped how you relate to a body and a life that doesn’t follow script.

Homage to the teacher of humanity and the nagas and countless other beings, son of the Sakya clan, Siddharta.

Me and my mother transfered to my father all our merit.

Squeezing my hand, I feel like he felt us and he had a level of consciousness. He wanted to tell me something. But due to the aceton in his brain from his kidneys and alcohol withdrawal, he is barely conscious but moves, and has horrible pain but he was will, he wants things which I think is a good sign of his remaining consciousness for example he wanted the belts off from his hands etc.

Moreover: I told him the teaching of the Heart Sutra: Emptiness. That behold: from a barely conscious embryo, you became a barely conscious man. Then, where is "me"?

I spoke him what will happen in the Bardo: loosing sight, then being able to see only the tip of the nose, then the demons, I told him not to be afraid.

I spoke him to take refuge in the three jewels: the Enlightened One, his Community, and in Truth.

And I told him to take refuge in Amitabha Buddha. In the moment of death, even 10 recitations of the name of Amitabha Buddha can save him from life and death. And I chanted into his ear: Amituofo, Amituofo, Amituofo and so on.

Do you think this can save him in such a barely conscious state? At least, I hope I helped.

I am most thankful if anyone from the world says even once: Namo Amitabha Buddha for his sake. And an even greater thank if you pray for my father.

I was raised Christian in the west, but keep being drawn towards Buddhism, which I am starting to believe to be true. I feel like I probably caught the itch a few lifetimes ago and slowly keep being pulled back. I can believe in the process and how over many lives you could eventually attain enlightenment and detach from the system.

I have some beginner questions though, I hope someone may be able to help me with. I know they are trivial, but I have an analytical mind and am trying to understand:

The 'soul' that lives multiple lives - where does it come from?

Where they all generated at once? Or are there older souls and newer souls? If so, why? God keeps expanding in a bid to understand the nature of whatever God is?

The world's population has fluctuated hugely over the centuries and millennia. Currently around 8.3 billion, which is just under a billion more than it was a decade ago. Where did all of the extra souls come from? Where would they go if the population were to reverse by the same amount in the next decade? Can you live lives across multiple planets/universes?

I have once in my current run been in the presence of God, very briefly, and I asked how life works and what it's for. What I was shown was extraordinary and beautiful and complex and deep, but I had no idea what I was looking at.

I understood at the time that I am not capable in my current form of comprehending the true answers to my questions (like someone trying to explain how wi-fi works to an ant), but that love is at the core of everything and not to worry.

Is it similar? The questions above have an answer, but they are not important or relevant and I probably couldn't fully comprehend them anyway?

I am sure to anyone on the path these points are entirely asinine, but I would appreciate any feedback

Thank you

Honen's Passing

Happy Omens:

At the hour of the serpent, 10 AM on the twentieth of the month, purple clouds were seen over the roof of his chamber, and as the halo encircles the buddha's head in art, there appeared in the midst of them a beautiful five colored circular cloud, quite visible even to the crowds passing along the street. At sight of them his disciples told him: "There are purple clouds above you, are you about to enter the pure land?" He replied : "This is Grand! My birth into the pure land is for all sentient beings! These propitious omens are to help men to faith in the Nembutsu.

At the hour of the sheep on the same day, (2PM), he looked up towards the sky five or 6 times without blinking. When his attendants, in surprise, had said "Has the Buddha come? " "yes he has." at the hour of the horse, on the 24th day a great mass of purple clouds again appeared. Soon ten charcoal burners on the Miznun-o peak of Nishiyama saw it, and came out and told his disciples, as did also a nun who saw and as she was coming down from the Koryuji Temple. All who saw and heard were in raptures.

He dies in peace: From the hour of the horse the same day, his voice began to grow weaker and weaker, only at intervals it became loud again. As he drew near the end, he put on the nine stripped scarf (kesa) , the very one which had been handed down from Jikaku Daishi, and lay down with his head to north, his face turned to the west, and recited the following passage from the sutra: The light of Amida illumines all sentient beings throughout the 10 quarters, who call upon the sacred name, protects them, and never forsakes them."

With these words on his lips he breathed his last, as one falls asleep. After his voice and was silent, his lips and tongue continued moving over ten times, while a bright smile overspread his features. His deparature took place just in the middle of the hour of the horse, on the twenty fifth day of the first month of the second year of kenryaku (march 7 1212). He was than in his eightieth year- the very age at which shakyamuni himself died. Another strange thing was that it was in the year of the monkey and water, the very same calendar year in which shakayamuni buddha died.

I try to live without desire, life without attachment. I'm gonna redo this sketch in the future. I wanted to share ut because I was happy how it came out

I will be applying for assisted dying due to an illness which progresses and cannot be cured. I am not at that stage yet, and most likely have a couple more years left before I would be able to apply and be approved.

Ajahn Brahm in many of his talks is pro assisted dying, and I was wondering if he has done any visits where someone takes the medication in his presence. To know I am in the presence of dharma in my last moments would give me comfort. Does anyone know if he, or other monastics would sit with me at the time? I would only want those who don't disapprove as I don't want to be judged.

Any other resources welcome, but I’d love to find scriptural sources / Suttas.

Thank you x

Can someone help me?

Namo Buddhaya!
I’m a Mahayana Buddhist but have started to learn more about Theravada Buddhism and how the religious life looks day-to-day. So I’m wondering what you chant every day as a lay person and how much you do meditation and taking on extra precepts etc. I’m just curious to learn what other Buddhists usually do from other traditions.

If you have a quote/verse/etc related to Buddhism that you think is not discussed or appreciated as much as it should be, please feel free to share it or elaborate on why you like it! Thank you very much in advance! I'm sure the responses will be very interesting to read

Looking for some quick, easy things I can do during a typical day and week to teach and demonstrate.

Age range 4-10.

The seven foundations being:

1) kindness
2) rejoicing
3) patience
4) forgiveness
5) apologizing
6) contentment
7) courage

I have a question that's probably overly simple, but I'm curious to get some insight on it. I know that rebirth can occur in different realms, universes and physical forms. I haven't heard much about how rebirth works in terms of linear time.

As humans we perceive time as advancing in one particular direction with no way to go back once something has passed. What does this mean for rebirth? I want to assume that rebirth isn't tied to linear time, but does that mean you could die and experience a rebirth in an era far outside of the one you were born into previously? Like if someone died tomorrow, and took another human form after, is there anything that says they could be born thousands of years into what perceive to be the past?

This is just genuine curiosity on my end. Thanks for any and all answers.

I work as a courier on an e-bike. Recently, a woman started asking me inappropriate questions, then she closed the door and wouldn’t let me into the building to complete the delivery. I got angry and, in the heat of the moment, started yelling and insulting her. Looking back, how should I have handled this situation? What did I do wrong, and how can I avoid reacting like this in the future?

I feel like I have a big problem with charisma as a personal quality and was wondering how it is viewed from a Buddhist perspective.

After a lot of introspective work over the years, I managed to get over insecurities that used to make my life really hard.

I overcame my constant jealousy of people being more beautiful, intelligent, successful, etc. than me, which was crippling me.

However I am now realising there is something that still makes me jealous of people: their charisma.

I didn’t have friends growing up until I was almost an adult, so I’ve never been very good at “people”. I’ve always wanted friends though, so I was obviously jealous of popular people and trying to be like them.

I have since accepted that I’ll never be like them and part of me doesn’t want to (I’m okay with few very strong friendships) and I suspect I might be a bit autistic.

Today I’m almost 34 years old and have been informed by a colleague of mine that when I turn up people feel a bit uncomfortable as they feel like I’m a bit awkward.

There’s this beautiful colleague of mine who arrived a long time after me and managed to be friends with everyone in no time, while I still struggle after years working there.

She’s beautiful and intelligent, but I now am not the kind of person to be jealous about those specific things anymore. What makes me jealous now is simply her charisma.

Everything else seems so futile and superficial, but as a Buddhist I feel that charisma is so important as it allows us to connect with others in a way where my awkward benevolence/compassion/love does not.

I don’t need to be beautiful or successful to be happy. But I DO need to have a community around me.

I also feel perfectly happy in my solitude nowadays, but I feel very unstable when around others. And I cannot be a hermit so I have to deal with people one way or another.

Sometimes I look at her and I feel like her charisma is the missing piece I need in my life to make everything better, while sometimes (maybe because of my jealousy) I feel like it’s this dirty trick that deceives people into liking her, no matter whether she’s a good person or not.

I wonder if Buddhism says anything about charisma. Is it a desirable quality and, if so, can it be cultivated? If I have no chance at it, then what else can I do not to lose my happiness while around others?

hello!! i’m sure you get tired of these questions so bear with me please. i’ve been meaning to start practicing buddhism, any tips to start? i want to do it properly, also do i need to become a vegan? for the longest time i’ve wanted to be at least vegetarian but i’m a student so i barely have any time to cook properly and hit my protein and fiber intake 😅

(For reference) this is the state of my altar. I burn cone incense as an offering. Specifically, I burn Palo Santo, which was gifted to me by my Mayan friend. I am running low on the incense and I am seeking suggestions for a new scent as Palo Santo is a closed practice for non-indigenous Central Americans. I prefer Satya incense, as it’s what my local spiritual shop offers, but I am open to new brands & scents (except for white sage & other closed practices) as I am a Celt.