The Mormon Buddhist

The first sutra that was mentioned in this week's reading was the Prajna Paramita, Hannya, or as we English speakers call it: the Heart Sutra. I have done some research and I found that Tich Nhat Hanh has created a translation of sorts this sutra. It is entitled The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra . The way Tich Nhat Hanh phrases everything just resonates very well with me. After this week's chapter I read a bit of it, and was very impressed by it. He gave 2 analogies that explainemptiness in a great way. The first being a piece of paper, and the second being a cup. These are in the first 2 chapters, which are known as "interbeing" and "Empty of What?". They're relatively short, and I was particularly impressed with how these chapters relate to each other, so I'd like to repeat them in their entirety: Interbeing If you are a poet, you will see clearly that there is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper.

Koans are something I haven't looked too much into until I read about them in thi week's chapter. I decided to to a bit of reading about what they are. In short, koans are public and non-mystic stories, questions, or statements that make someone contemplative. The purpose of a koan is to meditate on them and come up with an answer to the question. It is meant to make you think about things, even if its in a way you wouldn't have thought to. You break down previous concepts and see things in new lights. They are not to be seen as rational, logical, and complex. They're meant to be seen as experiential, practical, and simple while often being symbolic. Koans are often used to test your progress in the Zen tradition. However, its not a right/wrong test because there's no one set meaning for a koan. There are hundreds of contradictory commentaries for each Koan (of which there are thousands). They were invented in China and then moved to Japan where many more were a

EDIT:  After I posted this to my Bright Dawn peers and after our weekly call, I was given some feedback I wanted to include in this post. The original version of the post has been archived here  if you want to read it. Being a bodhisattva is a puzzling thing to me. There are 2 main concerns I have about the concept: The goal The vows/perfections I was raised LDS. From the time that we are able to read we are taught that "every member is a missionary". You were to preach to anyone and everyone who would listen to you in hopes of saving them and leading them towards Godhood. Because of this social pressure, I put myself in some very uncomfortable positions over the years. I almost certainly unknowingly strained friendships, and sometimes I knowingly did so. I could give dozens of examples, but I distinctly remember me telling a friend about how the Book of Mormon is far superior to the Bible because the Book of Mormon was supposed to have gone through less translatio