Nagarjuna Cultural Center

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Master's Teachings (Los Angeles Time)

Fri Immeasurable Life Sutra Sat Master Hanshan

Senior Practitioners’ Teachings (Thailand Time)

Mon Eight Verses for Training the Mind Tue Treasury of Valid Cognition Wed Four Hundred Stanzas on the Middle Way (Catuḥśataka) Thu The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra) Fri Ngöndro / Immeasurable Life (C)

May 2026 Chiang Mai Thailand

May 1–21, 2026: Three-week meditation retreat in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chinese New Year 2026 San Diego USA

March Spring Festival Chan Retreat in Nagarjuna Cultural Center's San Diego Retreat Center.

October 2025 Chiang Mai Thailand

October 2025 Meditation retreat，the main venue in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Sunny Days at the San Diego Meditation Center

The Relationship Between Buddhist Theory and Practice

Buddhist theory encompasses both teachings and practices.

Buddhist Worldview and Modern Life

To understand the world around us, we rely on our worldview - how we perceive and make sense of things.

Cognition and Expression Part One

Beyond logical arguments, Buddhists offer meditation as a powerful avenue for exploring the non-computational nature of cognition.

Cognition and Expression Part Two

One prominent distinction between Eastern and Western philosophy lies in the approach to cognition: while Western philosophy relies on the senses, Eastern philosophy emphasizes the cessation of the senses for transcendent cognition.

The Schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Their Theoretical Foundations (Part Two)

In addition to Madhyamaka, the foundational theories employed in Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism also include the Tathāgatagarbha teachings of the Third Turning of the Dharma Wheel, as well as Yogācāra (Consciousness-Only).

What is the practice of winds, channels and essences?

According to Vajrayāna teachings, once the winds are drawn into the Emanation Wheel, sensations of the physical body begin to dissolve, and the appearances of the external world likewise fade away. Thereafter, through the guru’s pith instructions, one proceeds to recognize the true nature of all phenomena.

The Buddha’s Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma

The teachings preserved from the Buddha’s three turnings of the Dharma Wheel became the most fundamental and original theories of Buddhism. Yet these truths were not invented by Śākyamuni Buddha. They were already so in their nature; the Buddha discovered them and proclaimed them, thereby establishing the earliest Buddhist doctrine.

What is the Ālayavijñāna?

What kind of state is the ālayavijñāna? It is a condition in which the six sense faculties have completely quieted down. The eyes no longer truly see—even when open, forms are seen yet not perceived. The ears no longer truly hear—sounds may arise, yet one does not register them. Bodily sensations begin to fade. The tastes and smells perceived by the tongue and nose completely disappear. Even conceptual thinking within consciousness ceases.

Are You Accumulating Merit the Wrong Way Too?

If you do not accumulate merit, there is simply no way to carry out genuine practice. Your mind unconsciously keeps reinforcing this sense of “I” as an individual, and may even use so-called “merit” to armor and protect it. Practicing in this way, you will never experience the Dharma-nature of selflessness (dharmatā), and liberation will remain forever out of reach.

Methods for Not Being Attached to Pleasant Feeling (Part Two)

Another method is to reflect in advance and remind yourself that this pleasant feeling will not last, and that if it changes, you will face it calmly. Repeating this to yourself again and again is what we often call “preparing yourself mentally in advance.”

How Can One Develop Firm Conviction in the Existence of Reincarnation?

In conclusion, we must exhaust all means to establish unwavering conviction in reincarnation. Mere conceptual acceptance cannot provide lasting momentum for practice. Without inner conviction, essential foundational practices—such as the Five Preliminary Practices (Ngöndro)—risk degenerating into hollow formalities, performed perfunctorily and with haste.

How to Define Renunciation ？

For the purposes of our current discussion, “renunciation” refers specifically to a mental attitude that seeks liberation and yearns to be free from the cycle of saṃsāra in the three realms.This is how renunciation is being defined here.