Nagarjuna Cultural Center

The Lion’s Roar: Exposition of Buddha-Nature New Course Launch.

Courses Available Show More >

Master's Teachings (Los Angeles Time)

Fri Immeasurable Life Sutra Sat The Lion’s Roar: Exposition of Buddha-Nature

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.

Bodhicitta in the Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Why does bodhicitta have such power? Because it not only accumulates merit and purifies obscurations, but also directly counteracts self-grasping, reducing it substantially. What is self-grasping? For example, suppose a cup of water is placed here , and both of us are thirsty. Without bodhicitta, my first thought would be, “I should drink it first.” That is self-grasping.

The Correct View of Emptiness in the Three Principal Aspects of the Path

If lay practitioners continually orient their efforts around the Three Principal Aspects of the Path, awakening may become possible within the span of a single lifetime. In other words, once renunciation and bodhicitta have arisen, and one repeatedly engages in study, contemplation, and practice concerning the correct view of emptiness, there is a genuine possibility of attaining awakening in this very life.

How Should We Study and Contemplate Renunciation and Bodhicitta (Part One)?

The purpose of discussing The Relationship Between Buddhist Theory and Practice is precisely to bring our conceptual understanding into alignment with the actual behavior of our minds. If the two are not aligned, a split arises between what we know and how we actually behave. Therefore, we must diligently study and contemplate the texts just mentioned, allowing genuine renunciation and authentic bodhicitta to arise within our minds.

The Reasons Why Genuine Renunciation Fails to Arise (Part one)

There are several levels from which we can examine why genuine renunciation (nekkhamma) fails to arise. The most obvious and superficial reason is that our perception of suffering is insufficient—that is, the suffering doesn’t feel intense enough.

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.