Dharma Treasury - A Summary in English

"The Dharma knows neither appearing nor concealing;
Depending on the individual [the truth] becomes manifest or hidden,
Like a gem hidden in the ground difficult to obtain.
If a man attains [the Truth of the Dharma] he will open his spiritual eyes;
To gain even a half stanza of the Dharma, we are told,
A prince sacrificied his body, not to mention his treasures.
The scriptures of the Dharma I have diligently copied;
They have been brought back here a long way.
May this great source of blessing be instrumental
In pacifying the nation[s] and in bringing prosperity to the people;
May each and all be freed from their anxieties
By listening to [and reading] the teachings and by seeing the mandalas."
Kobo Daishi Kukai


Dear friends, seekers and finders, pilgrims on the Path to where we are Already, this is a summary of the Dharma Treasury website. Below you will find a list of files we post in English, as well as a list of links to the sites where you'll find original essays that we post in Croatian translation, so please proceed to those if you wish.

Dharma Treasury was launched in early 1999 at www.mandala.hr as the first Buddhist Website in Croatia, then with five menus containing some 30 files. Initially, it's purpose was to present the newly formed Mandala Society and it's Shingon Center (for more, click here please), and to offer a reliable introduction to a variety of teachings considered common to most schools of Buddhadharma. In time the archive grew and grew, gradually focusing more on the various trends in the Western domestication of the Dharma, and also giving more attention to comprehensive views expressed by leading theorists and teachers, Buddhist or otherwise, translators and transformators in the naked spirit. Thus, the Dharma Treasury became a guide to many souls searching for additional clarity in the modern spiritual arena and religious market. What follows is a survey of main features.

The menus on the left (in the order of appearance -- from top to bottom)

(1) Basics brings a course in Basic Dharma from a Triyana (three vehicle) perspective, giving each vehicle it's historical and spiritual credits. The interpretive approach is a balance of traditional systematic exposition and post-metaphysical critical re-appraisal of certain tenets. What results is a dynamic presentation of "find it for yourself" Dharma, but -- and it's a big "but" -- also "question what you find". The finding and the found, in other words, are not givens.

(2) Shingon menu offers a dozen entries concerned with a general presentation of the Shingon Path and Tradition, including "A Small Guide to Buddhadharma" series composed by the site's author as a survey of the Mahayana spectrum from a Contemporary Shingon perspective. As Shingon (Japanese Mantrayana) has much in common with the Tibetan Vajrayana, this menu also contains two brilliant expositions by H. H. the Dalai Lama and a Maha Ati instruction by H. H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

(3) The menu Kukai offers five works by Kobo Daishi Kukai, the 8th Patriarch of the Shingon lineage and father of Japanese Mantrayana. These were composed as Croatian renditions relying on a variety of sources, primarily works of scholars such as Hakeda, Abe, Kiyota, Yamamoto and Todaro. Hereby we acknowledge their brilliant pioneering work.

(4) Sutra contains two dozen full texts and/or excerpts of Basic, Mahayana and Mantrayana scriptures, commentaries and practice manuals, most of which are easily available in English.

(5) Ratnavali is the famed "Precious Garland" by the Bodhisattva Nagarjuna. A work in 500 verses, it spells out the fundamental structure of Ekayana for lay follower and monk alike, containing a detailed yet succinct exposition of Emptiness and the Two Truths, the Ten Bhumis, the Two Accumulations etc.

(6) West is our most vibrant and dynamic section, bringing new titles on a weekly basis. It began as a small collection of essays by Western Buddhists (eg. Wallace, Thurman and Surya Das from Tibetan tradition, Kornfield and Goldstein from Vipassana, Lachs from Ch'an/Zen etc.), but soon it became a spring of ever fresh views and perspectives embracing other illustrious authors such as Ken Wilber, David Deida and Roger Walsh. This section has proven the strong appeal of the Integral Perspective (and strong response from our readers), treading the path for more integral ideas among spiritual adherents in our region. It is our commitment to continue this educational campaign uncompromisingly, in hope to help break down or at least crack-open the many hindrances of partiality and narrow-mindedness to which the religious are especially susceptible and from which even spiritual elites are not excused.

(7) Links is self-explanatory -- although rarely can you find such a combination of sources and resources on the Web. Most if not all links lead to English-language content. Worth checking.

(8) Books A-Z is a gateway to various printed resources, either through Amazon and other book-sellers, or directly through publishers, or through a huge Buddhist bibliography of titles in English, French and German. A tool for the more studious book-lovers.

(9) Mandala is an info-page on the Mandala Society, the Shingon Center, and their programs, fully available also in English and German version.

(10) Last but not least, there are summaries like this one. We hope this at least diminishes the effect of our extremely unfair decision and stubborn policy to present esoteric teachings and mystical truths in a less than world-spoken language :-), although Ken Wilber - as recently interviewed - thinks putting his endnotes in Croatian would be a great bestselling prank. Yeah! Well, Ken, here you have it. Dear readers, please enjoy.

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What follows is a list of what we have in English, and below that a list of what we warmly recommend. Please keep in mind that this is not a selection of titles, but a mere by-product of our less than bilingual production and editing policies (this website is, after all, maintained by a single person -- though, not single-handedly.)

Hokai D. Sobol - "The Noble Truths"

Jack Kornfield - "Householder Series"

H. H. the Dalai Lama - "Survey of Tibetan Buddhism"

O. Freiberger - "The Meeting of Traditions"

Pema Chodron - "No Right, No Wrong"

Stuart Lachs - "Richard Baker and the Myth of the Zen Roshi"

Stuart Lachs - "Comign Down from the Zen Clouds"

Stuart Lachs - "Establishing Hierarchy in Ch'an/Zen Buddhism in America"

Josh Baran - "Zen at War"

Lama Surya Das - "Inquire, Find Out and Speak Out"

Open Letter to the Buddhist Community

H. H. the Dalai Lama - "Worlds in Harmony"

Links to other content soon to come and more to follow...
Meanwhile, click here please.


If you wish to help the "Dharma Treasury" in any way or support the Mandala Society and it's Shingon Center, or perhaps see more excellent titles published in Croatian language, either on the Web or in hard print, please contact one of the folowing adresses. The good people there just might spare a minute for you.


Contact
MANDALA SOCIETY
Sodici 41, 51221 Kostrena, Croatia
phone/fax +385 51 289 375
e-mail: mailbox_at_mandala.hr

Donors and sponsors:
please contact and ask for details



Books: Gorin Publishing
Šodiĉi 41, 51221 Kostrena, Croatia
e-mail: gorin_at_gorin.hr


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Riznica Dharme | www.mandala.hr | Dharma Treasury