If there is ‘no-one’ to realise enlightenment then who are we doing this practice for? The ancient Romans and Greeks may give us a clue.

Let go of the past, let go of the future, let go of the present, and cross over to the farther shore of existence. With mind wholly liberated, you shall come no more to birth and death. 

Padmapani means the one who holds the lotus, a symbol of emptiness, is a form of the great bodhisattva of compassion - Avalokitesvara. 

Before the Buddha died he gave one last sermon. The 15th of February marks the passing of the Buddha into Parinirvana celebrated by as celebrated by the Zen school.

In this extract from a Zen text from the Dun Huang caves, Master Nyuri explains the supernormal powers of The Buddha.

The Heian Period (794-1185) saw a number of schools of Buddhism developing in Japan - Tendai, Shingon and Pure Land. Zen arrived in Japan in the 12th Century at the end of this fruitful period.

The Bodhisattvas vow to stay in this world of Samsara until every last sentient being is saved. While such ideals may seem distant from our own lives, at it’s core, the Bodhisattva vow has much to offer us in our own practice.

When the godhead or deity appears this is known as a theophany. Although the Buddha was a man, was it the Buddha or the man that incarnated all those years ago?

Prajnaparamita, the mother of the Buddhas, is a living embodiment of the Great Wisdom Sutras, which point the way to the nameless insight of the Buddha.

One of the earliest iconographic depictions of the Buddha was Afghanistan, depicted in the Hellenic style of the Ancient Greeks.

This meditative Lama's portrait illustrates a wonderful story of a monk who is frightened by a giant spider that disturbs his meditation. His teacher devises a clever method to open his eyes to the true source of his fear.

On the border of Thailand and Cambodia, bodhisattvas rather than Buddhas seem to have been the focus of worship during the 7th-9th century CE.