Page 8 - Perceptions papers
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I rushed into the house to tell the children, who laughed at me and said, "you must me out of it!"
But they went to the yard and excitedly brought in the quail's white egg. My daughter put it into
a container and wrote on the side, "It must be a miracle, it must be Dad." That evening I took my
daughter to the airport. While walking towards the gate she asked me, "Do you think the quail
would lay more eggs?" and I replied, "If you compare the quail to a human life it is like an 85
year old woman giving birth to a child." So, she said, "I guess it won't." The quail's white egg
was a miracle as quals do not lay white eggs, their eggs are speckled. And to my disbelief the
th
quail laid a dozen eggs and stopped on the 49 day. The eggs are still in my freezer.
The Tendai Denomination - Mahayana Buddhism
The Tendai School was founded in China by Chih-l, 538-597 A.D. who was called the Tendai
Patriarch. The name Tendai is derived from the name of Mt. T'ien-t'ai in China.In Japan, Saicho,
also called Dengyo Daishi (767 — 822 A.D.) founded the Tendai Denomination.
He was selected by the Imperial Court to become a special student and was sent to China. At Mt.
T'ien-t'ai he studied under Chih-l's lineage and collected the works of Tendai teachings. He also
studied the teachings and practices of Zen, canonical regulations and esoteric Buddhism.
After he returned to Japan, he established at Mt. Hiei a Tendai Hokke School in 788 A.D.
The Tendai Denomination takes as central the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and the Amida
(Pureland) Sutra. The main teachings of the Lotus Sutra are summarized as follows:
1. To venerate one's ancestors, honor one's parents, and to express gratitude to the
people of the world. We are all born with the blood of our ancestors and continue to live
through the kindness of innumerable people. If we are to live healthy and happy life, we
should venerate our ancestors and never forget to be grateful to our parents and the people
of the world.
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