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At a crossroads of sorts (looking back over this I see how long-winded it is... sorry)
Jainarayan
Veteran
For me things happens quickly, perhaps impulsively is a better word, so I'm looking for some tempering of my possible impulsiveness in this subject (which I will get to 
). This has come about from the combination of the newbuddhist.com/discussion/19777/is-pure-land-buddhism-entirely-faith-based#latest and newbuddhist.com/discussion/19146/falling-out-of-love-with-hindu-ritualism-and-superstition#latest threads.
I am becoming more and more interested what I see as the simplicity of full-on Buddhist practice, especially Pure Land. Something in the past 24 hours has hit me like a vajra from the blue about it. That single-pointed devotion and meditation on Amitabha, emulation of the compassion of Avalokiteshvara, and the wisdom of Mahāsthāmaprāpta seems like one-stop shopping. Maybe it's laziness on my part, and looking for an easy way at work here, and that I really don't understand. That's where I need to be set straight by this august sangha.
However, I feel quite, if not overly, invested in the Hindu deities. Let me outline a few things, then I hope someone can take it from there and help me put all this together.
1. I am a Deist; I believe there is a God. Whether one calls it Brahman, a Cosmic Consciousness, a Cosmic Unity, or it is even Adi-Buddha, I believe something is there. Sure, I say some supplicative prayers which I think are more for my own mindfulness rather than "God" intervening. This is not entirely against Deism, because there are Deists who pray.
2. I believe in the deities, whether they are Buddhist, Taoist or Hindu, as beings on other planes who may or may not help us. I think they do; experiences in my life seem to indicate it as more than mere coincidence or dumb luck.
3. The over-investment I feel I've had in Hinduism is not unlike a former Christian having a hard time shaking certain beliefs. Can I eventually come to not picture Vishnu, Shiva or Krishna as the anthropomorphic representation of God? Can I consider them as devas, not God himself? Yes, I think I can. In fact, I really dislike the idea of a personal anthropomorphic God. Do I need to have representations of them, murtis, on my altar and in my shrine? Mm... I don't think I do, except only to represent aspects of reality like Saraswati representing wisdom and the arts, as well as the dispelling of ignorance (think of Manjushri) ; Narasimha representing protection; Hanuman represents strength and devotion; Krishna teaching duty and single-pointed devotion in the Bhagavad Gita (which btw, I believe paved the way for the Buddha... really); Rama for doing one's duty no matter what; all of these for mindfulness of those aspects. Besides, I like the pretty colors of the pictures and statues.
But I don't pray to them or chant their mantras.
4. In meditation on this, I've come to feel that Buddhism is the natural continuation or evolution of Hinduism.
5. So, am I ready to make the leap?
). This has come about from the combination of the newbuddhist.com/discussion/19777/is-pure-land-buddhism-entirely-faith-based#latest and newbuddhist.com/discussion/19146/falling-out-of-love-with-hindu-ritualism-and-superstition#latest threads.I am becoming more and more interested what I see as the simplicity of full-on Buddhist practice, especially Pure Land. Something in the past 24 hours has hit me like a vajra from the blue about it. That single-pointed devotion and meditation on Amitabha, emulation of the compassion of Avalokiteshvara, and the wisdom of Mahāsthāmaprāpta seems like one-stop shopping. Maybe it's laziness on my part, and looking for an easy way at work here, and that I really don't understand. That's where I need to be set straight by this august sangha.
However, I feel quite, if not overly, invested in the Hindu deities. Let me outline a few things, then I hope someone can take it from there and help me put all this together.
1. I am a Deist; I believe there is a God. Whether one calls it Brahman, a Cosmic Consciousness, a Cosmic Unity, or it is even Adi-Buddha, I believe something is there. Sure, I say some supplicative prayers which I think are more for my own mindfulness rather than "God" intervening. This is not entirely against Deism, because there are Deists who pray.
2. I believe in the deities, whether they are Buddhist, Taoist or Hindu, as beings on other planes who may or may not help us. I think they do; experiences in my life seem to indicate it as more than mere coincidence or dumb luck.
3. The over-investment I feel I've had in Hinduism is not unlike a former Christian having a hard time shaking certain beliefs. Can I eventually come to not picture Vishnu, Shiva or Krishna as the anthropomorphic representation of God? Can I consider them as devas, not God himself? Yes, I think I can. In fact, I really dislike the idea of a personal anthropomorphic God. Do I need to have representations of them, murtis, on my altar and in my shrine? Mm... I don't think I do, except only to represent aspects of reality like Saraswati representing wisdom and the arts, as well as the dispelling of ignorance (think of Manjushri) ; Narasimha representing protection; Hanuman represents strength and devotion; Krishna teaching duty and single-pointed devotion in the Bhagavad Gita (which btw, I believe paved the way for the Buddha... really); Rama for doing one's duty no matter what; all of these for mindfulness of those aspects. Besides, I like the pretty colors of the pictures and statues.
But I don't pray to them or chant their mantras.4. In meditation on this, I've come to feel that Buddhism is the natural continuation or evolution of Hinduism.
5. So, am I ready to make the leap?
1
Comments
Jump. Good luck. :clap:
So ... if you like Hinduism you might want to remember the "turiya" or fourth aspect of things ... the one that stops even the most well-lubricated Hindu tongue. Even within its own confines, Hinduism sets aside its own panoply ... assuming anyone studied it a bit.
As to whether Hinduism nourished Buddhism or forms a basis for it, well, you could certainly make the argument, since the two operated cheek-by-jowl for quite a while. A lot of early Buddhists grew up Hindu ... and why not ... it was part of their culture.
But as a personal, practice consideration, I think you can set aside the whole Hindu/Buddhist construct. Who the hell cares? For better or worse, your whole life is just your whole life. If you want to worship peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, it's still your life.
Find a practice and practice it. Be as confused or delighted as you like. Find all the differences and similarities you like. Be wowed. Be dismayed.
But practice.
What ya waiting for? A push?
Jump. Jump. Jump.
OM MANI PEME HUM
Seriously, I'm checking the schedule at the Mahayana Center near me. There are some intro classes coming up which I'm thinking of attending. The times are right too, either weekends or after work, though there are only one or two classes every few weeks.
Yes, I've put together a short sadhana based on http://www.dharmata.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/DailySadhana-DF2.pdf
Aw, "based on" my foot... that's it exactly.
It's just about a month that I've adopted Amitābha Pure Land practice, which I couldn't be happier with. There's a simplicity (despite my over-thinking, I do like simplicity) and a warm comforting feeling in it. My practice consists simply of nianfo/nembutsu, and reciting from this http://www.dharmata.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/DailySadhana-DF2.pdf I mentioned earlier, with the few extra prayers and embellishments, but I don't overdo it or get hung up on it or any rituals.
I try to be mindful of Amitābha Buddha and what it means to go to Sukhāvatī. I don't necessarily make daily offerings at my altar, but I recite from the sadhana a few times a day, and do nianfo as often as I can. As importantly, I'm not having a problem abandoning Hindu cosmology such as a creation of the world, jīvātman, and such. Someone told me that abandoning rituals, how I now view myself and accept the Buddha's teachings is sotāpanna. In light of the Three Fetters, they came in the order self-view, which I always had ("I am not the body"); clinging to rites and rituals, which was easier than I thought to eliminate; skeptical doubt, coming about as I learn more about the Buddha and his teaching, because it "feels" right.
http://lzdmz.webs.com/ws_e.htm
http://www.wildmind.org/mantras/figures/manjushri
Oṁ Namo Aryāvalokitesvarāya
Bodhisattva mahāsattva mahākarunikāya
Tadyāthā Oṁ Tāre tuttare ture sarva-dustan
Pradustan mama krte dzambhāya stambhāya
Mohāya bandhāya hum hum hum
Phat phat phat svāhā
Mama Aryāvalokabhāya nara
Bodhisattva mahāsattvani adhisthana
Adhisthite mama sarva-karma-avarana-svahbava
Suddhe visuddhe shodhyāya vishodhāya
Hum phat svāhā
But then I realized that a dharani is just a long mantra.
I removed the statues of Krishna and Rama from the altar and put them elsewhere, just as decorations reflecting Hindu mythology because I could never feel close to either one, but the statues are pretty.