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I am more of a Dharma Worrier than Warrior I’m afraid.

Good luck on your quest.

Namo Amituofo 🙏🏻❤️

This is an extremely interesting comment... obviously edited to focus on the primary and most significant premise of the profile, but worth remembering in any interaction, where emotions are affected and prominent...

“What surprised me most about enlightenment was finding out that I had been addicted, addicted to being me.”

— Adyashanti

The transmission of Buddha Dharma to the west will no doubt be filled with missteps and improper additions and subtractions. So its important to maintain a certain level of critical attitude and skepticism towards new interpretations.

But the transmission of Buddhism from one culture to another has always changed the way it is presented and practiced. So its important to stay open to the possibility of culturally adapted change and positive development.

This was a good podcast episode by the author of "Why I'm Not a Buddhist", with some valid criticisms of modern, western Buddhism.
https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/evan-thompson-417

“The idea lies NOT in inducing a person to do what otherwise he would not have done, but in instructing him in what otherwise he would not have known.”

But what is the origin of the Bodhisattva Dharma? When testing it, how are we to know that it leads to that which is beneficial and wholesome?

All knowledge from books and holy texts is suspect, having been copied, translated, and edited many times. Traditions as such tend to rely on knowledge that is repeated by rote, and so are essentially dead. In the end the presence of a living enlightened master is what one should search for, if that fails then a modern dead master whose words and image are preserved on video and tape.

In the end all words are fingers pointing to the moon, and the presence is infinitely more valuable.

@Jeroen
Is it possible to establish a culture of peace through the Bodhisattva way of life?

Yes, but there is no road to peace, other than for one to become "peace", and this is not accomplished by adapting the Bodhisattva spirit in the attempt to accommodate one's particular practice, but only through embracing the Bodhisattva Dharma in it's entirety and then adapting one's particular practice so it's in complete harmony with such a spirit --- otherwise, one will quickly fall into the error of sectarianism and never possess the equanimity of the Bodhisattva spirit.

The equanimity of the Bodhisattva spirit means that one does not forsake the Mahayana or the Theravada for one or the other, nor should one be considered to be "greater" than the other, for such distinctions do not exist with proper practice of Bodhisattva Dharma (also known as Bodhisattvayana or Paramitayana), which is an inclusive path complete in its expression.

It seems to me that the division of what we today call buddhism into streams by teacher is a fairly natural consequence of non-coherence of the tradition, which is ok. By seeing these different teaching methods and emphases we all learn new things and are attracted to what resonates with us.

The whole idea of a ‘modern stain’ is interesting, because it presumes a ‘right’ way to do things which is different. That certainly bears investigating, although it seems to me to be yet another movement, a stream in its own right.