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Meditation and Anti-Depressant
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So what do you do when one person’s sutra’s are not another persons? People who follow Pure Land look at different sutra’s from people who follow Theravada, which are different again from those who follow Nichiren. Yet all are the words of the Buddha.
Yep, and the Pure Land followers state that criticising the “right dharma” ie Pure Land, is a grave offence.
That’s why I always struggle with fundamentalism in religion.
How can one be so convinced that they’re right and others are wrong.
Doesn’t make sense to my logical Western mind haha
If the Buddha can't help, then it is definitely beyond my power. This sutra was one of the most respected Sutra's in India, China, and Japan. There are many versions of this sutra. The sanskrit version is the largest. Only the abbreviated versions exist today. The essential portions of the sutra are still present in the abreviated versions. It was widely respected until certain men tricked many people into giving it up. There is not any Mahayana Buddhist who will say that the Lotus Sutra is a fake sutra. It explains why there are multiple different teachings. It explains how people of the two vehicles can attain Buddhahood. Ordinary humans, evil humans, and women can become Buddha's only through this sutra. It gives you many similes and parables that will explain these things to you. You are making a big mistake by casting aside this sutra. You basically wasting your time by chanting Amida's name because he is a Buddha of another realm. He distinguishes who he has a connection with and who he doesn't. And Amida, just like all of the other Buddhas in the ten directions gave their word that the Lotus Sutra is the formost teaching of the Buddha.
I like the lotus sutra. It’s wonderful!
Anyway, I’m done here. I now understand your point of view and where you’re coming from @Omar067.
Take care.
I cited the Nirvana Sutra, not just the Lotus, and I can cite even more. I said it before, the Sutra's are useless when they are not viewed from the perspective of the Lotus Sutra because it is the sutra that explains why all of the other Sutra's exist.
Find me a sutra from your school that explains why the Buddhist teachings number 80,000. Find me a passage from the three Sutras that your school is based on that explains this.
From the point of view of Pure Land, why would you want to waste your time doing that? You can chant the Nembutsu a few more times and come closer to Amida Buddha.
Your are no different from the Buddhist who existed during the time of Nichiren Daishonin, because you can't even defend your own school. You guys are indeed feeble. The patriarchs of your school can't even defend themselves. They are reason various Buddhist scriptures get disrespected. It is all because of Shan Tao and Honen.
Don’t bother @Kerome . He’s a goose…
I believe he asked you a question. Not me.
I believe I was talking to him. Not you.
Defend your school, if it is such a good school.
I don’t feel I need to defend anything.
Unlike you, I am comfortable in my practice.
You seem to be trying to convince yourself more than anyone else
I just cited multiple Buddhist scriptures and you can't present one. That tells all I need to know about Pure Land school and it's followers. Nichiren Daishonin was right again.
You know your scriptures but, judging by your comments, your practice is terrible….
Hey @federica , let’s close this thread. It’s devolved into a slanging match.
You don't have much faith in the teachings of your school. Let me explain the erroneous teachings of that sect that spread throughout all of China and Japan. First of all, the Buddha expounded many teachings because people's nature's and desires vary greatly. The Buddha's teachings can be divided into the categories of Theravada, provisional Mahayana, and True Mahayana. The teachings also can divided into the categories of esotoric, and exoteric teachings. The patriarchs of the Pure Land school are named, Shan Tao T’an-luan and Honen. These men only showed reverence to the three Pure Land Sutra's which are in the provisional Mahayana division, and disregarded everything that came after these Sutra's. These patriarchs said that Buddhist teachings can be classified into the easy to practice way, and Sacred Way teachings which they described as being too difficult for ordinary people to carry out. The Sacred Way teachings is made up of every Mahayana and Theravada sutra except the three Pure Land Sutra's which are named, "The Buddha Infinite Life Sutra, the Meditation on the Buddha Infinite Life Sutra, and the Amida Sutra". The Pure Land school teaches that following any other sutra than the three above will lead to rebirth in hell. They believe that only by relying on Amida, can one be reborn in the Pure Land. One of their sutra states even people who commit the five cardinal sins will be able to gain rebirth in the Pure Land. However, it also stated that people who reject the the correct or true teaching will not be allowed into the Pure Land. As I have stated many times, the Lotus Sutra is the true and correct teaching. The patriarchs of Pure Land School took no cognizance words put forth in the Sutra's and created teachings that do not agree with all of the Sutra's. How do we know this? Well, it is because they lumped together every sutra other than three Sutras which there school is based on, and told everyone to discard them. By doing this they did great damage to the teachings of the Buddha. Because we are ordinary people, we sometimes like to be lazy, so this practice was easily spread throughout China and Japan. Even though the government of Japan tried their best to stop it.
Bear in mind the sutras were written down by people who came along quite a while after the Buddha's passing into Parinibbana... they wrote a lot of thing purportedly spoken by the Buddha, including much that might be viewed by some as extremely Mysogynistic views. Which is why I tend to spend my life negotiating my way through the 4, the 8 and the 5... That is a good lifetime's study and practice.
Or as one bikkhuni once advised me, "Simplify!"
And as I have succinctly put it in a nutshell, "Don't be an asshole".
That covers a whole gamut of behaviours....
....And which one are you?
“When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce. Yet if we have problems with our friends or family, we blame the other person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well, like the lettuce. Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reason and argument. That is my experience. No blame, no reasoning, no argument, just understanding. If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change.”
— Thich Nhat Hanh (a Vietnamese Zen master)
I'm not one the three enemies that will appear in the Latter Day of the Law, but you guys are. Even if you aren't, you aren following the teachings of the three enemies who will try obstruct the Lotus practitioners from spreading the teaching. I'm well aware of fake Sutra's that exist and am currently trying to learn more about fabricated Sutra's. Nichiren talks about these things. When I learn, I will try to pass the message along. I don't follow the teachings of an ordinary person. Nichiren's teachings are based on the Sutra's. How else could a man without a wealthy upbringing stand up to the ruler of a nation and three enemies of the Lotus Sutra and not have been murdered.
Sorry, I'm not having these kinds of comments made by people who are clearly ranting. Have a happy life. We can carry on regardless.
Have just finished reading ALL his comments. What an idiot.