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Too many flavors of Buddhism
With so many schools and sects of Buddhism how does one make a choice?
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I didn't really sweat it though.
It's not a massive compunction. Nobody forces it, and you shouldn't feel compelled to make a choice if you don't feel like it....
Hi Freudian
I too have been wondering and it bothered me a lot for a few moments.
Then i directed my mind to let go of all schools and ideas.
And from that moment on cause & effect as it were led me closer to a certain school of Buddhism.
However, that doesn't mean i have to accept everything that is associated with that school.
Be well, friend.
Familiarise yourself with Buddha's core teachings first and then later visit some of your nearest Buddhist centres for the different traditions. Chat to people, maybe go to a talk or two. Take your time - and investigate carefully. If something doesn't feel right, move on. Eventually you'll probably find a tradition that you feel comfortable with.
Kind regards,
Dazzle
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And by `your time` you mean `my time`, don't you?
Ray was raised attending a Methodist church, was baptized, confirmed, etc, and also had relatives that were of the Pentecostal persuasion; hellfire, damnation, speaking in tongues, etc.
But let's say that Ray was an overly logical sort..by age 10 he had decided that, admirable as the organized Christian church can be in many ways, all of this talk about an old dude sitting up in the clouds just made no sense. He felt that there were issues with, for example:
1)Any idea about rebirth is wrong, yet being resurrected in Heaven is cool.
2)The notion that horoscopes are the work of the Devil.
3)The idea of a physical Devil.
4)Literal interpretations of scriptures that have been through multiple translations, re-interpretations, etc.
5)The whole deal with making "Leaps of Faith"
Okay, I'll do some compression here, lest this grow to be War and Peace. Ray becomes a seeker of sorts in high school, meets a guy who was acquainted with Sant Kirpal Singh while he was alive, learns about Ruhani Satsang and the Path of the Masters, which attempts to reconcile the teachings of The Buddha, Christ, Mohamed, and a number of other teachers. This seems more experiential and reasonable...but still doesn't quite jibe with Ray's sensibilities..
And then he slowly centers in on Buddhism over a 20-year period. He investigates various flavors of the Path, and begins a practice of his own...he especially likes this quote:
Okay...except that he sees from forums and sangha experiences that many people are actually quite dogmatic about their Buddhism. Many answers to questions seem to be in the form of long sutta quotes, rather than from the individual's own experience. People even use the word "faith" here and there to talk about the teachings and the Buddha.
Let's say that Ray still doesn't go in for that sort of thing. He believes what he mindfully experiences. Does that automatically push him into a Zen category? Or are there other Theravada and Mahayana schools that are especially non-dogmatic?
Or has Ray just gotten the wrong idea from his readings?
Imho, Hypothetical Ray could just keep on keeping on.
I felt the same way as Hypothetical Ray. I decided I would just get as close as I possibly could to what the Buddha himself actually taught so I went to the Pali Canon. As I pared everything down I stumbled across a teaching by Ajahn Chah which was exactly the kind of teaching that I knew could get through to me. So I chose the Thai Forest Tradition as my 'school'. It was the closest thing I could find to what I was really looking for. Unfortunately, there are (cultural, I'm hoping...) differences between us (the role of women mostly) that I simply can't resolve so I have to leave them aside.
Can Hypothetical Ray leave aside the things he considers to be dogmatic and still learn from one (or some) of the traditions anyway?
I really should ask an admin to change my user name to "Hypothetical Ray"..it's growing on me, and could be taken to have all sorts of anatman meaning.
or that this is supposed to be some kind of koan.
Then I took a ten day Vipassana meditation course. Complete immersion for ten days of silence.
I did Vipassana(Theravadin) meditation retreats for about five years, length of time, a few days to a couple of months.
I had guides too. Teachers I felt some confidence in.
Now my path of Buddhist practice has changed a number of times but each time it did I took the previous experience with me and it has always been positive.
What is time?
A goat in western Slovakia.
As Brigid mentioned, the Forest Thai Tradition is really great and Ajahn Chah reminds me of a Zen teacher from time to time. Beyond that, while I can understand why sutra/sutta quotes can be a turn off, they are very methodical and have the benefit of helping the mind digest things properly. Now, they probably aren't what you need right now, and perhaps they never will be, but if you ever decide to take the time to reflect on them, you might find them to be eye-opening.
Anyway, take care and good luck with your practice.
_/\_
I accept them as a guide..but not as something that can be literally interpreted to answer every question. This is a trap that all religions seem to fall into, one way or another.
Trust your gut, explore, try, be patient, be determined, persevere. Practice.
Agree with Dazzle, but also keep in mind no place or teacher or centre is going to be perfect. Practice if it works, is going to rub you up the wrong way. The trick, or luck of it, is to have a practice that works with the fireworks or boredom. Keep that in mind. Best wishes.
First you understand the Dhamma with your thoughts. If you begin to understand it, you will practice it. And if you practice it, you will begin to see it. And when you see it, you are the Dhamma, and you have the joy of the Buddha.
Would any of you be so kind as to give me some insight on the quoted text? Somehow it doesn't feel right due to the contradiction I see...
People do tend to "shop around" from teacher to teacher, for example. Looking for more methods and so-forth is not always helpful. I do agree that for some it may take sometime to find their fit in terms of tradition, practice method and what not, but I think that once one has found it, it is good to focus on a particular method, go deeper into it and try to "see it through".
Well, yes. One should certainly follow what feels right for them. There are many Dharma's, traditions, schools, etc., which are based on the different conditions and capacities of people. What is important to understand is that they all provide specific methods, and a specific path to reach the result. People are free to take whatever they wish from whichever tradition they wish. Depending on which tradition one practices with, some can be seen as a complete path in itself, and therefore it may be more helpful to stay the course.
My feeling is that this "mixed bag" approach may not always be helpful. There are certain subtleties of thought and approach between the different traditions, and even sometimes within a particular one. This form demonstrated that well, I think. But when we consider that "impermanence" can rear it's ugly head at any time, then sometimes it may be better to choose one or the other and go deeper. In view of that, jumping around from teacher to teacher, practice to practice, especially if one has found a good teacher and a good method may be wasting a lot of time. It is a long road, and sometimes it is best to keep moving towards the destination instead of getting sidetracked along the way and heading off in a different direction. You may never reach your destination that way.
As far as your original quote said, I do believe this phenomena exists greatly, especially in the West. In some traditions, for example, people will attend teachings from a good teacher, and then another will come along and they will run to them, and attend their teachings, and learn more practices. Kind of like the consumer mentality. I think with this mentality also comes the fact that people seek quick results, and if they don't get it, they better quickly try something else. Dharma doesn't usually work that way, though. It takes a great deal of effort and hard work and some time to see results.
Good luck.
Good analogy, Citta.
With patience, great trees grow.
Interestingly, I scored 95% on Unitarianism. I tried being a Unitarian for a while, but I found it to be too...unfocused I guess would be the right word. At the Unitarian church I attended there was a course called "Building Your Own Theology". Not that I want to be told what to believe, but I felt like I wanted to have a trail that had already been blazed, and not try to invent something myself that would be an uncertain path.
I guess that would only give me a slight indication of which school to follow. :crazy:
If there had been a Thich Nhat Hanh based community in my area I would have certainly gone that route. However following an article in the Mindfullness bell where TNH suggested finding a sangha...even if it isn't a perfect sangha I went to a local Jodo Shinshu temple.
With some reading and talking I came to be able to accept Shin and have been practicing it for around 15 years now. I am still very into TNH and also interested in Theravada. (there is a Theravada monastery just a few miles from my town..I have met a talked with the head Monk....very nice fellow!)
I go through times of being VERY Shinshu, and times when I am more drawn to TNH or Therevada, but I am the secretary and pianist at the Shin Temple, and I love the people there...almost all elderly Japanese Canadians. They have come to rely on me greatly, so at least as long as that temple is there I will continue to serve them to the best of my ability.
Unfortunately the temple membership is almost all over 70 years of age, and we get very few new members, so I suspect the temple may only exist for another 5 years or so.
Anyway, as a musician I sort of look at the different schools like different music. I like the Beatles, and classical music. My wife likes Dean Martin. Some of my students like Green day, others like Taylor Swift, and still others like death metal. Some of their tastes will change overtime, but they can only listen to what speaks to them at that time, and really one cannot say one music is better than another....it is just whatever inspires us.
Obviously it isn't a perfect metaphor, but the point is we will gravitate to that which inspires us. My journey actually started with Paramahansa Yogananda...today I would not find it credible, but it was necessary for me at that time.
Beatles = Metta ?
In fact I find my practice of Shin is strengthened by some Zen or Theravadan ideas.
I'm afraid I would make a lousy fundamentalist!
1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. Theravada Buddhism (97%)
3. Mahayana Buddhism (83%)
4. Secular Humanism (74%)
5. Taoism (73%)
Well, at times in my life I have identified as a Unitarian Universalist, a Buddhist, a Humanist and a Taoist, so it seems the belief-o-meter is pretty accurate...
Anyone who gets UU at the high end of their results is because it is just so completely vague... I quote from Wikipedia:
Otherwise very interesting... I must investigate the two schools of Buddhism listed a bit more as I currently am just studying generalized Buddhism...
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Anyway, it's worth doing a little digging to get to know the basics of each tradition and find one that you like. A little effort can pay off, and Buddhism asks for a lot more effort in practice so consider it par for the course.