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What tradition, and why?
DairyLama
Veteran Veteran
What tradition, teacher or approach do you follow, and why?
Me: Therevada with a hint of Zen - I'm drawn to the relative simplicity and the focus on developing insight in the here-and-now.:)
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Me: Therevada with a hint of Zen - I'm drawn to the relative simplicity and the focus on developing insight in the here-and-now.:)
P
0
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Namaste
Why... well because I spend every moment in the here and now and find little time to meditate otherwise... I would prefer to meditate as often as i can and thus his teachings are best suited for me...
If others could provide names of other Teachers with Mindfulness as their primary meditation I'd be interested...
One of my favorite features of the Tibetan Nyingma path is that it doesnt exclude any method of practice. The scriptures and methods of theravada, mahayana, and vajrayana are all appreciated, implemented and taught within this tradition.
One of extraordinary hardship that due to the Buddha's kindness is no longer necessary for us.
He taught the path of his realization, by doing so he has provided us with "traditions" of methods to follow so we dont have to experience the hardship that he did.
Can you tell us?:p
P
Yes, I like Ajahn Chah, also Ajahn Sumedho. I did some time with Tich Naht Han who also has a strong focus on mindfulness in the here and now.
P
Can you say what kind of practice you do?
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I already explained this in another thread I guess. If you are asking if I follow a particular school well then I would say Theravada. I find Bhikku Buddhadasa's essays a good read if you don't want to dig into suttas as you say
Metta
One more vote for the Thai forest tradition
There are many teachings at your disposal online... watching a Dharma talk or listening to one is just as good as being there... only thing is you can't ask questions... I find this site good for that...
That is a shame... hopefully that will someday change...
My favorite teacher is His Holiness the Dalai Lama, though I am no more influenced by Tibetan Buddhist than any other kind.
I dont think you favor Hinayana, perhaps you mean you are more interested in Theravada? The solitary path is the pratyekabuddhayana and its not really a viable path for most new practitioners.
"What Kind of Buddhist are you?" (rather than merely inquiring about the tradition we most respect)
It seems to me that asking why one adheres to a certain tradition presupposes that there is a good reason. May I suggest that often the only "reason" is one of chance encounter with a Buddhist group or cultivation by friends or family? In other words, it need not be due to rejecting other trends or traditions.
And if that be the case, one may very well have travelled only one small dot of his desired territory.
As for pratyekabuddhayana, I find it interesting but know that I would be unable to get far to start without teachers. More so I think teachers are a jumping off point, but the individual has to perfect their own wisdom. Like right now I'm here online because I'm looking for information, however how I interpret that information is not going to be the same as others, and similarly that information will help but eventually I will come to my own conclusions on how I will utilize it. I'm not good with terminology. I've been studying Buddhist philosophy for years but am not good with the language, never saw it as that significant, so again if I'm misusing terminology I apologize.
Its important to understand terms, especially contentious ones like hinayana.
It seems to me that you have a pretty good mindset for getting started on the path. Stick with it.
As a Vedantist, I don't get into all these arguments that so many Buddhists seem to get such a charge from. Does that make me a "bad" Buddhist? I count meself as a wee Buddhist because I follow according to my ability and hold the Buddha and his teachings in high esteem. Or would that make me a would-be Buddhist?
I know some people on this site who regard Buddhism as the only yardstick against which anything MAY be measured, though, and I take them as fools...
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In point of fact, when some people on this site quote suttas, those lines bore me beyond belief with their repetitiveness. However, Bhikkhu Samahita's Daily Dhamma Drops presents them with such beauty that I am not so bothered. Is it his school of Buddhism (and I don't have a clue what that might be) or something else?
It would make you a Vedantist (love Jean Klein BTW) who counts himself as a wee Buddhist.
Is that how you measure them, as fools? It's a Buddhist site, no doubt if it was a Vedanta site you would find Vedantists collapsing Buddhism into a Vedantist's understanding.
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yeah.
He is Theravadin, but there are eloquent people in all schools.
Previously Vajrayana until I discovered the Theravada Thai Forest Tradition. Why? because it resonated with me more.
I also started to read the Pali Canon to find out what the Buddha himself said - rather than just accept what other people said about his teachings.
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Actually the OP question was designed to be open and inclusive:
"What tradition, teacher or approach do you follow, and why?"
P
They talk a lot of sense.
P
OK, I follow reasonable, open-minded, and friendly approaches, purpoisely interested! Thanks for asking!
However, I still find the why part a little cumbersome. My only hope is that most would say they followed their heart. But that's not rational, is it? Is it?
Richard:
I never said nor meant to imply that following a particular path or tradition equals having a closed mind. I only stipulated that that was a danger to be avoided.
As for the fools on NewBuddhist, perhaps I misspoke. I meant crazies. I mean, if someone does not even countenance speaking of human rights because "it is an obstacle to the spiritual path to identify oneself" with such things, I believe they are guilty of some flagrant disproportionality. Not only can these "crazies" not think out of the box, but they also seem to gloss over what others have to say without taking in a thing.
As for respecting the traditions of others, which I believe is of paramount importance, can it be doubted that our own tradition's baggage sometimes gets in the way? I remember how put off my Father (an Episcopal Priest) and I were at the last Snowmass Conference he attended. One of the Native American representatives* declared that the words of Jesus were not germane in any discussions we had. Well, he seems to have missed the boat on that one if he claimed to be interested in interreligious dialogue, since the words and life of Jesus is the bedrock of the Christian tradition. The fact that that Native American had authentic experiences with living shamans in his mind discounted any experiences we may have had. This is just an example of how our traditions can get in the way of our coming to a fuller encounter with truth or with one another.
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* The representative said that Jesus lived too long ago and that we were too removed in time from him to understand his teaching in an authentic way. Whereas he (himself) had had recent legitimizing, as it were, experience of his own, first-hand, impeccable and true...
I'm in a bit of a quandry about this one. For example, I'm reading a book by Ken McLeod (who seems well respected on this forum) which states very clearly that a teacher is required to find your way on the path. I haven't read deeply enough into the book to get the full justification for this argument. Anyone have a counter-argument they'd like to share?
A teacher may speed things up however, and save all the 'wrong turns' that the Buddha himself made in his search.
Metta
Teachers vary a lot and its important to investigate carefully because some have adoring students and a lot of hype around them and its easy to get sucked into it all with the 'feel good' group mindset.
Take your time.
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The Buddha had many teachers.
Yours in the Dharma,
Todd
Namaste
Yours in the Dharma,
Todd
It happened because I discovered Shenpen Hookham's website and I gave her course a try.
Maybe I'm confused; I thought the Buddha's original goal was the eradication of suffering, and not becoming empty. Is becoming empty the end goal of practice or is the achievement of enlightenment the end goal of practice?
If individuals and phenomena are by nature empty, how does one "become" what one already is?
This must be some kind of koan.
By that I mean I started studying Soto, then discovered TNH's writtings. In a mindfulness bell article TNH suggested it was a good idea to find a Sangha, even if it isn't a "perfect" Sangha.
There is a Jodo Shinshu Temple where I live so I began attending. That was 15 + years ago.
As to the why...I love the Nembutsu and feel like it is a beautiful summary of Buddhist practice.."I take refuge in perfectly awakened infinite light and life."
I love that I can recite the nembutsu any time any where, so the fruit of meditation is available to me all the time.
I take Amida as a symbol of enlightenment/suchness and the Pure Land as a symbol of Nirvana. I cannot speak for others of course, but I think the symbolic interpretation is the most common one in Jodo Shinshu.
I also love that the focus on "other power" eliminates the ego and the problem of pride creeping into one's practice.
Another extremely important part of why...in fact the most important part of why, is the beautiful people I have met at the Temple. Almost all are elderly Japanese-Canadians, and most are far from being Buddhist scholars. However they LIVE the teaching in their words and actions. They are incredibly kind and humble and genuine.
I learn more about being a Buddhist from these people just being themselves then I could ever learn from intellectual discussions.