Blasphemy in Buddhism?

[Mus Zibii]

Does it exist? Or is the search for path open to interpretation? Surely there are heretical branches that stray from the orthodox. Otherwise, how could so many people who were raised under the shadow of Buddhism be so at odds with themselves.

I'll plead ignorance and hopefully someone can enlighten me.

[Vajradhara]

Namaste mus zibii,


thank you for the post.

the facile answer is "yes" it does exist. there are some specific views which are considered to be heretical... i.e. that Buddha taught of a Creator God, for instance.

the difference between the various Buddhist schools is usually one of interpetation and praxis that are upheld as authentic. often, this debate hinges on very technical details of the Buddhist Metaphsycis which are contained in the area of the Canon called the Abidharma.

the only "orthodox" school of Buddhism left today is called Theravedan and that term is usually translated as "Teachings of the Elders". the remaining schools of Buddhism would, perforce, be the "protestants", such as Zen or Ch'an or Nichiren et al. of course, the Vajrayana would also be a "protestant" view, in staying with our analogy.

Robert Thurman choose the english terms "orthordox" "messaniac" and "apocolypic" as the method to distinguish the three Vehicles of Buddhism, Theravedan (Hinyana), Mahayana and Vajrayana.

[sjr]

Vajradhara wrote
the difference between the various Buddhist schools is usually one of interpetation and praxis that are upheld as authentic. often, this debate hinges on very technical details of the Buddhist Metaphsycis which are contained in the area of the Canon called the Abidharma

for seekers thats a BIG problem especially when dealing with meditation, mindstuff, and physical (prana) phenomenon.Ive read your definition of "stream entering" on another post that left me 100% confused. What would the Buddha think of his path now?

[Vajradhara]

Namaste sjr,


thank you for the post.

this is one of the reasons that a full fledged Geshe, which is a degree like one would get in a western university, takes nearly 25 years to complete. Buddhism is a vast subject matter to study...

above and beyond the simple study of the scripture it also includes the various philosophical schools that have arisen as well.

not to put too fine a point on it, however, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so to speak. it's not the study of the words or concepts that is capable of liberating a being... it's the actual implementation of the practice.

as this is totally dependent on the will of the individual, rather than the intellect, the most brilliant and the most dense are equally capable of liberating themselves.

a "stream enterer" is a being that has been convinced of the truth of Dharma and thus is engaged on the path of practice.

one of the reasons, in my view, that Zen is so popular in the West is that it tends to place less emphasis on study of stura and abidharma and, instead, focuses on the praxis. this is not to say that scriptual study is neglected, it simply is part of the overall process. other schools, such as the Tibetan ones, place more emphasis on the proper intellectual view of the philosophies and, as such, appeal to certain beings.

it is said that there are 84,000 entries into the Dharma, each expounded for the varying capacities of beings. holding to one particular view as "correct" would seem to be a personal preference only.

[sjr]

i would rather have a teacher that spent 25 years in SILENCE expirencing the truth of the Dharma than learning how to debate the dharma with other schools or religions.

Evan you have incorporated Taoism ,and The I Ching into your "school".What school would Siddartha pick? wait im sorry thats like asking a catholic what christain faith Christ would pick.

[Vajradhara]

Namaste sjr,

thank you for the post.

Originally Posted by sjr

i would rather have a teacher that spent 25 years in SILENCE expirencing the truth of the Dharma than learning how to debate the dharma with other schools or religions.

indeed... then the Vajrayana wouldn't be for you

Evan you have incorporated Taoism ,and The I Ching into your "school".What school would Siddartha pick? wait im sorry thats like asking a catholic what christain faith Christ would pick.

he'd say what he said... when i'm not arising in this world stream any longer, the teacher will be the Dharma.

each being responds to the Dharma as they are capable.. thus, there are 84,000 methods of entry into Dharma. you can choose whichever one best corresponds with your capacity for practice.

[sjr]

thankyou i have a choice to make Brad Warner or Henepola Gunaratana.Tuff choice