Pure Land Buddhism - anyone?
Anyone here with an interest in Pure Land Buddhism...aka Shin Buddhism?
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Elevatorpitches · F
yes
@Elevatorpitches Hi, just to say that my own interest began about 20 years ago when I posted on a forum that I was finding Theravada Buddhism a bit world denying and as I saw it, suitable only for monastics. A guy came along and gave me a great run down on how it had much to offer lay people, giving examples.
I found out eventually that he was a Pure Lander. I thought it significant that he had seen my questions and reservations not as an opportunity to push his own "way" but sought to offer help to me, at the level of my own questions.
I suppose that was the beginning......
I found out eventually that he was a Pure Lander. I thought it significant that he had seen my questions and reservations not as an opportunity to push his own "way" but sought to offer help to me, at the level of my own questions.
I suppose that was the beginning......
Elevatorpitches · F
@Tariki show me how please
@Elevatorpitches Maybe a "dharma" talk by Pema Chodrun (not a Pure Land Buddhist, but hey we don't have a monopoly on anything!)
When people start to meditate or to work with any kind of spiritual discipline, they often think that somehow they're going to improve, which is a sort of subtle aggression against who they really are. It's a bit like saying, "If I jog, I'll be a much better person." "If I could only get a nicer house, I'd be a better person." "If I could meditate and calm down, I'd be a better person." Or the scenario may be that they find fault with others; they might say, "If it weren't for my husband, I'd have a perfect marriage." "If it weren't for the fact that my boss and I don't get on, my job would be just great." And "If it weren't for my mind, my meditation would be excellent."
But loving-kindness - "maitri" - towards ourselves doesn't mean getting rid of anything. "Maitri" means we can still be crazy after all these years. We can still be angry after all these years. We can still be timid or jealous or full of feelings of unworthiness. The point is not to try to change ourselves. Meditation practice is not about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It's about befriending who we are already. The ground of practice is you or me or whoever we are right now, just as we are. That's the ground, that's what we study, that's what we come to know with tremendous curiosity and interest.
Sometimes among Buddhists the word "ego" is used in a derogatory sense, with a different connotation than the Freudian term. As Buddhists, we might say, "Well, then, we're supposed to get rid of it, right? Then there'd be no problem." On the contrary, the idea isn't to get rid of the ego but actually to begin to take an interest in ourselves, to investigate and be inquisitive about ourselves.
When people start to meditate or to work with any kind of spiritual discipline, they often think that somehow they're going to improve, which is a sort of subtle aggression against who they really are. It's a bit like saying, "If I jog, I'll be a much better person." "If I could only get a nicer house, I'd be a better person." "If I could meditate and calm down, I'd be a better person." Or the scenario may be that they find fault with others; they might say, "If it weren't for my husband, I'd have a perfect marriage." "If it weren't for the fact that my boss and I don't get on, my job would be just great." And "If it weren't for my mind, my meditation would be excellent."
But loving-kindness - "maitri" - towards ourselves doesn't mean getting rid of anything. "Maitri" means we can still be crazy after all these years. We can still be angry after all these years. We can still be timid or jealous or full of feelings of unworthiness. The point is not to try to change ourselves. Meditation practice is not about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It's about befriending who we are already. The ground of practice is you or me or whoever we are right now, just as we are. That's the ground, that's what we study, that's what we come to know with tremendous curiosity and interest.
Sometimes among Buddhists the word "ego" is used in a derogatory sense, with a different connotation than the Freudian term. As Buddhists, we might say, "Well, then, we're supposed to get rid of it, right? Then there'd be no problem." On the contrary, the idea isn't to get rid of the ego but actually to begin to take an interest in ourselves, to investigate and be inquisitive about ourselves.
Elevatorpitches · F
@Tariki thats a great response!
@Elevatorpitches I really do think it is all about acceptance. It is why I see much Christian proclamation as a corruption of the Gospel.
The proclamation:- "If you accept Me, then I will accept you". I know many "born againers" here will object, but there is simply no disguising the heart of their theology. Pure corruption.
The proclamation:- "If you accept Me, then I will accept you". I know many "born againers" here will object, but there is simply no disguising the heart of their theology. Pure corruption.