A Buddhist smorgasbord

A few here are keen to propagate their own brand of what could be called "religion" so I am emboldened to begin a thread on the Dharma, AKA Buddhism.

Made up of bits and pieces drawn from my own long journey through the "way of the Buddha". One guy, seeing the Buddha hold up a flower, "got it" straight away (whatever "it" is) but others like me need more time.

Anyway, whatever, a few brief words from one modern Dharma teacher:-

[i] The Buddha did not teach Buddhism. He taught the Dharma, the law. He did not teach a set of beliefs or dogmas, or systems that have arbitrarily to be accepted. Through his own experience of enlightenment, he pointed the way for each of us to experience the truth within ourselves. During the forty years of his teaching, he used many different words and concepts to point to the truth. The words or concepts are not the truth itself; they are merely a pointing to a certain kind of experience. In the Buddha's time, because of the force of his wisdom and skill, generally people did not confuse the words for the experience. They heard what the Buddha had to say, looked within, and experienced the truth in their own minds and bodies.

As time went on and people started to practice less, they began to mistake the words for the experience. Different schools arose, arguing over concepts. It is as if in attempting to explain the light on a full moon night one points up at the moon. To look at the finger, rather than the moon, is to misunderstand the pointing. We should not confuse the finger for the moon, nor confuse the words pointing to the truth for the experience itself.

[/i]

That is enough for now. No posts will be deleted, however negative.

Thank you

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Tariki

A little background. "Buddhism" is a western term. Here in the west we seem to love our "isms" and "ologies" that seek to define and set limits. Preferable to "Buddhism" is the "way of the Buddha", or just the "Dharma".

Just like all Faiths, the Dharma has had, and does have, multiple expressions.....Theravada, Mahayana etc etc. Even zen (the way outside of words) has various lineages, the main ones being Soto and Rinzai.

What holds the various ways together is the Mahayana understanding of [i]Upaya[/i] or "convenient means", which basically means guidance according to the unique individuality of each human being.

Core texts relating to this are as follows:-

[i]The Lord speaks with but one voice, but all beings, each according to their kind, gain understanding, each thinking that the Lord speaks their own language. This is a special quality of the Buddha. The Lord speaks with but one voice, but all beings, each according to their own ability, act upon it, and each derives the appropriate benefit. This is a special quality of the Buddha.

[/i]
(Vimalakirti Sutra)

[i]Just as the nature of the earth is one

While beings each live separately,

And the earth has no thought of oneness or difference,

So is the truth of all Buddhas.

Just as the ocean is one

With millions of different waves,

Yet the water is no different:

So is the truth of all Buddhas.

Just as the element earth, while one,

Can produce various sprouts,

Yet it's not that the earth is diverse:

So is the truth of all Buddhas.

[/i]

(Hua-Yen Sutra)

[i]I bring fullness and satisfaction to the world,

like rain that spreads its moisture everywhere.

Eminent and lowly, superior and inferior,

observers of precepts, violators of precepts,

those fully endowed with proper demeanor,

those not fully endowed,

those of correct views, of erroneous views,

of keen capacity, of dull capacity -

I cause the Dharma rain to rain on all equally,

never lax or neglectful.

When all the various living beings

hear my Law,

they receive it according to their power,

dwelling in their different environments.....

..The Law of the Buddhas

is constantly of a single flavour,

causing the many worlds

to attain full satisfaction everywhere;

by practicing gradually and stage by stage,

all beings can gain the fruits of the way.
[/i]

(The Lotus Sutra, Parable of the Dharma Rain)

Hopefully the point is made. As I see it, such understanding can be found in the writings of the great 13th century Christian mystic Meister Eckhart when he said:- "They do Him wrong who take God in just one particular way - they have the way rather than God."

Whatever is thought of that, the "heartwood of the Dharma" is spoken of here in a text of the Theravada canon of scripture:-

“[i]So this holy life does not have gain, honour, and renown for its benefit, or the attainment of virtue for its benefit, or the attainment of concentration for its benefit, or knowledge and vision for its benefit. But it is this unshakeable deliverance of mind that is the goal of this holy life, its heartwood, and its end. "[/i]

Thank you