#thervada

[tagamantra]

upaya-kaushalya is one of my favorite pieces of buddhist thought. so much so that i find myself inherently following down the mahayana path (or as i like to call it, the vehicle of the masses) instead of the theravadin path because of it (aside from my own leftist inclinations of course).

essentially, upaya-kaushalya, or just really upaya when i'm talking abt it with fellow mahayana friends, is expedient means. upaya-kaushalya means "skillful mean" or "clever mean." when i've heard my lama talk about upaya it almost always means skillful means.

essentially, upaya emphasizes multiple roads to enlightenment. something is upaya if it is done out of ignorance but out of conscious effort to achieve enlightenment. this means you can have multiple different ways or ideologies for reaching enlightenment, and each of them have differing levels of efficacy, but they're all moving you toward enlightenment anyway.

my favorite part about this is that it acknowledges something that a lot of reformed/institutional religions don't really want to in fear of losing power through relinquishing of hegemony, which is context. this is why buddhism managed to flourish in southeast and east asia despite those regions being famously riddled with local faith and superstition because buddhism straight up was just layered on top of it and they didn't say whatever they were doing was wrong. they said that whatever they were doing were more means potentially leading to enlightenment anyway.

kinda like "we want you out of suffering, but we can only help you if you want to help yourself. you'll get out of it though." (though of course in mahayana everyone is working directly for the liberation of all sentient beings and not just themselves)

of course a caveat with upaya then is that it can lead to dangerous situations where anything can be justified as leading to enlightenment, even harmful practices. this can be counteracted through rigorous ethical rhetoric and debate (which buddhists are not strangers to!)

more importantly it can also be counteracted by saying that upaya can only really be done if you have bodhicitta, or otherwise you are doing it out of wisdom and compassion. i think that's a good enough qualifier to root out harmful practices, while still keeping mahayana super contextual!

mahayana is a really non-invasive faith when following the precepts (have the followers been able to keep it that way? well, they're still in samsara and not in dharmakaya...)

[wren-snowfrost]

uhhhm if I recall correctly Thervada Mahayanna and. blanking on the third one but I wanna say it was like Tantric or something? maybe?

Sometimes y'all talk about Buddhists like they're faeries that live on mountains and not people who take the bus.

[alienbuddhism]

[staylitmusic]

TOP RACK (Prod. THERVADA) by ANKHLEJOHN

[fotonvr]

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[zen-garden-gnome]

The Turning of the Wheel of Dharma

There are practically infinite ways to approach the practice of Buddhism. It’s said that since the moment of his enlightenment, the Buddha simultaneously understood everything he would then continue to teach throughout his life and presented it differently where appropriate--with 84,000 different teachings, in fact. (It could also be said that he continued to learn and change as he came upon new circumstances. For example, the Buddha originally taught that women could/should not be monks, but later changed this aspect of his teachings within his own lifetime--after some convincing. It’s been argued that he taught what was culturally appropriate when that was most effective, and presented this differently when it became possible to do so.)

While all Buddhist traditions arise from the same basic precepts, there are many “versions” of Buddhism. Some versions are called by their location/culture of practice, such as Zen Buddhism (Japanese), Chan Buddhism (Chinese), and Thien Buddhism (Vietnamese), but all three of these “versions” are of the same main Mahayana tradition. The greater changes and geological/territorial movements of early Buddhism are described as The Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma (Dharma Chakra, an established wheel of law or maintenance). The three primary traditions or branches of Buddhism correspond with the Three Turnings of the Dharma Wheel, and they are the Thervada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana traditions...

Theravada is the only remaining school from the early Buddhist period. Theravada texts are in the Buddha’s original Pali language and mainly focus on the Buddha’s life and early teachings. This “version” of Buddhism is the “first turning of the wheel,” which is said to have begun with the Buddha’s first teaching of the Four Noble Truths at Deer Park in northern India around the 5th century B.C. These early teachings are said to offer a conceptual, logical, actionable approach to the nature of reality intended to help people unfamiliar with these concepts obtain a preliminary path to liberation. In this way, Theravada can be described as being part of/contained within all other schools. To my understanding, many people enter Buddhism in response to their own great suffering, and so personal liberation is often the first stepping stone for their development. The focus on renunciation, personal liberation, and strict adherence to early monastic lifestyles, while clear and actionable and closest to the earliest traditions, can also be inaccessible and unreasonable. For example, some Theravada sutras state it’s impossible for women to become enlightened, and most Theravada temples in Thailand refuse to fully ordain their nuns. For these and other reasons, some practitioners and scholars to consider Theravada Buddhism “incomplete.” In fact, the earlier name Hinayana (“smaller vehicle”) is often considered a derogatory synonym for Theravada, and should probably be avoided.

Mahayana is the largest major tradition of Buddhism, is presented originally in Sanskrit, and is said to have appeared about 500 years after Theravada. It’s said that the basic elements of this second turning exist in the Buddha’s original teachings given on Vulture Peak Mountain in Rajagriha, India, but took around another 500 years to be appropriate and/or accessible for humanity. While the first turning focused on personal enlightenment, the second turning focuses on the perfection of wisdom teachings--that is, the teachings on emptiness and compassion, which together form the essence of Mahayana Buddhism: a spontaneous wish to attain enlightenment, motivated by great compassion for all beings. This state of mind is called bodhicitta, and while Theravada certainly contained aspects of these teachings, Mahayana goes further in order to deepen the understanding of the true nature of existence: no inherent existence (no self), i.e. the interdependent arising of all things (compassion),  i.e. the inherent emptiness of all things (emptiness). Theravada uses conceptual knowledge (people, selfhood, being one’s own refuge, planes of existence like heaven or hell, etc) in order to introduce people to the process of personal liberation, while Mahayana more directly discusses things in terms of the physical and the mental in order to guide people to knowledge of the ultimate reality (emptiness). Furthermore, Mahayana traditions include the concept of wilfully remaining in Samsara in order to help guide others to liberation.

Vajrayana draws its roots from the Noble Sutra of the Explanation of the Profound Secrets, so-called because it’s said to clear up confusion and even incomplete aspects of earlier teachings. The oral pieces of this sutra were likely assembled somewhere between the 1st and 3rd century CE for “official” dissemination (missionaries brought it to Tibet in the 5th century), but the third turning itself occurred closer to the 7th century, when Tibetan king Songtsan Gampo married two buddhist princesses and converted to Buddhism. The blend of Tibetan cultural animism and Mahayana Buddhism resulted in Vajrayana Buddhism, which focuses on Buddha Nature as a fundamental nature of mind and the idea that all beings may realize enlightenment, specifically within one lifetime. While Theravada uses conceptual thinking and Mahayana refutes conceptual thinking in search of the ultimate reality, Vajrayana uses a logical approach by exploring and refuting lines of logic. It accepts the usefulness of conceptualization and the usefulness of the subjective experience as learning tools and compass-builders--as tools, not truths. This so-called Tibetan Buddhism has been heavily influenced by dynasties in India, Central Asia, China, and Mongolia, and this collection of philosophies and traditions has resulted in a version of Buddhism that many find more “whole” than previous versions. For example, the teachings of Tantra--a core aspect and sometimes secondary name for Vajrayana--utilize the subjective experience as a way of recognizing the emptiness of phenomena. To understand the emptiness of pleasure, seek pleasure until it feels empty. To understand the emptiness of pain, seek pain until it feels empty. It’s worth noting that the sensual/sensory rituals of Tantra have been vastly misunderstood by observing cultures, especially in the colonized world. Furthermore, the animist (Pagan) aspects of Vajrayana (Tibetan) Buddhism play a large role in China’s rejection of this form of Buddhism, and its efforts to forcefully replace it with Chan (Chinese Mahayana) Buddhism.

Many schools and teachings overlap and differ. There may be redundancy across seemingly different concepts, lists, teachings, etc, or a seemingly unnecessary amount of fragmentation. In truth, there are multiple ways of observing or describing Dharma concepts. The more we learn, the more content our subconscious mind is able to work with. While at first these redundancies and differences may be confusing, eventually it becomes clear how they relate, and perhaps more importantly, becomes clear that the individual must come to their own personal understanding, anyway. Perhaps adhering fully to one particular school of Buddhism can make it easier, especially since the possible gaps or limitations of a single school/path ultimately don’t matter?

(These are the synthesized notes based on my Dharma study. They are by no means complete and are only intended to help me make sense of the texts, articles, and lectures I’m consuming. Now that they exist and I know how their understanding has positively affected my life, they ought to be shared. It’s said that acting on an incomplete understanding of Buddhism and other wisdom teachings can be dangerous, or at least lead one astray, so please don’t take my assembled notes too seriously. Please feel free to share corrections and expansions!)

[ankhlejohn]

https://soundcloud.com/ankhlejohn/top-rack-prod-thervada

[theouijagirl]

Does western paganism, wiccan, and Western demonology have a concept similar to chi from Asian spirituality as seen in Feng Shui, Thervada Buddhism, local oriental paganism and shamanism, Daoism, and martial arts? I mean Hinduism does have Chakra and even Judaism and certain sects of Islam (specifically Sufism) have a similar energy concept (forgot what they call it). surprisingly even mystic Christianity and Christian witchcraft have a concept too (which they often call the "Holy Spirit").

In Druidry we have the Awen, which is the source of all inspirational energy and light, and we pray to it and chant its name during spells and ceremonies.

I honestly don’t know if there’s anything similar in Wicca. I know there’s the power of the universe that we call to during spells and invocations, but every Wiccan is different with their interpretations and incantations, so it’s really up to each individual. But that’s the closest I can get to it, I think. I do remember my Mom, who was very much into Wicca, describing it as being like the Force in Star Wars, that once you’re in tune with the universe you can use it. But I don’t know if there’s a word for it.

[etthawitthi]

Theravada Tripitaka: Unique national heritage

Theravada Tripitaka: Unique national heritage

The most important gift Sri Lanka ever received from overseas, the message of the Gauthama Buddha has introduced a unique religious philosophy together with a new culture and a way of life to the people of this country.

The teachings of the Buddha or the Thervada Tripitaka was introduced by Arahath Mahinda in Pali language and it was brought forward by word of mouth for generations until it was…

[alienbuddhism]

[aeepo]

The Foundations of Buddhism (OPUS)

The Foundations of Buddhism (OPUS)

Buddhism is a vast and complex religious and philosophical tradition with a history that stretches over 2,500 years, and which is now followed by around 115 million people. In this introduction to the foundations of Buddhism, Rupert Gethin concentrates on the ideas and practices which constitute the common heritage of the different traditions of Buddhism (Thervada, Tibetan, and Eastern) that…

[obedmanwatkar]

" I am The Buddha now, But after me Cometh the 'Maitreya Buddha', He will preach to you His righteousness, glorious in its origin, glorious at the climax and glorious at the goal, in spirit and in the letter. He will proclaim LIFE, wholly perfect and pure, such as I now proclaim. His disciples will number many thousands, while Mine number many hundreds." ---Siddhartha Gautama The Buddha. What an amazing coincidence, On 127th Anniversary of 'BABASAHEB' Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (The architect of Constitution of India, The Modern Moses, The pioneer of World's Largest Massive Religious conversion) had a Blessed evening having Visiting Thai Buddhist Temple fellowship and dialogue with Thervada Buddhist Monk, With Prof.Dr. Paul De Neui and other North Park seminary classmates in Chicago, Illinois, USA. LONG LIVE MISSION RECONCILIATION #LetTheKingdomCome (at Wat Dhammaram - Thai Temple)

[ethn2-blog]

notebook 2

Buddhism background: Indian missionaries introduced Buddhism into China in the 1st century CE during the Han Dynasty. At first, Buddhism conflicted with so many Chinese traditions that it was declared as harmful to the state, but appealed to the court through its slight similarities to Daoism and Confucianism. Buddhism has played a huge part in Chinese culture, influencing art, politics, etc. A revival of Buddhism was seen in the 70s where new temples were being created and old temples were being restored. Buddhism traveled to the United States via Chinese immigrants. Because the Chinese immigrants were hired as cheap labor, their religion and temples spread as well. In the 50s Buddhism was rediscovered during the “hippie generation” and it served as an alternative to the capitalism Western life. Seen as a sort of hippie religion, Buddhism is like an “alternative” religion, with the emphasis of peace representative of a “utopian” spiritual belief. In the West, the Buddhism practiced is usually Mahayana, Thervada, or an East Asian mix, and some accept teachings from multiple sects, which is much less common in Asia. 

Quotes: “You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.”  “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” –Guatama Buddha 

Buddhism differs in the context of geographical location and ethnicity. In Asia it is one of the most widely practiced religions and is seen more often in popular culture but in the West Buddhism is seen as “foreign”. Regardless of being a widely practiced religion, in the United States, Buddhism is still an oriental religion and is what is essentially an immigrant religion because it isn’t a “traditionally Western” religion like i.e. Christianity. The talisman card has also traveled from Asia to the United States, parallel to the journey of Buddhism from China to the United States. In the context of gender, in the Lotus Sutra it is forbidden to create distinctions between class, gender, birth, or whatever practice of religion. However outside of Buddhism within a more general context, believers of Buddhism may be treated differently due to their gender. For example, a male monk may be treated differently than a female monk because men who don’t marry may be considered as “desirable bachelors” while single women might be seen as “lonely”. There are different connotations and societal expectations associated with being a male or female. 

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_in_the_West#Western_Buddhism_today https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Buddhism#Chinese_Buddhism_in_the_West http://www.sgi.org/about-us/president-ikedas-writings/a-grand-declaration-of-gender-equality.html

[thecompassionateone]

A very interesting article that features an interview between Kittisaro and Thanissara, two former monastics (well, a bhikkhu and a siladhara, respectively) from the Ajahn Chah lineage who have been married for 22 years. It’s inspiring to see how they balance marriage with Dhamma, and have learned to incorporate what they learned as monastics into their lay life.