Adventures In Buddhism....
Jul. 21st, 2013 09:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mdehnersA few months ago I had an Impulse to read up on Buddhism. I've been a Japanophile since childhood and a long-time Anime fan so I've had at least a tourist's eye view of the Belief-system for many decades but nothing more than that. I couldn't get past the "Life is Suffering" bit. So, when I got this Impulse, it confused me.
I DID learn a lot the last few months. One was there are as many versions of Buddhism as Christianity and just as contradictory. Many of those versions, like early Christianity merged local Beliefs into as so to make that version more palatable to the locals. In China it was the Quietist branch of Daoism(as opposed to the creepy Alchemist
I DID learn a lot the last few months. One was there are as many versions of Buddhism as Christianity and just as contradictory. Many of those versions, like early Christianity merged local Beliefs into as so to make that version more palatable to the locals. In China it was the Quietist branch of Daoism(as opposed to the creepy Alchemist
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A few months ago I had an Impulse to read up on Buddhism. I've been a Japanophile since childhood and a long-time Anime fan so I've had at least a tourist's eye view of the Belief-system for many decades but nothing more than that. I couldn't get past the "Life is Suffering" bit. So, when I got this Impulse, it confused me.
I DID learn a lot the last few months. One was there are as many versions of Buddhism as Christianity and just as contradictory. Many of those versions, like early Christianity merged local Beliefs into as so to make that version more palatable to the locals. In China it was the Quietist branch of Daoism(as opposed to the creepy Alchemist <Hsein?> branch that looked for the Asian version of the Philosopher's Stone for Immortality)which transferred to Japan and later "revitalized" by the Ch'an sects to create the two major sects of Zen Buddhism.
What became obvious to me was the forms I found Attractive were those with a strong Daoist/Taoist heritage/philosophy...the stronger, the more attractive. I'd studied the Taoist material as most alt.college students did in the 70's and 80's and noticed in Zen teachings that you could replace "Buddha", "Buddha Mind", "No Mind" and even "Emptiness" with Dao/Tao and the material made as much or more sense. I found I wasn't the only one who noticed because there's quite a bit of material in the West about this FROM members of the Zen Community...so much so that much to the Horror of many Soto Zen Roshis in the States esp there is a move to separate Zen completely from Buddhism. Personally? I'm with them....
Well, the adventure has finished. I've learned what I needed to and gleaned what would be Useful to me at my present state of Life.
Mu;>!
Cheers,
Pat
I DID learn a lot the last few months. One was there are as many versions of Buddhism as Christianity and just as contradictory. Many of those versions, like early Christianity merged local Beliefs into as so to make that version more palatable to the locals. In China it was the Quietist branch of Daoism(as opposed to the creepy Alchemist <Hsein?> branch that looked for the Asian version of the Philosopher's Stone for Immortality)which transferred to Japan and later "revitalized" by the Ch'an sects to create the two major sects of Zen Buddhism.
What became obvious to me was the forms I found Attractive were those with a strong Daoist/Taoist heritage/philosophy...the stronger, the more attractive. I'd studied the Taoist material as most alt.college students did in the 70's and 80's and noticed in Zen teachings that you could replace "Buddha", "Buddha Mind", "No Mind" and even "Emptiness" with Dao/Tao and the material made as much or more sense. I found I wasn't the only one who noticed because there's quite a bit of material in the West about this FROM members of the Zen Community...so much so that much to the Horror of many Soto Zen Roshis in the States esp there is a move to separate Zen completely from Buddhism. Personally? I'm with them....
Well, the adventure has finished. I've learned what I needed to and gleaned what would be Useful to me at my present state of Life.
Mu;>!
Cheers,
Pat
