Yes, that was my impression too about tibetans being superstitious. The TNH sangha in Edinburgh main leader was an ex tibetan nun full of that kind of superstitious tibetan stuff. And her ego would resent if someone would point it out to her. Nonetheless, I quite like the human warm and great sense of humour some original tibetans have. This last July I met a Lama and he would explain the most ordinary daily things in such a simplicity, humour, spontaneous and natural way that he managed to transmit the dharma in a most skillful way. I believe that in spite of cultiural superstition there are some very amazing profoundly awakened wise tibetans as well as in the other way round. In fact they are a whole country and not just an spare sect kind of Thich Nhat Hanh propagation but a whole country. Mayka
--- On Fri, 10/9/10, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote: From: [email protected] <[email protected]> Subject: RE: [Zen] Other traditions To: [email protected] Date: Friday, 10 September, 2010, 14:47 DP, I myself don’t consider Tibetan ‘Buddhism’ actually Buddhist. I should more rightfully be classified as ‘Lamaism’ – with maybe some Buddhist terminology. It’s chock full of superstitions, gods and spirits and a lot of mysticism (and not just ‘chi’), the most well known of which is their belief that the Dalai Lama which is their ‘God-King’, and whom they believe is a reincarnation of the former Dalai Lama clear back to an actual ‘god’ (of Compassion). And don’t get me started on the Dalai Lama…Bill! From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of DP Sent: Friday, September 10, 2010 8:49 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [Zen] Other traditions I have a strange feeling towards other Buddhist traditions. While I find interesting messages in reading about Christianity or even Islam and Judaism (Hinduism I find too alien, although I love some of the imagery and mythology), I have a sort of block against other Buddhist traditions. I can admire somone like the The Dalai Lama, but I find Tibetan Buddhism too esoteric. I have had a few negative experiences on chat boards with other Buddhists in Theravada and Vajranaya traditions, where they even denigrated Zen. Does anyone else find that other Buddhist traditions seem odder to them than traditions outside Buddhism? __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5439 (20100910) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5439 (20100910) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com
