--- In [email protected], Anthony Wu <wu...@...> wrote:
> ED, > Your posts always involve or provoke insight. Anthony, It makes me a little happy that at least one person sees and appreciates at least one trait that I may possess. ;-) > I won't comment on the relationships between pain and bliss, as I know nothing. I too know very little from my own experience about extreme pain and extreme happiness. > However, the 'naturalness of Buddha Nature' has a profound meaning. That Buddha Nature, in principle, may be realized by all humans, is a magnificent conception.. > It is also controversial. Zen masters say everybody has Buddha nature, though it is normally veiled one way or the other. So it is 'natural' that you realize it. But I assume that remark was invented by 'later day saints' of mahayana. Yes, but this does not detract from the wisdom of these sages nor from the great gifts to humanity of the Buddha. > I have yet to run into Theravada literature that says something similar. The original Buddhist sutras say Buddha was enlightened after meditation and gained universal knowledge, able to read mind and remember past lives. I don't see him proclaiming everybody's Buddha nature. And, to me, it doesn't matter. I am open to learning from any Teacher I resonate with. > I may be wrong. If you have read otherwise, let me know. To my knowledge, you are not wrong. > Nevertheless, the mahayanist invention is one of the greatest. I like it. A fabulous worldview! > On the other hand, there are some mahayanist remarks I don't like and think them harmful. They are as follows: > - You don't have to work hard in the forest meditating, but you can get enlightened in the day to day life (I sometimes joke that you will be enlightened in an orgyhouse while enjoying sex). > - It is selfish to go a long way on the Noble Eightfold Path to reach arahantship, because it only saves yourself, not caring about others. You should strive to be a Bodhisatva, saving others first before you realize anything yourself. This is a controversy that you should first put your own house in order before helping others, or the other way around. I have seen some mahayanist monks speaking tall, but they never walk the talk. > Don't say that is nothing to do with zen. Buddha left behind an 'estate' that was developed into zen. You can say thank you and goodbye to your father for leaving such a nice estate, but never say he was a jerk. > Anthony >From my Internet experience, I have learned that other humans, not me, :-), have weird and wonderful viewpoints. I accept this as a normal and natural consequence of the almost infinite number of combinations of DNA and childhood environments that different humans have been subject to. (This is an instance of how I use the (infamous in zen) discursive mind toward developing understanding, tolerance and equanimity.) --ED
