Bill!, No, every generation makes some changes in how they teach, "live", and in the records they write down, or that others write about them.
I just found it odd that you should take the Buddha to task for beginning the teaching in his day of an entirely new system with a simple outline, instead of an immediately minutely detailed one which might take hours for him to recite to Hearers. His first people were "Hearers", Stream-Enterers", and so they can be today. Maybe you and I both were, back in the day. I suspect he knew something about pedagogy, and that what he "knew" was entirely informed by the Wisdom dawned in him; and, he was teaching from the Heart. He had to start somewhere and with something. His start was like the Preamble of a founding document. He taught a "graspable" skeleton, perhaps based on the model from Hinduism, but intended to distinguish itself from Hinduism. His students and hearers were Hindu. (Why didn't the Pointillists use twice the number of pixelated "dots" in their paintings, why just 11,391?) And from a Mind seeing no divisions between anything(s), but only the interconnectedness, he was able to call out EIGHT. Quite an achievement! And he gave them as useful tools to people, as a start to practice, or to draw them to practice. Compassion made him do it. Has this become outdated? I think not by a long shot. Let's remember, too, that "words are goads": A hearing and appreciation of the Eightfold Path -- or a more manifold Path -- is not yet Practice. The history of Buddhism is a history of Change. And a big teaching of the tradition -- and it is yet a tradition -- has to do with "Change". All quite remarkable, one of the more remarkable things on Earth, and directly concerning Humans' lives. --Joe > "Bill!" <BillSmart@...> wrote: > > Joe, > > So are you saying that we should not make any attempts to modernize and make > more relevant the mode of explanations and teachings from that of 2500 years > ago? > > If that were the case in your line of work (astronomy) wouldn't we still be > locked into the earth as being flat and the center of the universe, and the > stars other heavenly bodies were actual gods? > > ...Bill! > > --- In [email protected], "Joe" <desert_woodworker@> wrote: > > > > Bill!, > > > > You might not be among the fortunate who lived 2500 years ago, when > > literacy was the exception. > > > > The skilful ways of the ancestors might be hard for an English-Major to > > comprehend! > > > > Breadth-Requirements might have had a chance of filling you in on the > > facts. No? All but forgotten? > > > > I see no reason to disparage the roots of the Zen (Buddhist) tradition. > > > > Remember, too, that the Indian way of teacher was / is extremely detailed, > > precise, and dependent on memorization and personal assimilation. That was > > the tradition, and so it continues (there)! > > > > Mr. Suresh may correct me if I'm a century awry. > > > > --Joe > > > > > "Bill!" <BillSmart@> wrote: > > > > > > Edgar, > > > > > > I agree 100% with that! Like the Noble Eightfold Path: Right Speech, > > > Right Thought, Right Intentions, etc... Why do they name only 8 classes? > > > Why do they name classes at all? Why not just: Live Right? And anyway > > > the challenge isn't doing all the 'right' things. The challenge is > > > determining what is right and what is not. > > > > > > I call this "The Twelve Days Of Christmas Syndrome": You know...four > > > calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a > > > pear treeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. ;>) > > > ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
