--- "Rev. Genryu" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Interestingly enough, when it comes to sitting and
> paying attention, not getting caught up in what's
> going on in the head but really allowing ourselves
> to keep returning to the physical reality of what we
> are doing with our bodies and minds here and now -
> the Buddha it seems had an answer that wouldn't
> fulfil your idea of Upaya either Alex:
>
> "A third time, Bahiya said to the Blessed One: "But
> it is hard to know for sure what dangers there may
> be for the Blessed One's life, or what dangers there
> may be for mine. Teach me the Dhamma, O Blessed One!
> Teach me the Dhamma, O One-Well-Gone, that will be
> for my long-term welfare and bliss."
> "Then, Bahiya, thus should you train yourself: In
> the seen, let there be only the seen. In the heard,
> let there be only the heard. In the sensed, let
> there be only the sensed. In the cognized, let there
> be only the cognized. That is how you should train
> yourself. When for you there is only the seen in the
> seen, only the heard in the heard, only the sensed
> in the sensed, only the cognized in the cognized,
> then, Bahiya, you will not be reckoned by it. When
> you are not reckoned by it, you will not be in it.
> When you are not in it, you will be neither 'here'
> nor 'there' nor between the two. This, just this, is
> the end of suffering."
What many people don't realize is that the Buddha had
different levels of teaching for different
practitioners. People differ in many respects, and
when it comes to practising Dharma, people differ in
their range. Some practitioners fall exhausted to the
ground very quickly, some possess greater stamina and
can go the extra mile, while a very select few are
prepared to do whatever it takes to go all the way.
Recognizing that, the Buddha prepared different
teachings to accommodate different ranges (this is
called upaya).
This is why we encounter contradictory teachings in
different sutras. Like, in one sutra the Buddha would
say that the aggregates truly exist, and that the idea
of a self is based on the aggregates. At the same
time, in a different sutra (which was meant for a
different range of practitioners), the Buddha would
explain how the aggregates do not exist. And so on,
the examples are numerous.
Perhaps the most famous example is how the Buddha
taught that suffering exists (Four Noble Truths), and
at the same time, in Heart Sutra, explained how there
is no suffering. The Heart Sutra and the Four Noble
Truths collide head on. Without understanding the
nature of the Buddha's teaching, one is left utterly
confused at that point.
> It appears that either way, one still ends up at the
> same place - just sitting, just seeing, just
> listening.
This obsession with 'just this', 'just that' is an
alarming sign of a heathen practice. Your practice had
degenerated into obsessing, fretting over some
phenomenon (such as 'just sitting' or 'just seeing'
etc.) This is utterly foolish, as you must learn that
it is necessary to transcend the present moment, in
the same way you've learned how to transcend the
illusion of the past and the future.
I know you won't like me for correcting you, but it is
my duty to set you on a straight path to Dharma. I
would be violating my vows if I didn't tell you this,
as hurtful as it may be (chalk it under the 'tough
love' rubric).
Alex
=====
No karma was produced during the composition of this letter
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