--- Garleon Cheng <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> While I do not claim to an authority on the history
> of the sutra, I did take a course last year
> in the study of the Platform Sutra. I wasn��t aware
> of any scholars in particular who were
> questioning the historical authenticity of the
> sutra, but of course this doesn't mean that
> the sutra is 100% historically authentic.
I don't think the issue is with the historical
authenticity of the sutra. The issue is with the
authenticity of the teachings contained within this
sutra. More pointedly, Hui-neng seems to be making a
big point with insisting that sitting meditation is
absolutely not necessary for attaining liberation
(because it's all in the mind anyway, and what does
that have to do with sitting, or with any other
activity or position?)
Now, since many Buddhist practitioners have their
entire practice organized strictly around seated
meditation, this obviously does not sit (no pun
intended!) well with them. Deshimaru is one such
teacher, since his entire teaching revolves around a
single item -- sitting. Thus, he vehemently negates
any validity of that entire sutra, claiming that it is
a counterfeit, a prank set up by the anti-Buddhists
(or something to that effect).
My question to the group is -- do you feel the same?
Do you think that, if certain sacred scripture
denounces sitting meditation as being anything more
conducive to enlightenment than other human
activities, that such scripture cannot possibly be
genuine?
Because this is what we have in the Platform sutra --
a clear denial of the belief that sitting is
absolutely necessary if one is to attain liberation.
> In regard to that person who claims to be the
> Buddha�K Well, I guess if you agree with the
> Platform Sutra that our true nature is Buddha
> nature, then you can say every person is in
> his deepest essence a Buddha. But anytime someone
> claims to be the forth incarnation of
> the historical Buddha, I think it is just a fraud.
Well, Deshimaru was claiming not that we all are
Buddhas, but that he himself is the Buddha, and that
all the rest of us aren't. So we should listen to him,
and he shouldn't be listening to us.
Alex
=====
No karma was produced during the composition of this letter
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