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Can I only use a Zen Buddha/Bodhisattva statue?
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Can I only use a Zen Buddha/Bodhisattva statue?
by Red Faced Buddha » Fri Oct 05, 2012 1:52 pm
I'm new to Buddhism and have to admit I know very little about the more complicated aspects of it.Anyway,I want to make a small Buddhist altar and place a Buddha or Bodhisattva statue there.However,should I only use Buddha or Bodhisattvas that are in the Zen sect?I believe that all sects of Buddhism lead to enlightenment(if they follow the core teachings of Buddhism like the Noble Eightfold Path and Not-Self.)and believe in respecting and revering all Buddhas and Bodhisattva regardless of their sect,school,etc.However,I do not wish to offend them.Should I only use a Zen statue?
"Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox." - the Dhammapada
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Re: Can I only use a Zen Buddha/Bodhisattva statue?
by Seishin » Fri Oct 05, 2012 1:58 pm
I can't speak for Zen but in our Tendai sangha we have Yakushi Nyorai enshrined and Amida Butsu on the wall. It is quite common. 
Gassho,
seishin
Gassho,
seishin
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Re: Can I only use a Zen Buddha/Bodhisattva statue?
by kirtu » Fri Oct 05, 2012 3:43 pm
Red Faced Buddha wrote:.Anyway,I want to make a small Buddhist altar and place a Buddha or Bodhisattva statue there.However,should I only use Buddha or Bodhisattvas that are in the Zen sect? ... Should I only use a Zen statue?
No. Whatever style of Buddha or Bodhisattva inspires you or attracts you.
Kirt
"Set your heart on virtue: Virtue's outcome is delight".
Dharmapada 9:3
“All beings are Buddhas, but obscured by incidental stains. When those have been removed, there is Buddhahood.”
Hevajra Tantra
Dharmapada 9:3
“All beings are Buddhas, but obscured by incidental stains. When those have been removed, there is Buddhahood.”
Hevajra Tantra
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Re: Can I only use a Zen Buddha/Bodhisattva statue?
by lobster » Fri Oct 05, 2012 7:58 pm
At the moment I have no statues to venerate. I have to use Ipad images . . .
Originally as the Buddha requested, no statues of him existed.
As you practice you will find the Buddha lives in and through you.
A statue is very beneficial.
Your respect is a good sign. I wish you every success in finding the right inpiration.
OM YA HA HUM
Originally as the Buddha requested, no statues of him existed.
As you practice you will find the Buddha lives in and through you.
A statue is very beneficial.
Your respect is a good sign. I wish you every success in finding the right inpiration.
OM YA HA HUM
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Re: Can I only use a Zen Buddha/Bodhisattva statue?
by Astus » Fri Oct 05, 2012 8:41 pm
Zen as a school within Mahayana is not bound to any particular buddha. So, there is no such thing as a "Zen buddha".
"While teachers of the middle way, mind only, transcendent wisdom, mantra, and other schools may have their own assertions, the fulfillment of those intentions is the same. There is not a single thing that is not contained within mind."
(Gampopa to Düsum Khyenpa, in "The First Karmapa", KTD Pub, p 254)
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(Gampopa to Düsum Khyenpa, in "The First Karmapa", KTD Pub, p 254)
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Re: Can I only use a Zen Buddha/Bodhisattva statue?
by catmoon » Sat Oct 06, 2012 1:31 am
I had a nun over for lunch one day and I was fretting over my Amitabha stone Buddha, which did not fit well with my sect. I mentioned that i was worried about having the wrong Buddha. The nun laughed and said
"Wrong buddha? WRONG BUDDHA? How can you have a wrong Buddha??"
"Wrong buddha? WRONG BUDDHA? How can you have a wrong Buddha??"
Sergeant Schultz knew everything there was to know.
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Re: Can I only use a Zen Buddha/Bodhisattva statue?
by tomamundsen » Sat Oct 06, 2012 2:44 am
catmoon wrote:I had a nun over for lunch one day and I was fretting over my Amitabha stone Buddha, which did not fit well with my sect. I mentioned that i was worried about having the wrong Buddha. The nun laughed and said
"Wrong buddha? WRONG BUDDHA? How can you have a wrong Buddha??"
Hehe that's funny! You have to admit, though. The idea of a sectarian Buddha is quite silly!
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Re: Can I only use a Zen Buddha/Bodhisattva statue?
by Red Faced Buddha » Sat Oct 06, 2012 4:12 am
Thanks for the answers,guys.
"Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox." - the Dhammapada
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