Every school/tradition's most effective method/practice to reach enlightenment...

General forum on the teachings of all schools of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Topics specific to one school are best posted in the appropriate sub-forum.
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Nalanda
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Every school/tradition's most effective method/practice to reach enlightenment...

Post by Nalanda »

Theravada has the renunciation/monasticism.

Many Mahayanist has the Bodhissatva path? Did I get that right? (I mean all the schools below as well) Generating bodhichitta.

Vajrayanist has the Tantra.

Dzogchenyanist has Dzogchen.

Pure Land Buddhist has the recitation of Amithaba's name.

Nicheren has Nicheren's teachings? Lotus Sutra?

and I just learned....

Jodu Shinshu has the 18th vow


What about Zen, Rinzai, Soto?

I wonder what others really has as their tradition's most effective tool to gain enlightenment...
IF YOU PRACTICE WITH A STRONG BELIEF IN WHAT
YOU ARE DOING, THEN THERE IS NO LIMIT TO WHAT
YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH WITH YOUR PRACTICE.

CHAKUNG JIGME WANGDRAK RINPOCHE

Miorita
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Re: Every school/tradition's most effective method/practice to reach enlightenment...

Post by Miorita »

The Pure lands don't include only the Pure Land of Buddha Amitābha.
There is the Pure Land Abhirati of Buddha Akṣobhya and of the other 3 Buddha families.

My brain cannot process now.
Good night!

Nichiren was my last choice.
Last edited by Ayu on Fri Jan 21, 2022 9:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Off topic removed.
SilenceMonkey
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Re: Every school/tradition's most effective method/practice to reach enlightenment...

Post by SilenceMonkey »

Why do you really want to know?
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Aemilius
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Re: Every school/tradition's most effective method/practice to reach enlightenment...

Post by Aemilius »

The nirvana or enlightenment according to Sravakayana versus Mahayana are two radically different things. You are looking for a method of escaping quickly from samsara or the world. That is not the bodhisattva path.
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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Zhen Li
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Re: Every school/tradition's most effective method/practice to reach enlightenment...

Post by Zhen Li »

Nalanda wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 2:21 am Theravada has the renunciation/monasticism.

Many Mahayanist has the Bodhissatva path? Did I get that right? (I mean all the schools below as well) Generating bodhichitta.
Mahāyāna has renunciation and monasticism too. The degree of renunciation required depends on the tradition. Jōdo Shinshū has the idea of neither monk nor lay. I'm not a monk, but I'm not lay either, my Dharma name is a bhikṣu name, but I haven't renounced anything in the sense of prohibitive precepts, but I renounce saṃsāra through my bodhicitta orientation.

As for the bodhisattva path, not "many" but "all" Mahāyāna has the bodhisattva path. There is bodhisattva/bodhisatta path in Theravāda, but they reject the Mahāyāna sūtras. So, while Mahāyāna is always bodhisattva oriented, Theravāda is maybe 98% non-bodhisattva oriented, but there are many major exceptions to that, especially in pre-colonial Sri Lanka.

As for bodhicitta, yes, all Mahāyāna has the idea of bodhicitta, but schools differ on whether it is "generated" or revealed/given. Bodhicitta is not a term that comes up in Theravāda as far as I know, even in the case of monastics and monarchs who vowed to attain buddhahood.
Nalanda wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 2:21 am What about Zen, Rinzai, Soto?
To make it simple, Rinzai meditation is like polishing a mirror so that it shines clearly. Gradually accumulating the qualities of Buddhahood and diminishing defilements. Sōtō meditation is allowing your natural Buddha nature to shine through.

Sōtō and Jōdo Shinshū are pretty close in their Buddha-nature orientation and idea of non-practice practice. It just manifests in different ways.
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Astus
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Re: Every school/tradition's most effective method/practice to reach enlightenment...

Post by Astus »

Nalanda wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 2:21 amI wonder what others really has as their tradition's most effective tool to gain enlightenment...
It's everywhere the same triple training: morality, meditation, wisdom. The apparent differences are merely a matter of style and branding.
1 Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?

2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.

3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.

4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.


1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
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Queequeg
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Re: Every school/tradition's most effective method/practice to reach enlightenment...

Post by Queequeg »

Miorita wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 5:21 am The Pure lands don't include only the Pure Land of Buddha Amitābha.
There is the Pure Land Abhirati of Buddha Akṣobhya and of the other 3 Buddha families.

My brain cannot process now.
Good night!

Nichiren was my last choice.
Sahalokha is pure. We just don't see it because of our own obstacles.

From the Vimalakirti Sutra:
15. At that time Śāriputra was influenced by the Buddha’s numinous charisma to have this thought: “If the bodhisattva’s buddha land is pure according to the purity of the bodhisattva’s mind, then when our World-honored One was a bodhisattva his mind must have been pure. Nevertheless, this buddha land is so impure!”

The Buddha knew what he was thinking and asked him, “What do you think? Although the blind do not see them, can the sun and moon be anything but pure?”

[Śāriputra] answered, “No, World-honored One! This is the fault of the blind, not that of the sun and moon.”

[The Buddha said], “Śāriputra, it is through the transgressions of sentient beings that they do not see the purity of the Tathāgata’s (i.e., my) buddha land. This is not the Tathāgata’s fault! Śāri putra, this land of mine is pure, but you do not see it.”

16. At that time Conch Crest Brahmā King said to Śāriputra, “Do not think thus, saying that this buddha land is not pure. Why? I have witnessed the purity of Śākyamuni’s buddha land. It is like the heavenly palace of Īśvara.”

Śāriputra said, “As I observe this land, it is hills and hollows, brambles and gravel, and rocks and mountains—all filled with defilements.”

Conch Crest Brahmā King said, “Sir, your mind has (i.e., perceives) high and low because you are not relying on buddha wisdom. Hence you perceive this land as impure. Śāriputra, the bodhisattva is universally same [in attitude] regarding all sentient beings. The purity of his profound mind relies on buddha wisdom and therefore is able to perceive the purity of this buddha land.”

17. At this the Buddha pointed to the earth with his toe, and instantly the trimegachiliocosm was as if ornamented with a hundred thousand jewels. It was like the Jewel Ornamentation land, with all its immeasurable merits, of Jewel Ornament Buddha.

The entire great assembly exclaimed at this unprecedented event, and they all saw themselves sitting on many-jeweled lotus flowers.

18. The Buddha told Śāriputra, “You should now observe the purity of this buddha land.”

Śāriputra said, “So it is, World-honored One. Originally I did not see it; originally I did not hear it. Now the purity of the Buddha’s country is entirely apparent.”

The Buddha said to Śāriputra, “My buddha country is always pure, like this. It is only so as to save inferior persons here that I manifest it as a defiled and impure land. It is like the many-jeweled eating utensils used in common by the gods, the food in which is of different colors depending on their merits. Just so, Śāriputra, if a person’s mind is pure he sees the merits and ornaments of this land.”


And the Lotus:
For innumerable kalpas
I have constantly resided
On Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa and elsewhere.
When sentient beings see themselves
Amidst a conflagration
At the end of a kalpa,
It is in fact my tranquil land,
Always full of devas and humans.
All the gardens and palaces
Are adorned with various gems.
The jeweled trees abound with flowers and fruits,
And the sentient beings are joyful among them.
The devas beat heavenly drums
Making constant and varied music.
They rain down māndārava flowers
Upon the Buddha and the great assembly.
Although my Pure Land never decays,
The sentient beings see it as ravaged by fire
And torn with anxiety and distress;
They believe it is filled with these things.
Because of their misdeeds
These erring sentient beings do not hear
The name of the Three Treasures
For incalculable kalpas.
But all who cultivate merit,
And are receptive and honest,
Will see me residing here,
Expounding the Dharma.
For the sake of these sentient beings
I teach that the lifespan
Of the Buddha is immeasurable.
To those who, after a long time,
Finally see the Buddha,
I teach that it is difficult to meet him.
Such is the power of my wisdom.
The light of my wisdom illuminates immeasurably
And my lifespan is of innumerable kalpas.
This has been achieved through long practice.
You wise ones, do not give in to doubt!
Banish all doubt forever!
Teachings that are premised on the fundamental purity of this moment, this world, ie. accept unacquired Buddhanature, are distinguished by their methods for overcoming this problem. In my observation, those methods actually imply various ideas about how Buddhanature is obscured.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
Nicholas2727
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Re: Every school/tradition's most effective method/practice to reach enlightenment...

Post by Nicholas2727 »

Nalanda wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 2:21 am Theravada has the renunciation/monasticism.

Many Mahayanist has the Bodhissatva path? Did I get that right? (I mean all the schools below as well) Generating bodhichitta.

Vajrayanist has the Tantra.

Dzogchenyanist has Dzogchen.

Pure Land Buddhist has the recitation of Amithaba's name.

Nicheren has Nicheren's teachings? Lotus Sutra?

and I just learned....

Jodu Shinshu has the 18th vow


What about Zen, Rinzai, Soto?

I wonder what others really has as their tradition's most effective tool to gain enlightenment...
I'm a little confused by your question. Are you asking what practice technique is used by each school as their fastest way to enlightenment? Or are you asking about how they view the path to enlightenment? Theravada places a strong emphasis on renunciation/monasticism like you mentioned, but the practice methods they use to gain concentration and wisdom are a different thing. The Satipatthana and Anapanasati sutta's play a major role in Theravada meditation approach along with other methods. So depending on your question the answer can vary. Renunciation and monasticism play a major part in Mahayana Buddhism as well.

To try and answer some of your questions, I believe Nichiren uses the chant "Nam myoho renge kyo" as their means for enlightenment.

Zen uses meditation as their main form of practice, but it goes beyond just sitting meditation. Zen (chan, seon) teachers will use a variety of methods to point directly at ones true self, ones mind, etc with the intent of causing the student to have an awakening. After this "sudden" awakening, the student will gradually cultivate this on the path.

Rinzai places strong emphasis on what I previously stated and will use a variety of methods, breath counting and koans seem to be the most common.

Soto places less emphasis on this and uses Shikantaza practice as their main practice.

Shingon which falls under Vajrayana will use Tantra as their main practice towards enlightenment.

Tendai will use a wide variety of practices. Could be tantra, meditation, pure land, etc.
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Aemilius
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Re: Every school/tradition's most effective method/practice to reach enlightenment...

Post by Aemilius »

There are many stories in modern and ancient times when some person practices under the impression and conviction that it is a technique that will take him to enlightenment/nirvana/vimoksha. Then after many years and even decades of searching for and practicing a "perfect technique", he finally meets a person who shows him/her the truth in some simple way or manner.
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
Malcolm
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Re: Every school/tradition's most effective method/practice to reach enlightenment...

Post by Malcolm »

Aemilius wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 5:34 pm There are many stories in modern and ancient times when some person practices under the impression and conviction that it is a technique that will take him to enlightenment/nirvana/vimoksha. Then after many years and even decades of searching for and practicing a "perfect technique", he finally meets a person who shows him/her the truth in some simple way or manner.
Yes, this is true, there is no special technique for awakening, there is just recognition, realization, and liberation. But paths based on mind are limited and produced a limited, and temporal result.
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Queequeg
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Re: Every school/tradition's most effective method/practice to reach enlightenment...

Post by Queequeg »

Malcolm wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 5:43 pm
Aemilius wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 5:34 pm There are many stories in modern and ancient times when some person practices under the impression and conviction that it is a technique that will take him to enlightenment/nirvana/vimoksha. Then after many years and even decades of searching for and practicing a "perfect technique", he finally meets a person who shows him/her the truth in some simple way or manner.
Yes, this is true, there is no special technique for awakening, there is just recognition, realization, and liberation. But paths based on mind are limited and produced a limited, and temporal result.
By mind, are you referring to mano, manas and alaya vijnananas? Ie. conditioned levels of mind?
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
Malcolm
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Re: Every school/tradition's most effective method/practice to reach enlightenment...

Post by Malcolm »

Queequeg wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 6:56 pm
Malcolm wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 5:43 pm
Aemilius wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 5:34 pm There are many stories in modern and ancient times when some person practices under the impression and conviction that it is a technique that will take him to enlightenment/nirvana/vimoksha. Then after many years and even decades of searching for and practicing a "perfect technique", he finally meets a person who shows him/her the truth in some simple way or manner.
Yes, this is true, there is no special technique for awakening, there is just recognition, realization, and liberation. But paths based on mind are limited and produced a limited, and temporal result.
By mind, are you referring to mano, manas and alaya vijnananas? Ie. conditioned levels of mind?
The eight consciousnesses.
Nicholas2727
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Re: Every school/tradition's most effective method/practice to reach enlightenment...

Post by Nicholas2727 »

Malcolm wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 5:43 pm
Aemilius wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 5:34 pm There are many stories in modern and ancient times when some person practices under the impression and conviction that it is a technique that will take him to enlightenment/nirvana/vimoksha. Then after many years and even decades of searching for and practicing a "perfect technique", he finally meets a person who shows him/her the truth in some simple way or manner.
Yes, this is true, there is no special technique for awakening, there is just recognition, realization, and liberation. But paths based on mind are limited and produced a limited, and temporal result.
Could you or someone explain what you mean here? What is a path based on mind and why does it produce a limited result?
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Queequeg
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Re: Every school/tradition's most effective method/practice to reach enlightenment...

Post by Queequeg »

Nicholas2727 wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 7:17 pm
Malcolm wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 5:43 pm
Aemilius wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 5:34 pm There are many stories in modern and ancient times when some person practices under the impression and conviction that it is a technique that will take him to enlightenment/nirvana/vimoksha. Then after many years and even decades of searching for and practicing a "perfect technique", he finally meets a person who shows him/her the truth in some simple way or manner.
Yes, this is true, there is no special technique for awakening, there is just recognition, realization, and liberation. But paths based on mind are limited and produced a limited, and temporal result.
Could you or someone explain what you mean here? What is a path based on mind and why does it produce a limited result?
Conditioned mind can't transcend the conditioned mind. If there is no direct connection to the unconditioned, unconditioned can't be realized.

Probably better ways to explain that. I yield.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
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