Religous views

[Whispers]

I'm still trying to find a lineage to follow.??Although I consider myself non-partisan I still need proper instruction and support.??I see differing lineages of all faiths as adding to and taking away from the original doctrine.??Jesus Christ never said follow the way of Martin Luther or John Calvin.??However, these men felt it necessary to reestablish the faith in their vision.

The same is true for Buddhism.??There are so many sects out there putting emphasis on this and that while removing prominence from what they feel to be arbitrary or superfluous it's insane.??I refuse to follow one way and say everyone else is wrong.??Who's to say that that one thing that differentiates my chosen sect from theirs isn't something the Buddha himself put a lot of stock in???Henceforth I do as the Buddha requests:

• ?Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.?

The Buddha even asked his direct disciples - those who learned directly from him - to question what he taught.??Buddhism is absolutely against any kind dogmatism or blind faith.??The Buddha felt that only through personal reflection and acceptance of the soundness of a theory can one truly believe it.??Being pressed upon by the clergy to believe this or that because it is in the Bible will incontrovertibly raise doubt.??A teacher must rely on the intellect of his pupil to make the proper decision.??Then again, in Buddhism you have infinity to redo it in case you get it wrong.??=p

In that I have been trying to find the proper teacher and community I have let my practice slacken, unfortunately.??I used to be of the intermediate scope.??I practiced and went to pujas (prayer recitation at the dharma center) everyday (even days when no one else was able to come - Tuesday LoL ).??The dharma center was my second home.??Wake up, go to work, go home, bathe, go to the center.??I was so regular I was given a key to the center and trusted with many things.??However, in light of a few things I left this tradition [another term for lineage].

This was the New Kadampa Tradition - the NKT - and there were many things that did not mesh with me.??The first was that every text studied in the NKT is an official NKT text which cost between fifteen and fifty dollars depending on the subject matter.??Every image offered is an official NKT image unless a thangka [cloth painting - loosely defined] or statue (which were imported by a single statue/thongka maker hand-selected by the NKT).??Everything offered was through Tharpa publications and was copyrighted.??Copyrights and religion doesn't sit well with me.??Albeit, all of this was done--on the surface--to ensure the authenticity and lucidity of the teaching (every book is written by one man, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, whom I still feel admiration for although not for the lineage he has founded).??I was told I can't go about making reproductions of the official NKT prayer songs or I'd be sued.

You see, we were trying to raise money for a new center as the concurrent one had grown too small for our ever-growing population.??I had made instrumental variations of our prayer songs on my computer in my spare time to listen to on my iPod.??I had the sheet music and I just threw it into FruityLoops and added a bit of arranging to fill it out without the lyrics.??I suggested I could do this to a few more prayer songs and we could sell them with all of the proceeds going to our center alone (as opposed to the NKT as a whole as everything else does).??One man piped up, "You can't do that!??That's copyright infringement!"??Although he was no official spokesperson for the NKT, he had been there for a great long while so I felt he probably knew what he was speaking of.

I still have all of the books I bought.??They are very good books which impart the Buddha's teachings very, very well.??Geshe-la (as Geshe Kelsang Gyatso is known) is rather well-versed in the Dharma and a very good teacher.??However, they are strictly Mahayana--I'll get to that in a bit...

Another thing was that they charged money for everything.??In Buddhism nonetheless!??No one was ever turned away for not having money, but there, in the entry hall of the center, were two people at a table with the cash box open.??They were billed as "suggested donations," but those who attended frequently without donation were questioned.??I pitched in a lot around the center so I was never questioned.

The Buddha also said not to take part in rituals as these have nothing to do with escaping samsara.??They are empty acts of meaningless actions.??Although we may do it for him, in his name, so we may free ourselves from suffering, the only thing we need do is follow his instruction - which never included any ritual.
Now, when I say "ritual" I don't mean a sacrifice or anything.??LoL??I'm merely speaking of the aforementioned pujas.??Everyday the "Heart Jewel" puja is to be done by those in the NKT.??It's maybe half an hour long at the most.??Once a week one does "Wishfulfilling Jewel" which is an hour-long "Heart Jewel" with physical (as opposed to imagined) offerings to the Buddhas including food, drink, incense, etc..??Once a month NKT members do "Melodious Drum Victorious in All Directions" which is a three-hour-long puja for the Dharma protector Dorje Shugdan.??THREE HOURS!
The Dorje Shugdan thing is another reason I left but it is a huge thing within the Dharma community and you're better off Googling it than getting it from me.

The last reason I left was the Mahayana elitism.??There are three "types" of Buddhism - Hinayana (the "lesser" vehicle), Mahayana (the "greater" vehicle), and the Vajrayana (the "diamond" vehicle).??Both Hinayana and Mahayana practice Vajrayana.??The Nikaya (as I will continue to refer to the Hinayana as "Hinayana" is derogatory) differs from the Mahayana in only one way - that is the intention of attaining nirvana.??In the Mahayana one seeks nirvana not only to liberate himself but also in order to assist others in their liberation whereas in the Nikaya one merely seeks liberation so as to free himself from samsara.??It's a tiny detail but the Mahayana sees the Nikaya's aim as selfish and grounded in the delusion of self [differentiating oneself from others].??It is believed by the Mahayanas that only one with the intent of helping others can attain nirvana as any other motivating factor has at least a hint of one or more of the mental poisons which hinder enlightenment.

This is something I don't exactly not believe--I see where the Mahayanas are coming from--but not something I wish to uphold--especially not to the NKT's standards.??The NKT lists leaving the Mahayana for the Hinayana as a serious downfall.??One so doing is subject to karma similar to abandoning Buddhism altogether.??I don't like that.??If the Nikaya really is the Hinayana (which literally translates to the "inferior vehicle") then would it be wrong to perhaps view it as a stepping stone to the Mahayana???After all, like I wrote earlier, we have until the end of endless time to get this right.??LoL

So, I'm beginning to become slightly partial to the Nikaya.??Afterall, the term "Nikaya" translates to "schools" in reference to the different Buddhist schools before the Mahayana/Hinayana split of the "common era".??Today only one Nikaya tradition stands, that is the Theravada.??Although there are many, many different types of Theravada; Therevada, nonetheless, is the last surviving school of Nikaya thought.


I just received two Theravadan books by mail and I already like them more than most other Mahayana books I have.??Whereas Mahayana books are mostly commentaries on sutras written by ancient Mahayanas, the Theravadans only concern themselves with the teachings of the Buddha himself.??It's like talking about Jesus instead of Joseph Smith.


So, to answer your question, my practice has slackened so much that I'm holding onto the initial scope just so I don't fall away from Buddhism altogether.??Once I find a proper sangha (Buddhist community - the third of the three jewels [or "triple gem" in Theravada]; Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha) it will be much, much easier as that is what the sangha is for: support.??The Buddha teaches the Dharma and the Sangha helps each other practice.??The Buddha jewel, of course, representing any teacher.??



On an aside, if you want to know more about any of this just Google it.??Hinaya, Mahayana, Vajrayana, Theravada, Three Jewels/Triple Gem, or the New Kadampa Tradition.??I'd highly recommend Googling the New Kadampa Tradition if you're interested.??Another reason I left them is due to their cult status in the field of popular religion.

[EDIT]

Sorry I write so much.??