Ren: Are you a Mahayanist?
Yah: Yes and no.
Ren: Meaning?
Yah: Yes, because I believe in the Mahayana sutras and strive to uphold the spirit of their teachings in my everyday life. No, because I believe all the Buddhist traditions are interconnected with not one less, and I strive to live up to them on the whole.
Ren: Some think Mahayana sutras are not authentic teachings from the Buddha.
Yah: I guess they have not studied the Pali Canon well enough yet.
Ren: Huh? How so?
Yah: It’s obvious ‘some’ have no Kalama spirit, as taught in the Kalama Sutta!
Ren: What’s that?
Yah: In Kalama Sutta, the Buddha said to the Kalamas:
“Kalamas, when you yourselves know: ‘these things are good; these things are not blameble; these things are praised by the wise; undertaken and observed, these things lead to benefit and happiness,’ enter on and abide in them.”
Unless ‘some’ have found the Mahayana teachings to be blamable, not beneficial or to cause unhappiness, how can ‘some’ just discredit them? Where’s the Kalama Spirit when it’s needed? Unless the Kalama Sutta, that all Buddhists treasure is not taught by the Buddha!
Ren: hmm…
Yah: And from Mahaparinibanna Sutta (DN 16) – in the Pali Canon, the Buddha is quoted as saying:
“There is the case where a bhikkhu says this: ‘In the Blessed One’s presence have I heard this, in the Blessed One’s presence have I received this: This is the Dhamma, this is the Vinaya, this is the Teacher’s instruction.’ His statement is neither to be approved nor scorned. Without approval or scorn, take careful note of his words and make them stand against the Suttas (discourses )and tally them against the Vinaya (monastic rules). If, on making them stand against the Suttas and tallying them against the Vinaya, you find that they don’t stand with the Suttas or tally with the Vinaya, you may conclude: ‘This is not the word of the Blessed One; this bhikkhu has misunderstood it’ — and you should reject it. But if… they stand with the Suttas and tally with the Vinaya, you may conclude: ‘This is the word of the Blessed One; this bhikkhu has understood it rightly.'”
If you study the suttas well, you will realise that the Buddha encourages disciples to see the spirit of the Dhamma more than the letter of the law. This applies to both the Dharma and Vinaya. If the idea is to stick to each word of the texts in a dogmatic manner, this teaching is lost. The Kalama and Mahaparinibbana Suttas give broad guidelines because the Buddha obviously wanted open minds, not narrow ones. The checklist IS the Noble Eightfold Path – also found in another part of DN16. And all the Mahayana teachings fulfill it… and I daresay, to a much greater extent.
If you learn Pureland Buddhism systematically, there are many other complex proofs of Pureland’s existence. As my first assignment in my MA in Buddhist Studies, I wrote a paper on how Pureland Buddhism is linked to the Theravada teachings. The respected professor who marked my paper, who is a published scholar, and has been a Theravada Buddhist for 30 years gave it an A+. It is a complex paper. I’ll pass a copy to you in person. As a sceptic, you should use the Kalama spirit to practise to know if Pureland is real – just like you would test if Nirvana is real. I tested the Pureland teachings by practice. That is why my faith is strong.
Your mention of Pureland testimonials being similar to Christian ones is obbious that you have not studied the testimonials properly. I have never heard of Christian testimonials where the one passing away announces the time of passing WAY in advance, passes away peacefully, has unworldly fragrances, celestial music… There is so much more. Many cases even have the neutral family members SEE Amituofo and company coming. In my class, I devote a section of it for comparing the two faiths.
The Pureland Sutras clearly describe Pureland to be greater than any heaven. To find out, do visit. There is no other way to find out. It is a realm designed by a Buddha’s perfect compassion and wisdom, with no element in it that distracts one from the Dharma. If it is just another heaven, no Buddha would need to create it. It is not born in just by doing good deeds. Because it is created by a perfect Buddha, to be born there requires technically perfect merits, which is not possible for fools like us. This is why the practice requires faithful and humble mindfulness of Amituofo to connect to him, to allow him to share his immmense merits with us. It is a practice that requires self and other power. Pureland teachings are a far cry from Brahma worship. If you study the Amitabha Sutra, the Buddha says two to three times that the Pureland teachings are the hardest teaching to believe in. I agree totally. He needed to lay the foundational teachings well. It is so hard to believe in that many Buddhists don’t. But those who study and practise accordingly to experience the benefits have unshakeable faith.
The Pureland teachings were revealed more publicly later because in the first 500 or so years, most disciples of the Buddha had strong enough Dharma roots to be able to go for Nirvana directly (since it is the True Dharma Age). The Pureland Sutras were all taught in the Buddha’s time but the further away from the True Dharma Age, the more precious the Pureland teachings are in relevance – because they offer a safe refuge before Nirvana, where it is guaranteed. All Mahayana Buddhists believe it is the last Dharma teaching that will vanish from our world because of of more streamlined and relatively simpler practice. Away from the True Dharma Age, there will be more faith-inclined Buddhists than intellectually-inclined ones. From experience, depending on how deeply one wishes to enter the teachings, they can however benefit both kinds of beings.
If you agree to disagree here, let’s carry on the discussion offline :-] Amituofo