Re:gandalf_siddhi on Buddhism and Filial Piety
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hi thnks for posting.I think is useful to explore some basic differences between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism
Given that the goals of Theravada and Mahayana are different, it is no surprise that the Path to these goals is also said to be different. Theravada seems to make use of the famous "eight-fold" path. In Mahayana, the most common path I've seen mentioned is the five-fold path: the path of accumulation, the path of preparation, the path of seeing, the path of meditation, the path of no more learning.
So there are major differences between the Theravada and the Mahayana, and I feel it can be quite important to decide which branch of Buddhism we are going to locate ourselves in
i'm more towards theravada(althought my buddha status is 'Mahayana') so wat about you
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base on my experience on Hua Yen Sutra/Buddha vehicle(Yi chan fa), and seeing ppl's reactions, i had notice the difference between hinayana and mahayana not base on the apparent or what ppl had wrote or journalized, that said Theravada is Theravada/Arahathood and Mahayana is Mahayana/Bodhisattvahood. or Theravada is hinayana.
No. i said within Theravada, there's mahayana And hinayana. And within Mahayana, there's hinayana and mahayana. All in one, one in All. note i use cap for the 'm' and 'M'.
What differences?
hinayana cultivator - emphasis on the apparent meaning of what Buddha said; emphasis on sunyata of self; clear distinction between Buddhism from worldly dharma; prefer to meditate base on stillness of body; avoid polutions best as possible.
mahayana cultivator - emphasis more on the significant of what Buddha said; emphasis on sunyata of self And Dharma itself; able to blend/use worldly dharma to convert into Buddhadharma; "tong zhong xiu" able meditate amidst daily activities. ie they after cultivated bodily stillness in the mountain, they re-enter 'polutions' of urban area to enhance their meditative stillness. such standard of stillness of the mind is more powerful.
so sometime i fall into the hinayana category and sometimes in mahayana category. but look forward to practice like mahayana standard, while hinayana is my foundation.
imho,
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thnks for ur reply what abt other forumersOriginally posted by sinweiy:base on my experience on Hua Yen Sutra/Buddha vehicle(Yi chan fa), and seeing ppl's reactions, i had notice the difference between hinayana and mahayana not base on the apparent or what ppl had wrote or journalized, that said Theravada is Theravada/Arahathood and Mahayana is Mahayana/Bodhisattvahood. or Theravada is hinayana.
No. i said within Theravada, there's mahayana And hinayana. And within Mahayana, there's hinayana and mahayana. All in one, one in All. note i use cap for the 'm' and 'M'.
What differences?
hinayana cultivator - emphasis on the apparent meaning of what Buddha said; emphasis on sunyata of self; clear distinction between Buddhism from worldly dharma; prefer to meditate base on stillness of body; avoid polutions best as possible.
mahayana cultivator - emphasis more on the significant of what Buddha said; emphasis on sunyata of self And Dharma itself; able to blend/use worldly dharma to convert into Buddhadharma; "tong zhong xiu" able meditate amidst daily activities. ie they after cultivated bodily stillness in the mountain, they re-enter 'polutions' of urban area to enhance their meditative stillness. such standard of stillness of the mind is more powerful.
so sometime i fall into the hinayana category and sometimes in mahayana category. but look forward to practice like mahayana standard, while hinayana is my foundation.
imho,
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so is the topic about views on filial piety from different traditions or which tradition one started & settled with? anyway whichever, i'll carry on with my post.
initially i don't know if i had theravada teachings as a foundation or vajrayana as a foundation. (it doesn't matter to me now) cos both were present for me at the same time & thus lead me on to mahayana teachings & settling down with vajrayana. all dharmas are one. i'm very touched by bodhisattva ksitigarbha's filial piety for his parents & it's a good example for me to learn & practice & i also hope my kid will grow up & understand the meaningful practice of honouring one's parents. of cos not forgetting to practice compassion with wisdom. it is not a demand from me that i think i want that way as a return, but its all for her good benefits & well being that matters most.
i'd like to take this chance to say abit more.
when it comes to filial piety, naturally there's really no discrimination in different traditions of views & practices. parents' kindness are difficult to repay. no matter how good or how strict they have been to us, it's their compassion for us that they'd like us to be well & happy. it is our misconception caught up in a moment of fury when we think that they are too strict, always scold us or sometimes give us a good lecturing & we just couldn't be receptive. the kind of pain in their heart when they punish us cannot be easily understood, it is equally sharply painful. be it theravada, mahayana or vajrayana traditions, we ought to honour our parents through out. be it an arhat or bodhisattva cultivating in samsara for liberation, they can't make it here without the warmth of a mother's womb.
for a moment...., i'd also wish to share another thing. i have personally come across a mother who adopted a kid & the most amazing & touching thing is that she regards her adpoted kid like her own flesh & blood child. it is truly selfless. i pay homage to her.
i'll not be too serious in this topic but i see the importance of filial piety that i have a piece of my views to share. please be patient with me as i will try my best to be as brief as i could.
as a parent, a mother myself, i learned to empathise & feel with other parents. typically & normally, mothers go through a lengthy period of pregnancy both pleasurable & exhaustible, carrying the heavy weight in the body so huge that could even strain the waist & back muscle, giving up own's beauty due to water retention, putting on weight, extremely exhausted & sometimes with worrying thoughts of will she die in difficult child birth & unable to live to bring up the child....., & then going thru the labour with extreme pain that is hard to describe & after that to recuperate & tend day & night to the new born without a good proper rest up till the child grows up, etc..., all these are natural feelings & roles of a mum. & also not forgetting fathers who are always there from the beginning for the support, care & love for the children & family. they are equally divine. even if they are sad troubled or happy or appear to be joyful or extremely tired, they always make good conditions for their children to be comfortable. after going through it myself, i truly understand how my mum & dad felt & went through. it's hard for me to repay them their kindness. whether one's parents are togther or separated, they ARE after all one's parents. eventually, to summarise, all parents give unconditional love, no matter how hard they been through, they will not take it to heart & not ask for anything in return as long as their children are well & happy that matters.
ok hope this is not boring, if it is, i'm very sorry about that as i hardly write long enough post so i may not be that articulate.
thanks for reading.
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to me, filial piety is part of the foundational teaching/hinayana/first floor. second floor is mahayana that go into detail theory. vajrayana is final floor of experimentation and practical aspect. so vajrayana also need mahayana/theory as foundation.
hinayana looses the grip of xiang/form aspect.
like in Diamond sutra : no 'Bodhisattva' who is a real Bodhisattva cherishes the form aspect of an ego-entity, the form aspect of a Buddha-entity, the form aspect of infinity sentient beings, or the form aspect of time-entity.
but for mahayana, they loose the grip of jian/concept aspect.
ie: no 'Bodhisattva' who is a real Bodhisattva cherishes the concept aspect of an ego-entity, the concept aspect of a Buddha-entity, the concept aspect of infinity sentient beings, or the concept aspect of time-entity.
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btw: below is what i meant by "sunyata of self and dharma" in earlier post:egolessness (Tib. dag me) Also called selflessness. There are two kinds of egolessness—the egolessness of other, that is, the emptiness of external phenomena and the egolessness of self, that is, the emptiness of a personal self.
http://www.rinpoche.com/glossary.htm
egolessness or selflessness of person (Skt. pudgalanairatmya) This doctrine asserts that when one examines or looks for the person, one finds that it is empty. The person does not possess a self (Skt. atman, Tib. bdag-nyid) as an independent or substantial self. This position is held by most Buddhist schools.
egolesseness or selflessness of phenomena (Skt. dharma-nairatmya) This doctrine aserts than not only is there selflessness of person, but when one examines out phenomena, one finds that this external phenomena is also empty, i. e. it does not have an independent or substantial nature. This position is not held by the hinayana schools, but is put forth by the mahayana schools, particularly the Chittamatra school.
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great article:
The Place of the Aryasatyas and Pratitya Sam Utpada in Hinayana and Mahayana
BY Dr. Nalinaksha Dutt, Ph. D. (Cal.), D. Litt. (Lond.)
Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute
vol 6:2, 1930.01, pp. 101-127
http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-ENG/dutt.htm
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Originally posted by sinweiy:
from the pali canon on sunyata of dharma:
btw: below is what i meant by "sunyata of self and dharma" in earlier post:
Sabbe Sankhara Anicca - Sabbe Sankhara Dukkha - Sabbe Dhamma Anatta Ti
"All conditioned things are impermanent. All conditioned things are suffering. All dhammas (all things conditioned and unconditioned) are anatta". These are the three basic factors of all existence.
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Stories Relating to Anicca, Dukkha and Anatta
While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verses (277), (278 ) and (279) of this book, with reference to three groups of five hundred bhikkhus each.
On Impermanence (Anicca)
Five hundred bhikkhus, after receiving their subject of meditation from the Buddha, went into the forest to practise meditation, but they made little progress. So, they returned to the Buddha to ask for another subject of meditation which would suit them better. On reflection, the Buddha found that those bhikkhus had, during the time of Kassapa Buddha, meditated on impermanence. So, he said, "Bhikkhus, all conditioned phenomena are subject to change and decay and are therefore impermanent."
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 277: "All conditioned phenomena are impermanent"; when one sees this with Insight-wisdom, one becomes weary of dukkha (i.e., the khandhas). This is the Path to Purity.
At the end of the discourse those five hundred bhikkhus attained arahatship.
On Dukkha
The story is the same as the story on Anicca. Here, the Buddha on reflection found that another group of five hundred bhikkhus had meditated on dukkha. So, he said, "Bhikkhus, all khandha aggregates are oppressive and unsatisfactory; thus all khandhas are dukkha."
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 278: "All conditioned phenomena are dukkha"; when one sees this with Insight-wisdom, one becomes weary of dukkha (i.e., the khandhas). This is the Path to Purity.
At the end of the discourse those five hundred bhikkhus attained arahatship.
On Insubstantiality or Non-Self (Anatta)
The story is the same as the stories on Anicca and Dukkha. Here, the Buddha on reflection found that still another group of five hundred bhikkhus had meditated on insubstantiality or non-self (anatta). So, he said, "Bhikkhus, all khandha aggregates are insubstantial; they are not subject to one's control."
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 279: "All phenomena (dhammas) are without Self"; when one sees this with Insight-wisdom, one becomes weary of dukkha (i.e., the khandhas). This is the Path to Purity.
At the end of the discourse all those five hundred bhikkhus attained arahatship.http://www.tipitaka.net/pali/dhp/verseload.php?verse=277
eventually it's this "All phenomena (dhammas) are without Self" that mahayana emphasis. by realising "All phenomena (dhammas) are without Self" through deep wisdom, they can also reach a state of Samadhi. one who realise pudgalanairatmya might not realise dharma-nairatmya, while one who realise dharma-nairatmya, realise pudgalanairatmya as well.
imho,
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yes filial piety is the foundation of our cultivation.
there is emptiness in everything & yet everything is there flowing. when a person practice no self & non attachment, he/she does not forsake the truth & the sentient beings around also. it is being & becoming with them that emptiness is understood.
well even the buddha, on behalf of his mother, spoke of ksitigarbha sutra in trayastrimsa heaven which is also called the filial piety sutra.