DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post

**Qualarrizab** · 09-12-2010, 11:46 PM

This is a topic we had before changing the software and I thought I'd re-introduce it again here.

Early Buddhism and the Heart Sutra

by Santikaro Bhikkhu

"The Buddha never used terms like 'Mahayana' and 'Theravada'. These developed much later out of the inevitable concocting of cultures, time, and polemics. Could it be that their usefulness is past, especially in the melting pot of America?

My primary spiritual reference is 'Early Buddhism', by which I mean the Buddha- Dhamma recorded in the Pali suttas, especially when sifted according to principles found within those very suttas.

I accept that I am a 'Theravada Buddhist' with a tinge of reluctance. This is because much of Theravada Buddhism seems more committed to the commentary system and its lynchpin the Visuddhimagga, complied a thousand years after the Buddha's Paranibbana.

I prefer the original stuff. Further I flatly reject the pejorative term 'Hinayana' when applied to a whole school of Buddhism. Following my teacher, [Buddhadasa Bhikkhu] I aspire to 'Buddhayana' and take the Pali suttas as the primary starting point for discovering it.

My affection for the Pali suttas is not at the expense of so-called 'Mahayana sutras'. In fact, I find Buddhayana there as well. Often, I discover vibrant echos of the Pali suttas in classic Mahayana texts such as Shantideva's 'Bodhicaryavatara' and Hui Neng's 'Platform Sutra'.

In many cases Mahayana sutras contain direct copies and paraphrases of Pali texts. To illustrate this and to highlight the convergence of core Buddhism or Buddhayana, I offer a detailed look at the Heart Sutra."

continued here (3 and a half pages total )

http://www.liberationpark.org/study/...arly%20Bsm.pdf

ANY COMMENTS ?

09-12-2010, 11:46 PM	#1
Qualarrizab Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 490 Senior Member	Early Buddhism and the Heart Sutra This is a topic we had before changing the software and I thought I'd re-introduce it again here. Early Buddhism and the Heart Sutra by Santikaro Bhikkhu "The Buddha never used terms like 'Mahayana' and 'Theravada'. These developed much later out of the inevitable concocting of cultures, time, and polemics. Could it be that their usefulness is past, especially in the melting pot of America? My primary spiritual reference is 'Early Buddhism', by which I mean the Buddha- Dhamma recorded in the Pali suttas, especially when sifted according to principles found within those very suttas. I accept that I am a 'Theravada Buddhist' with a tinge of reluctance. This is because much of Theravada Buddhism seems more committed to the commentary system and its lynchpin the Visuddhimagga, complied a thousand years after the Buddha's Paranibbana. I prefer the original stuff. Further I flatly reject the pejorative term 'Hinayana' when applied to a whole school of Buddhism. Following my teacher, [Buddhadasa Bhikkhu] I aspire to 'Buddhayana' and take the Pali suttas as the primary starting point for discovering it. My affection for the Pali suttas is not at the expense of so-called 'Mahayana sutras'. In fact, I find Buddhayana there as well. Often, I discover vibrant echos of the Pali suttas in classic Mahayana texts such as Shantideva's 'Bodhicaryavatara' and Hui Neng's 'Platform Sutra'. In many cases Mahayana sutras contain direct copies and paraphrases of Pali texts. To illustrate this and to highlight the convergence of core Buddhism or Buddhayana, I offer a detailed look at the Heart Sutra." continued here (3 and a half pages total ) http://www.liberationpark.org/study/...arly%20Bsm.pdf ANY COMMENTS ?
	Quote