DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - Does Buddhism need different traditions, schools and sects?

**gimffnfabaykal** · 07-22-2010, 11:35 PM

Just because a teaching came first does not mean it is the best. Even traditions which don't need to change much should not be afraid of change. Everything changes, whether it's intended by its originators to do so or not, but it's the traditions which are comfortable with change that survive and remain relevant.

I disagree with a lot of the sects out there, and I do think that they've tacked on a lot of stuff to Buddha's teachings that doesn't actually need to be in there. However, a tradition doesn't need to be perfect by my standards and according to my needs, because I am not everyone. Yeah, there's a lot of superstitious stuff that's gotten mixed in, but it's hard for me to look at a tradition like Tibetan Buddhism (with which I strongly disagree on several points) and say, "Man, I wish you weren't out there, you heretics, you. Why can't you be real Buddhists?"

The urge to declare some people "real" Buddhists and some people less so seems to me far more sectarian than merely having different ways of doing things.

07-22-2010, 11:35 PM	#4
gimffnfabaykal Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 425 Senior Member	Just because a teaching came first does not mean it is the best. Even traditions which don't need to change much should not be afraid of change. Everything changes, whether it's intended by its originators to do so or not, but it's the traditions which are comfortable with change that survive and remain relevant. I disagree with a lot of the sects out there, and I do think that they've tacked on a lot of stuff to Buddha's teachings that doesn't actually need to be in there. However, a tradition doesn't need to be perfect by my standards and according to my needs, because I am not everyone. Yeah, there's a lot of superstitious stuff that's gotten mixed in, but it's hard for me to look at a tradition like Tibetan Buddhism (with which I strongly disagree on several points) and say, "Man, I wish you weren't out there, you heretics, you. Why can't you be real Buddhists?" The urge to declare some people "real" Buddhists and some people less so seems to me far more sectarian than merely having different ways of doing things.
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