[CedssypeEdids]

Dear Sangha,

Do you think it is possible to follow more than one Buddhist tradition?

I meet up with a local Sangha (now and then) in Thich Nhat Hanh's tradition, and while I find his techings lovely and poetic (I suppose appealing to the heart), I am also very interested in the Forest Sangha and Theravada teachings, which appeal more to the 'head', so to speak.

Although there is some crossover, I feel a 'pick and mix' approach is stopping me from deeper learning, and I'm almost just playing at being a Buddhist What do you think?

[EmxATW5m]

Just a personal opinion of somebody that has been into a tradition and changeed to another:

Do you think it is possible to follow more than one Buddhist tradition?

Possible yes; recommended not

I meet up with a local Sangha (now and then) in Thich Nhat Hanh's tradition, and while I find his teachings lovely and poetic (I suppose appealing to the heart), Yes, what distinguishes him is his poetry and deep sense of compassion and loving kindness... but it was not the kind of teacher/tradition/sangha that resonates me.

I am also very interested in the Forest Sangha and Theravada teachings, which appeal more to the 'head', so to speak. Yes, that is my feeling. They have, IMO, outstanding wonderful teachers and teachings. Some keep loyalty to the Buddha words (early teachings) making it a good help to understand what the Buddha taught.

Although there is some crossover, I feel a 'pick and mix' approach is stopping me from deeper learning, That same thing happend when I was attending zen dojo and their ceremonies and believes...They do not care too much the deep study of the words of Buddha.

I felt something was stopping me from deep knowledge about what the Buddha taught.


What do you think? From the opinion of someone that has stop "following" traditions at all, but for the case, just having the Thai Forest as a support, I consider to keep full and absolute commitment with just one tradition.

Kind wishes Jade,

[crumoursegemo]

Hi Jade R,

It might be possible for some people, but its not for me personally. I decided I needed to move on from Tibetan Buddhism and then did some investigating before eventually deciding to focus on the Theravada Forest Tradition . For me it only works learning about and practising offline with one tradition at a time.

I also find, in general, that relying on teachers who involk a fuzzy emotional response and a subtle need to always be dependent on them, isn't the direction I want to go in.

[ticskebasse]

If you are a monk, it would be difficult or even impractical to follow more than one traditions.

If you are a household life, it should be OK to study more than one traditions provided that you have time to do so.
However, for practicing, if you practice to follow more than one traditions at the same time,
you may confuse yourself. Moreoever, you do not know that good or bad results come from what part.
So, for practicing, it is recommended to select one tradition to follow.
If you spend time with it, and the result is not good, you may try another, (but one by one).
Mixing up should not be not good for practicing.

[Nundduedola]

Thank you for your kind replies, looks like the answer is a clear and straightforward no then (or at least not advisable).

Although very happy and appreciative of the advice, I would be interested to read anyone else's personal experience in changing traditions.

Thanks again

[ligeplodore]

Hi Jade,
The problem with belonging to just one school, to the exclusion of all others is the following. How do you reject that which speaks to the heart? I don't think anyone should accuse another of playing at being a Buddhist. There's more to a spiritual path than signing up to a set of beliefs. Try what works for you and don't get tied down so early on. Later, you may naturally gravitate towards certain teachings. I don't consider myself to 'belong' to any school. They are, after all, institutions which developed in their own lands. They carry the dharma but the dharma is not the exclusive property of any one of them.
Namaste
Kris

[CDCL7WKJ]

Dear Sangha,

Do you think it is possible to follow more than one Buddhist tradition?

I meet up with a local Sangha (now and then) in Thich Nhat Hanh's tradition, and while I find his techings lovely and poetic (I suppose appealing to the heart), I am also very interested in the Forest Sangha and Theravada teachings, which appeal more to the 'head', so to speak.

Although there is some crossover, I feel a 'pick and mix' approach is stopping me from deeper learning, and I'm almost just playing at being a Buddhist What do you think?

Imo, whatever tradition you follow, it is important to get an idea of the earliest, documented teachings, which can be found in the sutta pitaka according to many scholars. Plus, the Vinaya, which contains disciplinary guidelines.

A good number of pali suttas still contain, without any gimmicks, what you need to know in order to practice. Once you read and understand some of them, you will see for yourself that this is true.

2500+ years have gone since the Buddha's death. Undoubtedly, a lot of things would have got added on to his teachings. We need to be aware of this fact. These later developments are based on cultural elements of the countries and regions the tradition flourished and also the meditative realizations and personalities of the teachers who promoted them. So, some traditions give more prominence to, as you said, lovely poetic rituals, some to the mystics, beliefs, personal realizations etc. For example, within the theravdha tradition itself, there are some sects which give more prominence to certain literature content like the abhidhamma. This is probably how traditions branch out and evolve.

Personally, I like the Theravadhic Thai forest tradition since its teachings focus a lot on pali suttas and encourage you to practice and verify the dhamma. Since you have shown an interest, I encourage you to look into it more.

[jessyhalm]

Some good responses to this question.

First off, while I think there may be some slight differences in language between the different traditions I feel that they all essentially point to the same thing. But I think, especially for one that may not be able to differentiate quite so easily, that it can be like running around in a circle to take a little bit of this, and a little bit of that.

So perhaps one tradition my be better in this sense. To understand this, if we view the Tibetan tradition for example, we see so many methods and systems that are aiming towards the same thing. But they all have their own unique way to reach this point, and sometimes the language itself may become a little confusing, as if it were talking about something different.

But really, it is always good to come back to the point of the Buddha's teaching, that all of these schools, traditions and so-forth all come down to one essence. There are many, many different teachings and dharma systems based on the many different capacities and conditions that we all have, and we all seem to find the one that is best suited to us. But I suggest no matter which tradition one chooses, not to get caught up in the differences but to see if for what it is- Dharma!

Terma

[BILBONDER]

JadeRabbit

It seems that most answers suggest that trying to practice more than one tradition at a time could lead to confusion. I found Buddhism in Thailand and have followed Theravada Buddhism for more than 30 years. I have kept to this tradition as it is simple for me. When I read about other branches of Buddhism I cannot understand why they seem to be so far removed from the Pali teachings which is what Theravada Buddhism does. I have found some other traditions hardly mention the Buddhas teachings, only quoting the leader of their sect. I have been interested in the Thai Forest Tradition and am a member of one of the monasteries which I hope to visit next year and live there for some time, particularly during the rainy season, which would possibly allow me to ordain for that period of time which happens in Thailand.

Go for whatever you want and best wishes whatever you do.

Peace

Gerry

[dushappeaps]

You don't have to follow more than one tradition, even if you're interested in say, the writings of another tradition's teacher.

For example, I practice with a white plum zen sangha here where I live. I also love to read the writings of certain tibetan buddhist teachers from the kagyu tradition such as Pema Chodron, Chogyam Trungpa and Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo. That doesn't mean I have to stress and incorporate a tibetan visualization practice into my zen practice. That would diffuse the inertia of the whole thing!

And tastes change. I was into Suzuki for a while. I even picked up Alan Watts on zen (even though he's unpopular and controversial among othodox buddhists).

Lately I've been of the opinion -- sort of like what Aloka mentioned. Don't rely on the teacher. The teacher is there to reveal your own inner teacher. You should have a relationship with a teacher that becomes so good as where the teacher is giving you the courage to trust your own experience and your own judgement. Then the teacher can start asking you "well, what do you feel like you should do?" It's all about a functional, not-a-dependancy relationship IMO.

[NikitahDE]

srivijaya...The problem with belonging to just one school, to the exclusion of all others is the following. How do you reject that which speaks to the heart? This really spoke to me after reading JadeRabbit's opening of this thread. Whilst we kind of 'know' that we need to follow one set of teachings, it can be quite difficult to not be influenced by others.

By nature, I am naturally inquisitive and really question all that is presented to me. I never take anything at face value, but seek to find how something resonates with me and why. This is the essence of the Buddha's teachings, irrespective of which 'tradition' they come from.

There's more to a spiritual path than signing up to a set of beliefs. This is so very true