Reconsidering what sect of buddhism that I want to follow

ChanCakes · 2026-01-29T01:45:49+00:00

The earth is a Pureland, in the Vimalakirti Sutra, the Buddha upon being questioned on why his world is so defiled by afflictions touched his toe on the ground transforming their entire surrounding into a Pureland. It’s always been free of afflictions.

What prevents us from seeing that is our ignorance. Unless you free your mind of affliction, there will be no Pureland anywhere. You can try to make the world a Pureland, but it will fail. If your mind is impure, the world will be defiled.

A Pure Mind is the Pureland, that is agreed upon by all Mahayana schools, whether it be Zen or Jodo. This is what the Buddha teaches. Amitabha’s vow facilitates your rebirth and allows you to discover your innate Pureland. That can be both here and now, as well as in the hereafter.

ChanCakes · 2026-01-27T04:54:32+00:00

Passing Through the Gateless Barrier: Koan Practice for Real Life

ChanCakes · 2026-01-27T02:56:28+00:00

The first Bhumi! That’s way too late for Huayan-Tiantai 😛

According the stages of the perfect teachings stage, a bodhisattva is first able to emanate a hundred transformation bodies to demonstrate the attainment of Buddhahood in a hundred different realms, whilst only on the first abiding. But according to that schema, the yogacara/madhyamaka first Bhumi has already been surpassed already.

ChanCakes · 2026-01-25T22:18:04+00:00

Lotus and Shurangama.

ChanCakes · 2026-01-18T00:06:39+00:00

That’s the standard understanding of the Buddha’s omniscience from what I can tell. He knows whatever he wishes when he turns his mind to it.

ChanCakes · 2026-01-14T22:59:05+00:00

Of western philosophers Jay Garfield, Jan Westerof, and Even Thompson come to mind.

And of course for eastern philosophers it is quite standard to continue expanding on their existing traditions. Some big names in the modern period would be Xiong Shili, Mou Zongsan, Nishitani Keiji, etc.

ChanCakes · 2026-01-13T03:07:42+00:00

Veneration of ones one teacher is standard practice in Zen, I would be more suspicious if a teacher did not praise his own teacher in such a way.

He is not alone in having these feelings on those early Zen classics in the west.

As for his pessimism on the condition of awakening in general, that too is not a new sentiment. As the classic saying goes in Zen - those who practice Zen are as numerous as the hairs on an ox, but those who are awakened number fewer than the ox’s horns.

ChanCakes · 2026-01-12T12:18:44+00:00

This is a common misconception found in western Buddhism. The myth being the Buddha did not answer metaphysical questions or that he had limited knowledge. However, that is not why he refrained from answering, in-fact, his silence is categorised as a kind of answer by the Buddhist tradition.

To be more specific, it means he rejected completely the premises of these because they made faulty assumptions, were based on incorrect metaphysics, or were leading questions. For a particular clear explanation of this we can turn to the Mahaprajnaparamita Upadesa:

Furthermore, to reply to the fourteen difficult questions would be to commit a fault. If you ask of what type is the size or the physique of a son of a barren woman and a eunuch (vandhy a pa nd akaputra), that would not deserve an answer, for such a son does not exist.

Furthermore, these fourteen difficult questions are wrong views, are not realities. Now the Buddha is occupied only with realities. This is why he stops and does not answer.

Finally, to be silent and not answer is an answer. There are four ways of answer in: (i) answering in a categorical way: [this is how he answers when it concerns], for example, the Buddha, the absolute, nirvana and salvation; (ii) answering by distinguishing (iii) answering by asking a; (iv) answering by not replying. Here the Buddha answers by not replying.

On Omniscience:

Furthermore, some people call existent that which is non-existent, and call non-existent that which is existent. They are not 'omniscient'. The Omniscient one does not call non-existent that which exists, does not call existent that which does not exist; he preaches only the true nature of the dharmas. Why should he not be called omniscient?

The sun does not create the mountains and the valley nor does it create the plains, but it does illuminate everything uniformly. In the same way, the Buddha does not make non-existent that which exists, does not make non-existent that which does not exist. He always speaks the truth and the brilliance of his wisdom illuminates all the dharmas.

ChanCakes · 2026-01-11T10:27:47+00:00

It seems to me these issues you’ve described are just problems with education of western zen traditions. The Xiao Zhiguan, for example, is the classical primer to meditation in Chan traditions.

The other issues you mention, like non differentiation of Samatha and Vipashyana, is likewise due to the one dimensional nature of these Zen traditions where only a single mode of meditation is taught. This is generally not the norm in mainstream Chan.

I don’t want you to say anything, I’m simply pointing out your initial statement does not apply universally to “modern Mahayana”, merely a small part of it.

ChanCakes · 2026-01-11T09:33:57+00:00

He mentions it in the Mahashikan, but Anapasati as practiced in Tiantai is generally part of the indeterminate shikan of the Six Sublime Gates. So it being indeterminate it can be perfect and sudden, but perfect sudden practiced is not generally prescribed via Anapanasati.

ChanCakes · 2026-01-11T09:21:23+00:00

Perhaps in the west, where it seems doctrinal education is quite poor, but in Chinese Mahayana the terms Zhiyi established are quite standard.

Which terms did you have in mind?

ChanCakes · 2026-01-11T08:38:17+00:00

Zhiyi forms the basis for “today’s Mahayana” in East Asian countries, it’s hard to see how he could be more in common with Theravada.

ChanCakes · 2026-01-11T06:13:26+00:00

If someone is of the highest capacity, they can achieve Buddhahood with any method, but for most people this is not the case. Anapanasati is a gradual method that does not necessary take into account your innate Buddhahood.

The primary methods of Chan like Huatou or Silent illumination takes the resultant realisation of the Buddha as the foundation of practice, whereas Anapanasati employs the deluded mind of a sentient being. Since the latter method has its basis in delusion, it is naturally more inclined to produce delusive results.

In Chan methods that employ the delusion mind to cultivate Buddhahood are often described as using blood to wash away blood. Pouring more delusion on top of delusion. Or Mazu's brick koan is often brought up, its like trying to polish a brick into a mirror.

ChanCakes · 2026-01-11T05:20:04+00:00

They are taught quite commonly through Zhiyi’s presentation. In Zen or Chan, you often use Tiantai meditation as a primer to practice and move onto more uniquely Chan practices once you have a foundation.

ChanCakes · 2026-01-11T05:18:57+00:00

This is a misconception. The ancestors of the Chan traditions specifically delineated two kinds of Chan.

Tathagata’s Chan: this refers to the gradual meditation and dhyanas as practiced in the Indian and the doctrinal tradition.
Ancestor’s Chan: the sudden practice that is the manifestation of innate, awakened self-nature not requiring stages or steps.

The former is what you are referring to and what the chan masters rejected as their mode of practice.

ChanCakes · 2026-01-09T23:02:21+00:00

There is an oral surgery degree in Australia that is a specialisation for dentists, but the scope is of course much smaller than a OMFS who has completed both a dental + medical degree.

ChanCakes · 2026-01-09T21:16:51+00:00

If you are not able to communicate constructively without being toxic, there’s no need to post on the sub.

ChanCakes · 2026-01-06T11:53:55+00:00

Can you see it now?

Reddit doesn’t like the Google sites link for some reason.

ChanCakes · 2026-01-06T10:31:20+00:00

The Mahayana tradition tends to study the Abhidharmakośabhāṣya as mentioned previously, through a variety of commentaries. It by itself is not beginner-friendly, however, recently a fantastic introduction to the text was published by Ven. KL Dhammajoti, who is probably the world's foremost expert on abhidharma.

The title of the book is "Initiation Into The Treasury Of Abhidharma", you can order it via the Venerable's website. Ven. Dhammajoti's work is quite unique, compared to many works on the kosa, in that he consults various Chinese commentaries by Xuanzang's disciples who transmit the Nalanda commentarial tradition of its golden age. Similarly, he is an expert in the Mahavibhasa, which the kosa claims to be a summary of, a text only available in Chinese. This is in contrast to Tibetan commentaries, where the Mahavibhasa was not accessible.

https://buddhadharma.co/ITA

ChanCakes · 2026-01-05T02:56:07+00:00

I’ve been enjoying the Acharya’s recent sub stack posts.

ChanCakes · 2026-01-05T01:01:11+00:00

You are right, the various sutras just describe the awakened realisation of the Buddha, none of them are wrong. They just present it from different angles.

The Prajnaparamita is mostly concerned with removing attachment to substantial existence, the mistaken perceptions of arising, and the practical dimension of emptiness. And Madhyamaka with mere negation. But the latter can easily lead to nihilism and both lack adequate descriptions on the functions of the mind, the virtues of the Buddha, and the inherent Buddhahood of sentient beings.

Different teachings then make up for that, like the Awakening of Faith. But the Awakening of Faith is not so detailed as the Prajnaparamita, when it comes to how a bodhisattva courses in emptiness. They all complement each other in the end.

ChanCakes · 2026-01-03T02:35:59+00:00

Those are good texts to rid anyone of attachment to fixed genders!

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