My e-mail reply to JP on Nov. 13

>Okay, we can leave it at that then. If I somehow bump

>into an ancient text that the buddha did mention about

>the existance or the permanence of the mind, then maybe

>I can refer it to you.  But until then, maybe we can

>leave it at this state at the moment, since words coming

>from ancient text are the most credible to you, more than

>my attempted logical reasoning.



Correction: I did not say ancient text. I said what the

Buddha said, because I consider him the authority of the

Buddha Dharma.





>Following ur new topic. I really don't know about northern

>and southern chinese buddhist sutras.  I know the name

>of some chinese sutras but I don't know which falls into

>what category.



Not sutras; lineage, schools.



Northern lineage: Buddhist schools in Tibetan, Chinese,

Japanese, Korean, etc.; schools that refer to themselves

as belonging to the Mahayana or the “greater vehicle.”

Southern lineage: Buddhists schools in Thailand, Burma,

Laos, etc.; primarily following Theravada Buddhism; or

what the Mahayana schools like to refer to as the

“Hinayana” or “lesser vehicle” schools.





>But I do know that if you want ancient buddhist schools,

>then I think the oldest and earliest schools that

>branched out after the Buddha taught were maybe the

>four indian schools of: 1.) Abhidharma 2.) Sautantrika

>(sutrist school) 3.) cittamatra (mind-only school)

>3.) madhyamika (middle way school - which is further

>divided into the madhyamika svatantrika and madhyamika

>prasangika)....I think u know these...then are u telling

>me that you are only interested in these older schools?

>or did u mean...the older schools in chinese buddhism?



Correction: Not older schools; ancient Buddhism.



By “ancient Buddhism,” I was referring to the first

school, where the practitioners of the Buddha Dharma

belonged - when the Tathagata was still alive. Ancient

Buddhism may also include the Sangha school that existed

shortly after Gotama the Buddha died.





>On another topic....do us as a buddhist want to reach

>buddhahood ASAP?



I wouldn’t know what every Buddhist is thinking.

Theoretically, a Buddhist aspires to be a Buddha; however,

this may not be true with every practitioner. In my case,

for instance, I do not aspire to become a Buddha. For

many years, my vow has always been “to become an

enlightened person, so I can help others become

enlightened.”



I want to be enlightened, so I can be competent enough to

help other practitioners “graduate” sooner; sooner as

meaning in the present lifetime, or at least, for them to

know the right path leading to enlightenment even if

they are unable to practice in their present lifetime.

I am not trying to be a martyr in thinking this way. I

just don’t want other sincere practitioners to be like

me before or to waddle forever in mud in search of the

magga (Way).



Sometimes, certain “funny” feelings or thoughts cross my

mind when I am contemplating. For instance, I wonder if

I really want to stop rebirth – if I could, as an arhat,

for instance – and stop becoming a human again. I check

myself and find no serious dilemma, but I can detect

someone small within me wanting to be human again. I tell

myself, good thing I don’t want to stop rebirth, because

my vow requires me to keep coming back. My only regret,

as mentioned in my previous e-mail, is I have to begin

learning from scratch every time I start a new life as

a human (if I get a ticket to the human realm next time).



In connection with the “graduation” topic… This is why

I told my friend William that I do not agree with the

so-called “authorities” preaching the Buddha Dharma

unless they are already “enlightened beings.” Of course,

I wouldn’t be surprised if most of them would, in their

own way, claim to be “enlightened” or “authorized by

[fill in the blank]” when challenged. Before, I wouldn’t

know how to distinguish them from charlatans or wishful

thinkers, now I have gauges: the basic principles of the

Buddha Dharma and the doctrine/law of dependent

origination.





>what's ur plan of action to achieve it? just curious...

>in another words...u said that your understanding of

>emptiness and impermanence was the basis of ur

>practice.... so how do u practice with it........?



Understanding emptiness and impermanence is the basis of

my practice?  Uh…



Let me put it this way. This is how I understand it. The

right way is to comprehend/perceive the doctrine/law of

dependent origination and to apply it with continuing

mindfulness.



In this sense, for my practice, there are two things I

have to achieve: cultivation through knowledge and

cultivation through actual practice. I feel I’ve never

had any problem with the former. Information always seems

to pop up whenever I need it, especially when it is

relevant to spirituality. I guess I have this stronger

“synchronicity” with information? Perhaps, I am only

fooling myself, because the mind sees what the person

believes. Anyway, thanks to the volume of information

available to me, I feel my intellectual cultivation of

the Dharma has always “improved” in time (by stages of

exposure, as I look back at my past). Improving in the

sense that if I learned A before and I learn B now, B

can help me better comprehend/perceive A. When I get

to C, C helps me better comprehend/perceive B; but by

then, I realize I can already explain A in my own words.



My problem is with actual practice or the application of

the relevant knowledge. People have different opinions

about the application. William insisted on the importance

of virtue or “teh” (in Chinese); lots of Buddhists prefer

the “kong teh” (in Chinese) in relation to their actual

practice. I didn’t have any better ideas, but I do now.

To me, it’s about having continuing mindfulness. I am

sure that, if William were asleep now, he would be

turning in his bed. If he were awake and were to hear

this, he would just shake his head and think that I am

back to the old loop. Well, I don’t care, because I have

never felt this sure of the magga; never, as measured

by in-all-my-life.



Sad to say, I am still struggling with the part on actual

practice. Sometimes, I am beginning to feel that,

although I seem to have full access to certain resources,

my role or mission in this life may not concern becoming

an enlightened being… More like a librarian or scholar

whose primary job is to provide information on the Dharma

or magga.



Thinking in this line, I’ll appreciate it if the Buddha

tells me or left word to inform me that I am still part

of a Greater Campaign. Hah! But that’s being imaginative;

or even experiencing self-delusion, which is typical of

victims of cult culture.  8^b