Quote:
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Originally Posted by revolver
People are certainly attached to their traditions, its one cause of a lot of fighting in the world, sadly.
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What Jyotir said (me being lazy
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More seriously, agreed with Jyotir's comments. Therefore, not discounting there are those that are attached to the outer shell and form of the religion/tradition - but that there is an inner, distinguishable difference as well i.e. not all discussion of traditions is due to attachment thereof. Again, to use a layman's example, if a bike has utility and got us to Paris, I see no reason to disparage the bike. If someone wants to say forget about or abandon bikes! - well I say go for it, but why get in the way of so many before us who still want to arrive in Paris too. i.e. Even if we arrive, we want to see others come too.
In Buddhism, the Buddha himself said his teachings are akin to a raft (Diamond Sutra) - it is is used to cross the river. Certainly Buddha did not teach attachment to a tradition or religion - because the objective and ideal is to release yourself from all bounds and ties to suffering. Utilizing the tradition/raft one does not become entangled in it as a believer but as an adherent. In doing so, ironically, how can one not have great respect and appreciation for the tradition (the bike) that has thousands of years of wisdom embedded, in order to guide people to the very real destination of Nibbana and the release of suffering on Earth.
Two stories:
The morning after Philip Kapleau and Professor Phillips arrived at Ryutakuji Monastery they were given a tour of the place by Abbot Soen Nakagawa. Both Americans had been heavily influenced by tales of ancient Chinese masters who’d destroyed sacred texts, and even images of the Buddha, in order to free themselves from attachment to anything. They were thus surprised and disturbed to find themselves being led into a ceremonial hall, where the Roshi invited them to pay respects to a statue of the temple’s founder, Hakuin Zenji, by bowing and offering incense.
On seeing Nakagawa bow before the image, Phillips couldn’t contain himself, and burst out: “The old Chinese masters burned or spit on Buddha statues! Why do you bow down before them?”
“If you want to spit, you spit,” replied the Roshi. “I prefer to bow.”
One Bird One Stone: 108 American Zen Stories by Sean Murphy
In this exclusive interview with the Buddhist Channel, Ajahn Sumedho – the foremost western disciple of the late Ajahn Chah – talks about how gratitude and respect for tradition have preserved and sustained his training as a monk. And in the process, he explains how these values have preserved the Thai forest tradition, the Buddha’s pristine Dhamma and its spread throughout the world.
The Buddhist word in Pali for gratitude is Kataññuta. Understanding it deeply means not just repaying debt but to give with joy, not thinking of “I”, myself. And it is on this basis that I have been operating ever since." - Ajahn Sumedho
https://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?t=3316
This is just my perspective anyway, and not disagreeing that there are some who (either by design of the tradition or their own inner inclination) are still attached only to form - but in inferring - as I believe some posters here did - that this is what is at play in this non-duality forum is misplaced, in my opinion.
BT