Pure Land Buddhism - Legitimate?

[ccook70]

Hi,

Is the Pure Land path a legitimate one?
Why or Why Not?



Corey

[culaavuso]

You might find interesting answers by asking this question at the Pure Land forum on the sister site Dharma Wheel.

[ccook70]

Thanks Culaavuso.

What's your opinion, Culaavuso?
Is it legitimate?



Corey

[daverupa]

http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.ph ... 75962eab51

This thread in particular may help.

[Mkoll]

Hi,

Is the Pure Land path a legitimate one?
Why or Why Not?



Corey

Please define "legitimate" in this context.

[ccook70]

"Legitimate" Meaning is it the truth as taught originally by Siddhartha Gautama.

I ask this question, by the way, because I want to ordain at Wat Pah Nanachat, but I'm also considering practicing Pure Land as a layman.

Thanks!!!

[Mkoll]

"Legitimate" Meaning is it the truth as taught originally by Siddhartha Gautama.

I ask this question, by the way, because I want to ordain at Wat Pah Nanachat, but I'm also considering practicing Pure Land as a layman.

Thanks!!!

In that case, I don't believe so.

Why not practice Theravada or early/Sutta Buddhism as a layman?

EDIT: After giving it some thought and reading some posts on the sister site, I amend my statement. It's not legitimate from a Theravada orthodox point of view. It is legitimate from a Mahayana point of view.

I'll remain ambivalent about it, per the Canki sutta.

[culaavuso]

What's your opinion, Culaavuso?
Is it legitimate?

It's a deceptively simple sounding question about a complicated subject.

[ccook70]

Sorry if that question was naive.

Anyway, I've decided I'd like to become a Monk at Wat Pah Nanachat.

Does anyone have any helpful advice for me?

[Mkoll]

Slow down.

[ccook70]

Why slow down?

Are you teasing?

[ccook70]

People stop teasing me I'm serious.

[santa100]

I ask this question, by the way, because I want to ordain at Wat Pah Nanachat, but I'm also considering practicing Pure Land as a layman.

Well, depends on the type/style of person. An analogy, 2 men are both afflicted by a very serious illness. The first guy is the type of guy who wants to know the truth about his current condition up front and he has no problem facing the truth from the doctor no matter how terrible the bad news might be. The other guy is a bit reserved, tend to rely more on the doctor rather than his own, and really put his "faith" in the ability of his doctor. So, for the first guy, the doctor is able to tell him exactly how crappy the situation is right upfront, that not only he'll need to trust his doctor but also need to try very hard by his own effort to recover. For the second guy, the doctor might hold off on all the bad news, tells the guy to maintain good faith and trust his doctor, and gradually introduce the various regiments at the appropriate time to help him recover. So it's a matter of style and just be honest with yourself which one works best for you. Good luck..

[Mkoll]

Why slow down?

Are you teasing?

People stop teasing me I'm serious.

I apologize if I offended you. It was more tongue-in-cheek than malevolent teasing.

To put it in serious terms, my advice is: don't make life-changing decisions before giving them a lot of thought. There was only 18 minutes between your post wondering whether you should become a Theravada monk or a Pure Land layman and the post where you decided to become a Theravada monk. 18 minutes is not enough, hence my post.

[Sokehi]

Sorry if that question was naive.

Anyway, I've decided I'd like to become a Monk at Wat Pah Nanachat.

Does anyone have any helpful advice for me?

Both traditions are quite different. I can't though give an educated and reasonable answer about legitimacy. Answer it to yourself! The web is full of informations about different schools and traditions. Beside that if you want to ordain as monk in any theravadan monastery I'd like to kindly ask you: why? Pure Land Buddhist practices are very different as far as I know from the lifestyle of forest monastics in thai traditions. Legitimacy shouldn't really be the question here, but what pulls you towards monasticism if being a lay buddhist in a quite different tradition seems equally tempting to you?