Why did you choose Theravada?

Exploring Theravāda's connections to other paths - what can we learn from other traditions, religions and philosophies?
Post Reply
alan
Posts: 3111
Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:14 am
Location: Miramar beach, Fl.

Why did you choose Theravada?

Post by alan »

What I'd really like to know is, are there specific Mahayana concepts that anyone here rejected? If so, why?
Web searches have resulted in "there isn't really a big difference" articles, but surely there must be.
Thanks!
User avatar
Cittasanto
Posts: 6646
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 10:31 pm
Location: Ellan Vannin
Contact:

Re: Why did you choose Theravada?

Post by Cittasanto »

alan wrote:What I'd really like to know is, are there specific Mahayana concepts that anyone here rejected? If so, why?
Web searches have resulted in "there isn't really a big difference" articles, but surely there must be.
Thanks!
because I prefer Theravada! the mahayana texts didn't ring true for me, simple.
Blog, Suttas, Aj Chah, Facebook.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
John Stuart Mill
alan
Posts: 3111
Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:14 am
Location: Miramar beach, Fl.

Re: Why did you choose Theravada?

Post by alan »

Yes Manapa I feel the same way. But I'm trying to clarify my thoughts on this .
I could put out specific things that don't ring true to me but thought I'd solicit views of the wise elders of Dhammawheel.
Mawkish1983
Posts: 1285
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 9:46 am
Location: Essex, UK

Re: Why did you choose Theravada?

Post by Mawkish1983 »

Well I'm certainly no wise elder... but I'll answer anyway.

I didn't specifically look for a tradition based on things I rejected, rather when I read about Theravada Buddhism it all seemed to sit very well with me.
User avatar
Cittasanto
Posts: 6646
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 10:31 pm
Location: Ellan Vannin
Contact:

Re: Why did you choose Theravada?

Post by Cittasanto »

alan wrote:Yes Manapa I feel the same way. But I'm trying to clarify my thoughts on this .
I could put out specific things that don't ring true to me but thought I'd solicit views of the wise elders of Dhammawheel.
:popcorn:
Blog, Suttas, Aj Chah, Facebook.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
John Stuart Mill
seanpdx
Posts: 281
Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2009 12:56 am

Re: Why did you choose Theravada?

Post by seanpdx »

There's a huge difference. I think most people, in all likelihood, choose theravada because it speaks to them, they can identify with it, which is something that doesn't happen with the mahayana or vajrayana schools. I've slowly been moving backwards through time. My first exposure to buddhism was of a very generic sort, and being in the west, that was mostly infused with zen and tibetan. Then when I started studying and practicing, I aligned with theravada. These days I'm not even that comfortable describing myself as theravadin.
User avatar
Tex
Posts: 703
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2009 9:46 pm
Location: Austin, TX, USA

Re: Why did you choose Theravada?

Post by Tex »

The suttas in the Pali Canon are as close as we currently have to what the historical Buddha actually spoke, so I chose to pursue the tradition that practices in accordance with those suttas and not the much later sutras. I don't know if the sutras are apocryphal or not and I don't care to get into that debate -- I have confidence that the suttas are as authentic as possible 2500 years later.
"To reach beyond fear and danger we must sharpen and widen our vision. We have to pierce through the deceptions that lull us into a comfortable complacency, to take a straight look down into the depths of our existence, without turning away uneasily or running after distractions." -- Bhikkhu Bodhi

"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man." -- Heraclitus
Laurens
Posts: 765
Joined: Sun Nov 22, 2009 5:56 pm

Re: Why did you choose Theravada?

Post by Laurens »

I chose Thervada because its less religious than Mahayana, thats not a cricism - just that for me personally I can do without that stuff.

There is alot less cringe worthy stuff for me in Theravada (I'm speaking for myself here). To me Theravada is Buddhism without too much baggage, it seems to make sense and agree with my reasoning so thats why I chose it.
"If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?"

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
alan
Posts: 3111
Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:14 am
Location: Miramar beach, Fl.

Re: Why did you choose Theravada?

Post by alan »

Are there any specific Mahayana concepts you all have rejected? If so, why?

I'm just going to assume everyone goes through the process of distilling the different versions and has a valid reason for making the choice.
(Note: Reason. Not emotional response or feeling).
Thanks for helping!
User avatar
mikenz66
Posts: 19941
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 7:37 am
Location: Aotearoa, New Zealand

Re: Why did you choose Theravada?

Post by mikenz66 »

Personal contact.

Wandered into my local Wat, met calm and happy monks and lay people so I stuck around. I didn't have any real understanding about the different types of Buddhism until much later, so there was absolutely no "intellectual decision" or comparing of options in my case.

Metta
Mike
Laurens
Posts: 765
Joined: Sun Nov 22, 2009 5:56 pm

Re: Why did you choose Theravada?

Post by Laurens »

alan wrote:Are there any specific Mahayana concepts you all have rejected? If so, why?
Well for me it was the whole Bodhisattva thing, don't get me wrong it is a humble and compassionate vow to make, but personally I couldn't but my faith into this, I don't even know for sure whether or not there is such a thing as rebirth, so I couldn't really put much faith into this concept.

Also I am slightly put off by all the invocation of deities and Bodhisattvas etc, that just seemed too much like religious hocus pocus and it doesn't sit easily with me.

I have a great respect for the Mahayana tradition, its just not for me. Horses for courses and all that.
"If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?"

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
alan
Posts: 3111
Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:14 am
Location: Miramar beach, Fl.

Re: Why did you choose Theravada?

Post by alan »

Thanks Mike. I wish it could be that easy for me.
I don't have a local Wat, and even if I did the rational part of my brain would still ask:

Why choose this instead of that?
User avatar
Tex
Posts: 703
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2009 9:46 pm
Location: Austin, TX, USA

Re: Why did you choose Theravada?

Post by Tex »

alan wrote:Are there any specific Mahayana concepts you all have rejected? If so, why?
I'm not crazy about the idea of empowerments and some of the other esoteric practices of Vajrayana, Shingon, etc. The Buddha in the Pali Canon seems pretty intent on making the whole of the Dhamma available to all who seek it. I probably don't understand these esoteric practices, but they seem inconsistent with what the Buddha taught, so I have no real desire to pursue them.
"To reach beyond fear and danger we must sharpen and widen our vision. We have to pierce through the deceptions that lull us into a comfortable complacency, to take a straight look down into the depths of our existence, without turning away uneasily or running after distractions." -- Bhikkhu Bodhi

"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man." -- Heraclitus
User avatar
pink_trike
Posts: 1130
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 7:29 am
Contact:

Re: Why did you choose Theravada?

Post by pink_trike »

Tex wrote:
alan wrote:Are there any specific Mahayana concepts you all have rejected? If so, why?
I'm not crazy about the idea of empowerments and some of the other esoteric practices of Vajrayana, Shingon, etc.
They are effective skillful means.
Vision is Mind
Mind is Empty
Emptiness is Clear Light
Clear Light is Union
Union is Great Bliss

- Dawa Gyaltsen

---

Disclaimer: I'm a non-religious practitioner of Theravada, Mahayana/Vajrayana, and Tibetan Bon Dzogchen mind-training.
Reductor
Posts: 1382
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2009 6:52 am
Location: Alberta, Canada

Re: Why did you choose Theravada?

Post by Reductor »

I am far from any Buddhist center, so the large number of Suttas, article, and books on Theravada found online
swayed me toward Theravada. In addition to that was the emphasis Tibetan Buddhism placed on the
teacher-student relationship. Basically it seemed that I could not expect any benefits from Buddhism unless
I moved and took up with a teacher; to do less would be a waste of time (so I understood at the time).

Theravada hasn't got a bunch of visualization tech, or rituals, nor does it have demigods or deity worship(?) so
it appealed to my rebellious nature (having grown up in a pseudo-chrisitian family).

Those are the main reasons.
Post Reply