From: Samantha Atkins (samantha@objectent.com)
Date: Sat Jul 20 2002 - 17:09:41 MDT
William wrote:
> To Dickey and potential extroBuddhists:
>
>>From a university course I had in "Zen Buddhist Poetry", I learned that
> there are 3 major schools of Buddhism and 3 main meditation traditions.
>
> Vajrayana - Tibetan Buddhism - Dalai Lama is the head of this one -
> Mahamudra is the meditation tradition. Vajra is
> Sanskrit for "lightening bolt". Tantra comes from
> Vajrayana and is very yogic, much Hinduism influence.
> Tibet is adjacent to India, the birthplace of both
> Hinduism and Buddhism. A lama is a monk in the
> Tibetan tradition.
Depends on what you mean by "monk". Traditionally, Tibetan
lamas can be householders (non-celibate). I know a few such lamas.
>
> Mahayana - This is a blend of Buddhism and Taoism. Zen is called
> Chan in Chinese. (Zen is a Japanese word for Chan.)
> Here the ultimate goal is the Bodhisattva.
> Literally translates as "Greater Vehicle".
It is my understanding that the "goal" of zen is enlightenment,
satori. It is even a bit funny to speak of "goal" in Zen. To
do so makes enlightenment into another would-be acquisition and
misses the point.
- samantha
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