I got the impression that memories from past lives could be seen. One lama described it this way. It's hard to remember how you felt last week and exactly what you did let alone ten years ago. Can you remember being 7, 5 or even your birth? He reckons that through practice your memories of your current life increase further and eventually your past lives.
I imagine they see it this way. In order for you to follow their way of life you would have to have pretty good karma. You would of probaly of been a buddhist monk of some sort in your past life. One lama describes the number of life times taken to reach enlightenment in each variation of buddhism. 7 life times for theravada, 3 for mayhayana, a whole life with zen (don't remember exactly the values he used) and finally with tibetan dozgen buddhism it can take from 3 to 10 years. I imagine that they feel they can see past lives because obviously they think they are slightly better off karmically then everyone else.
I'm currently reading the 7 worlds of chan from that buddhist website you guys said to look at. The guy doesn't state where he got his information from but it is all quite detailed and interesting. I had no idea how corrupted buddhism had become. I suppose it is only corrupted in some folks eyes (the author). Thankfully the central teaching of the buddha (noble truths) holds everything together.
Anyway. If you have read the essay could you answer me a question? The temples in china were used as whore houses, had slaves and seemed to be filled with some of the least enlightened folk ever, from the way the author describes it. This was after the advent of chan in china too! The more corrupt temples were described as being in the north where people were generally more pollitcally and materially inclined. The shaolin temple, was this temple immune to all this? Did the shaolin temple as become a den of slaves and whores that horded wealth for tax avation?
I get the impression that the author might be slightly biased. Although he gives a good and detailed account with blood and guts n all, he seems to portray certain buddhist practice in a bad light. He seems dead against tantric buddhism and all for Daoism. I havn't read a lot about zen history yet, is daoism generally accepted as being a big part of zen?
It seems like whenever i read about buddhist history, the shaolin temple is never a big part of the picture. Do you think the nationlistic propaganda during the qing dynasty blew the temple all out of proportion (including it's accomplisments and teachings)? One further question, do you think with all this corruption and twisting of buddhist teachings that shaolin may of gone as far off track as the whore houses and tax avation temples?
Gone a bit off topic, hope you don't mind.
I imagine they see it this way. In order for you to follow their way of life you would have to have pretty good karma. You would of probaly of been a buddhist monk of some sort in your past life. One lama describes the number of life times taken to reach enlightenment in each variation of buddhism. 7 life times for theravada, 3 for mayhayana, a whole life with zen (don't remember exactly the values he used) and finally with tibetan dozgen buddhism it can take from 3 to 10 years. I imagine that they feel they can see past lives because obviously they think they are slightly better off karmically then everyone else.
I'm currently reading the 7 worlds of chan from that buddhist website you guys said to look at. The guy doesn't state where he got his information from but it is all quite detailed and interesting. I had no idea how corrupted buddhism had become. I suppose it is only corrupted in some folks eyes (the author). Thankfully the central teaching of the buddha (noble truths) holds everything together.
Anyway. If you have read the essay could you answer me a question? The temples in china were used as whore houses, had slaves and seemed to be filled with some of the least enlightened folk ever, from the way the author describes it. This was after the advent of chan in china too! The more corrupt temples were described as being in the north where people were generally more pollitcally and materially inclined. The shaolin temple, was this temple immune to all this? Did the shaolin temple as become a den of slaves and whores that horded wealth for tax avation?
I get the impression that the author might be slightly biased. Although he gives a good and detailed account with blood and guts n all, he seems to portray certain buddhist practice in a bad light. He seems dead against tantric buddhism and all for Daoism. I havn't read a lot about zen history yet, is daoism generally accepted as being a big part of zen?
It seems like whenever i read about buddhist history, the shaolin temple is never a big part of the picture. Do you think the nationlistic propaganda during the qing dynasty blew the temple all out of proportion (including it's accomplisments and teachings)? One further question, do you think with all this corruption and twisting of buddhist teachings that shaolin may of gone as far off track as the whore houses and tax avation temples?
Gone a bit off topic, hope you don't mind.
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