Every Mahayana Buddhist sutra is fake?

(Natasha Yehenara) Did the Buddha actually say this? The mystery of the Mahayana sutras [that displaced authentic historical Buddha texts with Hindu syncretism and a Brahmin-subverted movement to push the Buddha out and bring back the Old Vedic Religion]

On the Myth of Mahayana (Alan Watts)

(Alan Watts) Buddhism Net of Jewels

Mind-Only Consciousness

(Alan Watts) Mahayana's Yogachara and Madhyamaka philosophies

All is mind, mind is all: Yogachara

(SEEKER TO SEEKER) How the mind creates reality | Buddhism

Nagarjuna advocates "Middle Way"

Yogachara (Sanskrit Yogācāra) is an influential tradition of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing the study of cognition, perception, and consciousness through the interior lens of meditation and philosophical reasoning (hetuvidyā) [1, 2].

Yogachara was one of the two most influential traditions in Mahayana Buddhism in India, along with Madhyamaka [3].

The compound Yogā-cāra literally means "practice of yoga" or "one whose practice is yoga." Hence, the name of the school is literally "the School of the Yogins" [4, 3].

Shanta Rakshita (Khenchen Bodisatva)

Yogācāra was also variously termed Vijñānavāda (the Consciousness Doctrine), Vijñaptivāda (the Ideas or Perceptions Doctrine), or Vijñaptimātratā-vāda (the "Mere Representation" Doctrine), which is also the name given to its major theory of mind that seeks to deconstruct how we perceive the world.

There are several interpretations of this main theory, which include various forms of idealism as well as phenomenology or representationalism.

Aside from this, Yogācāra also developed an elaborate analysis of consciousness (vijñāna) and mental phenomena (dharmas, "things"), as well as an extensive system of Buddhist spiritual practice, namely, yoga [1],

Tibetan thangka of Dolpopa

The movement has been traced to the first centuries of the common era and seems to have evolved as some yogis of the Sarvāstivāda and Sautrāntika traditions in North India adopted Mahayana Buddhism [5, 6].

The brothers Asaṅga and Vasubandhu (circa 4-5th century) are considered the classic philosophers and systematizers of this school, while it is also traditionally attributed by Buddhist believers to the figure of Maitreya-nātha [7].

Yogācāra was later imported to Tibet and East Asia by figures like Shantaraksita (8th century) and Xuanzang (7th century).

Today, Yogācāra ideas and texts continue to be influential subjects of study for Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism. More

Gender? Tara, the most powerful Goddess?

The lovely Tara enshrined in art

(Buddha's Wisdom) TARA: The most powerful Goddess in Buddhism — and why she refused to be reborn as a man

Tara (Sanskrit तारा, tārā, Standard Tibetan སྒྲོལ་མ, dölma), Ārya Tārā ("Noble Tara") is also known as Jetsün Dölma (Tibetan rje btsun sgrol ma, "Venerable Mother of Liberation"). She is an important female buddha in Vajrayana and Mahayana Buddhism.

• 

  The Elevation of Mary Magdalene

  Our reading of Mahayana Buddhism, of which Vajrayana is a sub-school, suggests that the MOST powerful Buddhist goddess is actually Kwan Yin (Guanyin, a female manifestation of Avalokiteśvara) Bodhisattva. She is queen or in any case certainly the most powerful, for she looks on and hears the cries of the world with utmost compassion, a kind of Virg Yin Mary (not Jewish or Essene Miriam so much as the ultimate goddess in Gnostic Christianity, Mary Magdalene).
• If Theravada Buddhism made much of personifying qualities through transcendent goddesses (devis), our vote for the Ultimate Goddess right alongside Kwan Yin (Guanyin) would certainly be the glorious Prajnaparamita of Java, Gnostic Sophia, the personification of the Perfection of Wisdom. And we wouldn't stop there. Maha Pajapati Gotami, Yasodhara (aka Bimba Devi, Rahulamata, Bhaddha Kaccana, Sundari Kaccana, etc.), Khema Theri, Uppalavanna Theri, and Queen of [Tusita] Heaven Maya would serve as the raw basis for building up goddesses, venerable enlightened Buddhist women in history.

Prajnaparamita Java (side detail)

• [Earlier traditions hold to the view, one of five niyamas, that while females are of course equally capable of arahantship, full enlightenment, as well as many other accomplishments, literal buddhas only arise as males. Why this would be, or why any of the niyamas are true in and of themselves, is not explained. 5. dhamma-niyāma "the constraint of dhammas (things, phenomena)," namely, such events as the quaking of the 10,000 world-systems at the conception of a bodhisatta conception in his mother's womb and again at his birth (partition from that womb). At the end of the discussion Sumaṅgalavilāsinī passage, the Commentary states that dhamma-niyāma explains the term dhammatā in the text of the Mahāpadāna Sutta (DN ii.12) (Cf. S 12.20 for a discussion of the use of the word dhamma-niyamatā in the Pali canon sutras.
• It should always be borne in mind that no individual is an actual sex but fluid because one can be reborn as any of the three genders -- male, female, pandaka. How many genders are there? The answer could easily be more than three because pandaka can be variously defined as pervert, eunuch (pansexual as the word is understood in the East not as we use it in the West), hermaphrodite, bi, gay, asexual, intersex, transgender, transsexual, crossdresser, etc.)
• The Dalai Lama, who is Tibetan Vajrayana joked about this in one of his PR movies, declaring something like: "Of course a woman can become a buddha...she just has to be reborn as a man first" then laughing. People popularly regard him as the "Pope of Vajrayana Buddhism," though he is not; he's not even the pope of Tibetan Buddhism because the non-Gelug schools do not regard him as the pontiff but rather a useful political leader, a kind of temporal king who made it to the world stage with more than a little help from the CIA. This topic of gender should be questioned, debated, and explored as it seems awfully unfair and denigrating to femalehood, but might it be the case, as a Hindu priest once told our college Comparative Religion class that the reason a being, a gandhabba seeking rebirth in a human body, is reborn as a female rather than a male at any given rebirth is due to the level of attachment, affection, and clinging present in that relinking moment. If that is the case, we have all been and will all be females, so placing femininity one down from masculinity is a bad strategy that will turn around and bite us. Likewise, all females reborn as humans, as rare and difficult as it is to ever secure a human rebirth, will also experience what it's like to be a male. And we say with no confusion, it's not all it's cracked up to be.]

Humans love to carve ideal attributes in stone.

She may appear as a female bodhisattva (a "being bent on full or supreme enlightenment," the two not being the same thing, one being an arhat, the other a buddha) in Mahayana Buddhism [1].

In Vajrayana Buddhism, Green Tara is a female buddha who is a consort of the Cosmic Buddha Amoghasiddhi.

Tārā is also known as a savioress who hears the cries of beings in saṃsāra (the interminable round of rebirth and suffering) and saves them from worldly and spiritual danger [2].

In Vajrayana, she is considered to be a buddha, and the Tārā Tantra describes her as "a mother who gives birth to the buddhas of the three times [past, present, and future]" who is also "beyond saṃsāra and nirvāṇa" [3].

• Earlier tradition distinguishes nirvana as being nothing like samsara, and since all we have ever known is the latter, anything else could be considered nirvana. Some do not like this definition as it seems to define nirvana, which many feel is ineffable, indescribable, and incomparable even though the historical Buddha Siddhartha Gautama did indeed define and describe it.

Tārā is one of the most important female deities in Vajrayana (Esoteric Buddhism) and is found in apocryphal sources like the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa and the Guhyasamāja Tantra [4].

Key Indic Vajrayana texts that focus on Tārā include the Tantra Which Is the Source for All the Functions of Tārā, Mother of All the Tathagatas (Sanskrit Sarva-tathāgata-mātṛtārā-viśva-karma-bhavanāma-tantra) and Tārā's Fundamental Ritual Text (Tārāmūlakalpa) [5, 3].

Both Green and White Tārā remain popular meditation deities or yidams in Tibetan Buddhism, and Tara is also revered in Newar Buddhism.

Tārā is considered to take on many forms or emanations, while Green Tara emanates 21 Tārās, each with different attributes—colors, implements, and activities such as pacifying (śānti), increasing (pauṣṭika), enthralling (vaśīkaraṇa), and wrathful (abhicāra) [2].

Green Tara (or "blue-green," Sanskrit Samayatara or śyāmatārā) remains the most important form of the deity in Tibetan Buddhism [6, 7].

A practice text entitled Praises to the 21 Taras is a well known text on Tara in Tibetan Buddhism within Tibet, recited by children and adults, and is the textual source for the 21 forms of Green Tārā.

The main Tārā mantra is the same for Buddhists and Hindus: oṃ tāre tuttāre ture svāhā. It is uttered by Tibetans and Buddhists who follow Tibetan culture as oṃ tāre tu tāre ture soha. The literal translation would be "Oṃ O Tārā, I pray O Tārā, O Swift One, So Be It!" More

• Ancient Buddhist Goddess Guanyin embraces nature’s gender spectrum (FāVS News)
• Three Goddesses of Divine Grace | brief introduction
• Buddha's Wisdom (video); edited by Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Wiki edit Tara (Buddhism)

Buddhism split: Mahayana emerged

(Buddha's Wisdom) Heretical new texts turn the historical Buddha Shakyamuni's Dharma (Doctrine) on its head, infusing it with the Old Vedic Religion of the Brahmins, Taoism, Hinduism, and later thought, sometimes directly opposing what Gautama Buddha taught about nirvana and samsara and many other things, including the Ten Perfections (reduced by Mahayana to six) and the 31 Planes of Existence (reduced to six)...

The Divine Play: Why was I born, Yogi?

(Silent Wisdom)

Patanjali, who created the Universe?

(Anand Universe Official)

Patanjali and the Yoga Sutras for union with the divine

 

"Yoga" is much more than poses and balance.

The Indian Sage Patanjali, author or compiler of the Yoga Sutras or "Aphorisms on Union" since they are not discourses (sutras) but rather terse sayings followed by brief explanations on the ultimate goal of Yoga ("Union").

All that we in the West call "yoga" are the poses, some breathwork (pranayama), and some chanting or repeating the names of the divine (japa).

But, in fact, the Eightfold Path of Yoga (Ashtanga, Raja, or Integral Yoga) combines a system of practices mirroring the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, which was radically popular at the time, two millennia ago when the ancient yogi rishi Patanjali compiled his text to set out the ancient Vedic approach to "union with the divine."

They are not the same path, and they do not lead to the same goal, but they often use the same general terms, such as moksha (Pali vimutti) to describe "liberation from samsara." For the Brahmin priests of olde, "liberation" or "emancipation" was rebirth in Brahma's heaven.

• Brahma means "supreme" and was the personal God of the Brahmin priests, The Supremo, even though some understood that there was a higher truth, an impersonal "Ultimate Reality" behind all the illusion of maya called Brahman, the godhead or godhood; this distinction is crucial but as the words are so similar, some may miss the distinction and fall into wrong views about what the Vedas taught and how the Brahmin caste priests interpreted the ancient "Knowledge Books" of ancient proto-India when it was Maha Bharat and a likely remnant of the more ancient Indus Valley Civilization.
• The Hindu concept of BRAHMAN being impersonal brings it very close to a Buddhist understanding of the universe, whereas the Buddha rejected the Vedas, the concept of Great Brahma as the creator of the universe, and most Brahminical ideas of the Old Vedic Religion which he revivified by explaining in novel ways lost to the Brahmin rishis and scholar priests who were unable to explain many tough passages and instead speculated and wrangled and had fallen into wrong views.

The Buddha made known the path to all destinations

The Buddha and Early Buddhism did not advocate any spiritual seeker to remain in samsara (the Cycle of Rebirth and Death), which is what "rebirth with Brahma" means.

• Buddhist cosmology

Moreover, the Buddha taught the way to rebirth in Brahma's retinue, the path to rebirth as a brahma (including Great Brahma, of which there is only one per each "world system" or cakkavala. This is possibly a reference to a "universe" in the multiverse, a solar system, or a galaxy like the Milky Way, of which there are countless all like bubbles).

Brahmins (now Hindus) believes this will then be their final permanent destination, the end of further rebirths in samsara, with no possibility falling away, other brahmas, devas, and Noble Ones in the Pure Abodes -- as well as rebirth on the human plane, 30 other Planes of Existence -- and best of all, ultimate bliss and peace: the END of all further rebirth (nirvana).

• Anand Universe Official; Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly

What if everything is conscious?

What if absolutely everything is CONSCIOUS?

(Spiritual Quest) The mystery of consciousness! Let's explore the enigma of why matter, seemingly unconscious, experiences awareness. Discover the "hard problem of consciousness," insights from philosophers like David Chalmers and Thomas Nagel, and groundbreaking theories from neuroscientists such as Anil Seth and Giulio Tononi. #Consciousness #Philosophy #Neuroscience #Meditation #Mindfulness #AI #Panpsychism

• 00:00:00 - The fundamental mystery of consciousness
• 00:01:48 - What is consciousness? (and why it’s hard to define)
• 00:03:38 - The problem of detecting consciousness
• 00:05:30 - The illusion of conscious control
• 00:07:26 - The future of consciousness science

Is consciousness everything?

All-seeing Great Brahma has multiple faces.

Pantheism says "God" is everywhere in everything. What if that actually refers to Consciousness, which seems to be everywhere in everything?

Asangoham made a video on the Brahma Sutras talking about Hinduism that touches on this point, everything originating from Brahma (the "Supremo") who out of boredom created Maya (the illusory world around us), who immediately wanted to play (lila) a game, a divine drama, a diversion.

First, create the universe then get lost in it, forgetting yourself, then play hide-and-seek to find yourself. It's an old New Age belief. It seems to be what Alan Watts believes.

If Everything is conscious then we can know everything by tapping into Source and connecting, merging, uniting with it. It's like tuning into a frequency, as a radio does.

If you’re feeling brave, sit and look — and I mean really look — at a plant on your windowsill as it bends toward the light.

Why are they growing, Son? - Looking for Sun!

It seems simple, but stare at it long enough and you may find yourself doubting everything you thought you knew about your own mind. Sooner or later you’ll ask yourself, "Why, exactly, is that plant stretching toward the sun?"

Sure, you can look it up and find out there’s a thing called phototropism, which involves cells in a plant elongating to chase the sun. But that’s not really much of an answer. The question is, Why does the plant do that?

Is its movement just a mechanistic response with no feeling [or reflexive awareness] behind it? Or does the plant want that delicious, warm light? To many kids, it’s obvious: The plant wants the light!

Yet as adults, at least in the West, we’re supposed to be embarrassed by that kind of language. Modern science warns us against anthropomorphizing [treating nonhuman things as if they're human] — and not just when it comes to plants.

Until a few decades ago, scientists also insisted on viewing animals as mechanistic bundles of instinct (even though any pet owner would find that absurd).

They’ve gradually changed their minds about mammals, birds, and certain brainy species like octopuses, while continuing to believe that species with simpler nervous systems (or no nervous system at all) are not intelligent. They’re not even conscious. What if absolutely everything is conscious? (msn.com)

• News/world: Enigmatic ancient architecture discovered cut into rocky landscape (ar-AA1qNq8y)
• What if absolutely EVERYTHING is CONSCIOUS?
• Spiritual Quest, Jan. 30, 2025; Beth Upton; Asangoham, YouTube via MSN.com, 9/19/24; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

[Buddhist] World Surf League Finals (8/25)

What is 'Buddhist' about the practice of surfing?

Get back on and ride the waves.

There are many ways in which surfing, which seems to have been "invented" in the Pacific -- in Peru and Polynesia, with important contributions from Buddhist Japan (which at that time included a cultural hold on what is now part of Hawaii in the Imperial USA), tracks with the best elements of Eastern philosophy.

That philosophy, distinct from Western philosophy we are all generally familiar with, is a syncretic blend of Buddhism, Zen, the Vedas, Hinduism, Taoism, Shinto, and indigenous shamanism. (British Californian Alan Watts explained it very well to Westerners).

• Mindfulness (fully absorbed in monotasking)
• Absorption (undistracted doing temporarily freed of discursive thinking)
• Letting go (non-clinging, as in "Let Go, Let God," with "God" understood to be Nature, the Universe, things just as they are at this moment, more Brahman than a brahma)
• Going with the flow rather than struggling against it (entering flow states familiar to poets, rappers, artists, and persons able to enter trance states at will)
• Skillful allowing and accepting rather than shoving, muscling, and efforting (radical acceptance as understood by Buddhist teacher and psychologist Tara Brach)
• Riding the wave (internally of emotions, externally tolerating and skillfully adapting to the "Eight Worldly Winds"):

Practicing at home in the Deep South, USA

Theravada Buddhist teacher Sharon Salzberg elaborates on the Taoist idea of “the ten thousand joys and the ten thousand sorrows.” Our lives are constantly changing, sometimes in the space of a minute. The Buddha taught that the “Eight Worldly Winds” are:

1. pleasure
2. and pain,
3. gain
4. and loss,
5. praise
6. and blame,
7. fame
8. and disrepute.

Taoism and the Tao Te Ching (Book of Changes)

They (and all things) are constantly arising and passing away, beyond our control. We suffer when we cling to pleasure, gain, praise, and fame or hold the expectation that they will always be present.

When instead we get pain, loss, blame, and disrepute, we feel that something is terribly wrong, or that we’ve done something wrong... More

• Well, what should we do when everything sucks? Surf.
• Whether that means ride the waves of life constantly coming at us like Eight Worldly Winds or vicissitudes or actually getting out on the water, waiting for the swells, and riding them back to sure with the practiced skills of balance, poise, allowing, persistence, and mindful awareness.

Lexus WSL Finals Fiji 2025 | World Surf League

Map shows Fiji cluster of islands in center

What to know: The paradise and power of Cloudbreak | Lexus WSL Finals Fiji. At the Lexus WSL Finals, the WSL Final 5 will face off at Cloudbreak, one of the most powerful lefts on Earth. It's a wave that demands total commitment and punishes hesitation. With a world title on the line, this is the ultimate test of talent, mental acumen, and pure surfing instinct. The stakes have never been higher, and there's no room for error. History will be ridden, and World Champions will be crowned: Paradise and power of Cloudbreak (WSL)

Where is Fiji?

Where in the world is Fiji? It is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean (between Hawaii and Australia). It rests about 1,300 miles (1,100 nautical miles or 2,000 kms) north-northeast of New Zealand.

Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about 110 are permanently inhabited—and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about 7,100 square miles (18,300 sq kms). The most outlying island group is Ono-i-Lau.

• DETAILS: Lexus WSL Finals Fiji 2025 | World Surf League

Mexico's Baja California in upper right, Fiji in center, Southeast Asia on left, Africa at far left

.

About 87% of the total population live on the two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in the capital city of Suva, or in smaller urban centers such as Nadi (where tourism is the major local industry) or Lautoka (where the sugar-cane industry is dominant). The interior of Viti Levu is sparsely inhabited because of its terrain [13]. More

• WorldSurfLeague.com/events/2025
• VIDEO: 1,700-year-old city hidden beneath Pacific Ocean
• WSL 2025; Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Brahman, Self, Atman, Shiva: India's seers

Travel to N. Tibet: Road to Heaven

China's invasion took lots more land than Lhasa

Greater Tibet [7] is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about 470,000 square miles (1,200,000 km2) [8].

It is the homeland of the largely Vajrayana Buddhist/Bon Tibetan people.

Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups such as Mongols, Monpa, Tamang, Qiang, Sherpa, Lhoba, and since the 20th century the invading Mahayana Buddhist Han Chinese (that account for more than a billion uncounted Buddhists in the world due to official communist atheism) and Muslim Hui [9].

Tibet is the highest region on Earth, with an average elevation of 14,000 feet (4,380 m) [10, 11].

Located in the Himalayas, the highest elevation in Tibet is Mount Everest (part of which is in neighboring Nepal), Earth's highest mountain (though not the tallest), rising 29,000 feet (8,848 m) above sea level [12]. More

Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism

Why do monastic robes differ in color?

Tibetan Buddhism [a] is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan, and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Darjeeling, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh, as well as in Nepal.

Smaller groups of practitioners can be found in Central Asia, some regions of China such as Northeast China, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and some regions of Russia, such as Tuva, Buryatia, and Kalmykia.

Tibetan Buddhism evolved as a form of Mahāyāna Buddhism, stemming from the latest stages of Indian Buddhism (which included many Vajrayāna elements). It thus preserves many Indian Buddhist tantric practices of the post-Gupta early medieval period (500–1200 CE), along with numerous native Tibetan developments [1, 2].

Do I regret my CIA involvement as Pope-King?

In the pre-modern era, Tibetan Buddhism spread outside of Tibet primarily due to the influence of the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), founded by Kublai Khan, who ruled China, Mongolia, and parts of Siberia.

In the Modern era, Tibetan Buddhism has spread outside of Asia because of the efforts of the Tibetan diaspora (post-Chinese invasion, 1959 onwards). As the Dalai Lama escaped to India (Dharamshala), the Indian subcontinent is also known for its renaissance of Tibetan Buddhism monasteries, including the rebuilding of the three major monasteries of the Gelug tradition.

Apart from classical Mahāyāna Buddhist practices like the Ten Perfections, Tibetan Buddhism also includes tantric practices, such as deity yoga and the Six Dharmas of Naropa, as well as methods that are seen as transcending tantra, like Dzogchen. Its main goal is Buddhahood [3, 4].

The primary language of scriptural study in this tradition is classical Tibetan. Tibetan Buddhism has four major schools, namely... More

Chinese Buddhism

Han Buddhism (漢傳佛教, 汉传佛教, Hànchuán Fójiào, Hàn-thoân Hu̍t-kàu) is the Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Chinese Buddhist canon [1] draws from the traditions of Confucianism and Taoism as well as the rituals of local folk religions. Chinese Buddhism emphasizes the study of Mahayana sutras and treatises, such as the Lotus Sutra, Flower Ornament Sutra, Vimalakirtī Sutra, Nirvana Sutra, and Amitābha Sutra [2, 3]. Chinese Buddhism is the largest institutionalized religion in mainland China [4]. More

• JamYang Tours, Tibet; CC Liu, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

Putting Zen into practice (SLICE)

What is Zen? | The essence of Zen Buddhism

Daitoku-ji: A Glimpse into the Life and Practice of Zen Buddhism | SLICE

(SLICE) Daitoku-ji is a Zen monastery that embodies the most radical path of Buddhism [mixed with Taoism, Hinduism, and Shinto] — a return to the pure teachings of the Buddha. [These teachings are so far from the Dharma of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni as to be preposterous, mixing instead Brahmanism, Taoism, and Japanese Chan Buddhism]. Here, practice takes precedence, leading to self-discovery in perfect harmony with nature and the divine. At the heart of Zen practice lies a deep connection to nature, reflected in the design of the monastery’s gardens. These gardens are more than just a backdrop; they are an essential part of the temple’s architecture, serving as constant tools for meditation. For Zen monastics, the garden is a microcosm of the universe:

• gravel symbolizes the vast sea, rocks represent towering mountains, sand swirled in spiraling lines...

Through its serene spaces and profound symbolism, Daitoku-ji invites visitors to find peace, balance, and enlightenment (or satori rather than what the historical Buddha called bodhi) by connecting deeply with the natural world.

(Doug's Dharma) What is the history of Zen? Paradox and tension

Documentary: Sacred Spaces – Asian temples. Humans, Nature and Gods, directed by Véronique Legendre. Production: ZED, ARTE FRANCE, CuriosityStream We fully own the rights to the use of the published content. Any illegal reproduction of this content will result in immediate legal action. SLICE wants to fill up viewers' curiosity! Accessible to anyone from anywhere at any time, this channel is a weekly dose of short docs about curious facts, discoveries, astounding info, unusual stories, weird, fun, and instructive. Be smart, have a slice! Subscribe now ► @slicedocumentary. Become a fan: @slicedocumentary Follow 👇 In French: slicefr. Facebook: slicedocs. Instagram: slicedocs. #documentary #slice #fulldocumentary #freedocumentary #Japan #zen #buddhism #sacred #enlightenment #religion #monk #temple #tea #teahouse #nature #harmony

• SLICE, Dec. 26, 2024; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

Alcohol, religion? The Buddha: abstain

Drinking in accordance with Mediterranean Diet means virgin olive oil not liquid ignorance.

.

Cold Christian monks consume weak wine.

Religion and alcohol have a mixed up history. The world's religions have had different relationships with alcohol, reflecting diverse cultural, social, and spiritual practices across different traditions.

Some religions are strict in prohibiting consumption, viewing it as "missing the mark" (sin) and harmful to spiritual and physical well-being, whereas others incorporate it into their rituals and ceremonies because, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Come get drunk with me, Flanders! - God, no, Homie

Booze can't be bad. Drunk Whitey's going to heaven!

Throughout history, toxic alcohol has held significant roles in religious observances, from the use of "sacramental" wine in Christian sacraments to the offering and moderate drinking of omiki (sacramental sake) in Japanese (shapeshifter-taming) Shinto purification rituals.

O, Buddha, should people avoid alcohol?

Buddhism calls on practitioners to avoid consuming alcohol (surāmerayamajja, referring to the types of intoxicating fermented beverages), as it violates the 5th of the Five Precepts, the basic Buddhist code of ethical conduct as it disrupts mindfulness, leads to negligence and heedlessness, all of which impedes one's progress along the Noble Eightfold Path [2] to serenity, insight, enlightenment, and the blissful liberation of nirvana.

Bacchus pour wine for panther

Christian attitudes towards alcohol shift all the time, with some sects and denominations advocating for moderation, while others promote abstinence. The use of sacramental wine in religious rites, such as the Eucharist, underscores a symbolic significance within Roman Catholicism (and the Vatican) as well as subsequent Protestant Christian theologies, to say nothing of more original Coptic and Eastern Orthodox views.

Hinduism in Śruti texts, such as the Vedas and Upanishads, says consumption of alcohol and/or intoxication is considered as a recipe for weakness, while in Smriti texts, the verses contradict each other and allow the use of alcohol for some castes, but remind everyone that total abstention is better.

Temperance or premature death?

Islam says the consumption of alcohol is strictly prohibited, according to Muslim teachings, reflecting its foundational role in shaping Muslim identity.

Across various religious traditions, attitudes toward alcohol mirror broader societal norms and values rather than strict adherence to religious texts since society is more influential in shaping individual behaviors and attitudes than religion.

Research on the correlation between religiosity and alcohol consumption reveals the complex interplay between religious affiliation, cultural context, and drinking patterns. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for informing public health initiatives and interventions aimed at addressing alcohol-related issues (like alcoholism, domestic abuse, child molestation, sexual misconduct, theft, negligence, injury to reputation, cancer, mental illness, morbidity, obesity, dementia, and so on) within specific religious communities.

Drink up, Dumb@ss. We love rounding you up.

As societies grapple with the complexities for profit alcohol consumption (which makes many private companies rich while costing society inestimable harms), further exploration of the intersection between religion, culture, spirituality, and health behaviors provides insights into how individuals navigate their spiritual, religious, and social identities concerning alcohol.

Buddhism is not a monolith with two major schools, the back-to-basics Theravada (that follows the teachings (-vada) of the historical Buddha and his enlightened disciples or (theras-) and the more scattered Mahayana ("great boat," which makes up 90% of Buddhists). Tibetan Vajrayana, while spoken of as yet another school, is subsumed as a Mahayana sect.

Alcohol use in Vajrayana

In Tibetan Buddhism

Bodhisattva Avalokita, Sri Lanka

There are various Buddhist "tantric" (esoteric) schools or traditions, claiming their goal is attaining enlightenment, which go by different names [Note 1] such as

• Vajra-yana,
• Secret Mantra, and
• Mantra-yana [3, 4].

The Indo-Tibetan Buddhist tradition has been dominant in Tibet and other Himalayan regions [3] (Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Mongolia, etc.) because Tibet was once an empire.

That tradition first spread to Tibet in the 8th century and quickly rose to prominence [5]. The Tibetan Buddhist tantric teachings (heavily influenced by Brahmanism and Hinduism from neighboring India) have recently been spread to the Western world by the Tibetan diaspora.

Nepalese Newar Buddhism, meanwhile, is still practiced in the Kathmandu Valley by the Newar people. The tradition maintains a canon of Sanskrit Buddhist texts, the only Buddhist tantric tradition to still do so.

Let's party like they do in India

In Tibetan Buddhism, it is traditional to offer a tsok (Tibetan for ganachakra) to Padmasambhava or other deities, usually gurus, on the tenth lunar day, and to a form of dakini such as Yeshe Tsogyal, Mandarava, or Vajra Yogini on the 25th lunar day.

Generally, participants are required by their bond or vow (samaya) to partake of meat and alcohol, and the rite tends to have elements symbolic of coitus (sexual intercourse), making it more reminiscent of pre-Buddhist Bon (Tibetan shamanism) black magic.

Traditions of the Ganachakra liturgy and rite extends remains of food and other offerings to alleviate the insatiable hunger of the hungry ghosts (including alcohol, which they intensely crave (as drinking and other harmful karma brought on by drinking is likely what led to rebirth is the intensely miserable Realm of Hungry Ghosts or preta-loka), genius loci (protective spirits or local genies the djinn), and other subhuman entities [6].

Zen koan: A little sake makes a lotta sense?

The [rationalization for the] use of these harmful substances is related to [a kind of deluded sophistry that rationalizes that] the non-dual (advaya) nature of a Buddha's wisdom (buddha-jñana) [sees nothing as inherently good or bad].

Since the ultimate state [in Hindu-influenced Mahayana thinking] is in some sense non-dual, a practitioner can approach that state by "transcending attachment to dual categories such as pure and impure, permitted and forbidden" [sinful or blessed, harmful or healthful, leading downward or upward, advised by the historical Buddha or condemned, practiced by fools or the wise, leading to more samsara or to liberation].

Bodhisattva Maitreya as a Central Asian king

As the Guhyasamaja Tantra [misleadingly] states "the wise man who does not discriminate achieves Buddhahood" [7] [because as no one ever said, the Bodhisattva (the "being bent on supreme enlightenment") attained buddhahood by doing just whatever and not discriminating.

It is exactly because that being, wishing to become a buddha, discriminated then pursued the path [Ten Perfections] that leads to the good that he eventually reached supreme enlightenment with the ability to teach and establish the Dharma in the world again after an unbelievably long period of darkness]. More

• Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit