Therevada, Mahayana, Vajrayana, Zen
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In response to my post “Retreat Number Two“, RussellJi asked:
On your return, would you mind differentiating the practices you describe, “We practice Therevada, Mahayana and the Vajrayana in every session.” (in summary of course); as in my experience, the main differences between Theravada and Mahayana have been in ritual and in the Bodhisattva ideal. Vajrayana seems to differ again in that it is a more tantric pracice.
If you read this blog, you know that I am interested in all the ‘paths’ of Buddhism. I practice Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism with ZaChoeje Rinpoche, Korean Zen Buddhism with JDPSN Merrie Fraser and now I have completed a 10 day Therevada Buddhist retreat with Leigh Brasington (pictured above from left to right). My main practice is the Vajrayana due to my feeling of deep gratitude towards my first teacher, my root Guru, ZaChoeje Rinpoche. The Vajrayana is so deep that I am not really qualified to explain even it, let alone those paths that I am not deeply connected with. I can talk about the differences between the different paths, but it will be from the perspective of the Vajrayana.
In the Vajrayana we call the practices of the Therevada, “Hiniyana”, which means “lower vehicle”. This translation is unfortunate because it implies a lesser view of the Hiniyana. This is ridiculous and many Vajrayana practitioners fall into the trap of thinking that Vajrayana is “superior” to the Hiniyana - so much so that Hiniyana has become a derogatory term. I think this comes from the Tibetan philosophical debate system where they argue that getting liberation from suffering for one’s self only is not as powerful a motivation as wishing to free all beings from the same suffering. But I suspect that the Therevadins would say that they are also working for everyone, at least on some level. We Vajrayanists see it as stages. At first there is recognition of one’s own suffering, that’s where we start - life is hard and we are making mistakes due to ignorance and causing unnecessary suffering to continue. So we hear the Buddha’s teachings and he teaches the Four Noble Truths, the truth of suffering, it’s cause, it’s stopping and the true path leading to the end of that suffering. Initially our motivation is personal. As we practice and learn the nature of our suffering our concern grows beyond just ourselves and extends to others, we see that they too want happiness and to avoid suffering and they too are caught in ignorance that prevents them from attaining their wishes. Eventually this feeling grows so strong that we are no longer concerned with ourselves alone, we want everyone to be free. This develops into a great and deep compassion for all beings and the wish to become liberated transforms into the wish to become a Buddha as soon as possible to gain full control over our faculties in order to fully serve and protect others, quickly bringing them to the same state. We say that this wish is stronger, the motivation is amplified because we are working for everyone. Like a mother who seeks to cure a snakebite that her child has received - she will tear down the world to get that information, she becomes single pointed. The Mahayana is like that. This mind with the two part wish to realize our Buddha Nature to benefit all sentient beings is called, ‘Bodhicitta’ and one who sincerely generates this wish is called a ‘Bodhisattva’. So the Mahayana path is the way of the Bhodhisattva. But the Therevada style is still foundational. We must still restrain our sense faculties, practice ethics and concentration, develop wisdom, etc. The difference is that if you ask a Bodhisattva why she does her practice, she will say, ‘for you’, instead of, ‘to see the truth’ or something.
Which brings us to Vajrayana and Zen. Vajrayana and Zen are Mahayanist practices, they are born out of the wish to become enlightened for all sentient beings. The difference is their perspective. Vajrayana and Zen practitioners practice from the perspective of already being Buddha - to varying degrees. We say that difference between enlightened and unenlightened is realization. An unenlightened person doesn’t realize he is Buddha, he doesn’t have that kind of faith. An enlightened person sees that all beings are already Buddha. So these paths are said to help one to realize his true Buddha Nature, either gradually, or on the spot. When the Buddha became enlightened, he giggled. He giggled at the great cosmic joke, he needed never have looked to become enlightened, he was Buddha from the start! So we see enlightenment as ordinary. So I ask you, what is your Buddha Nature?
May all beings be happy, free from suffering, never be separated from this happiness state and live in great equanimity, loving all beings equally!