I liked this background information so I thought Iâd share it, given the recent Holececk retreats.
From the article: Early Orientalist scholars of Buddhism working under colonialism had little interest in the diversity and vitality of living Buddhist cultures. Instead, they cherry-picked the Buddhist teachings to fit their own modernist, Protestant worldview.
This ahistorical perspective on Buddhismâa âBuddhismâ created by and for European intellectualsâwas then used to criticize living Buddhist cultures. These scholars believed that Mahayana Buddhism in general, but especially the Pure Land teachings, were a perverse distortion of the buddhadharma (as they defined it).
Sadly, this attitude is still widely seen. Pure Land Buddhism is arguably the most commonly practiced form of Buddhism in the world. Yet in English-language academic and popular writing it is largely ignored, or wholly misunderstood.
Barry, this image does not do the statue justice, I thought it was a fake pick, have to google search it and was blown away by how big it actually is. WOW
So beautiful. Its really amazing how many giant temples and statues there are all over Asia and the Philippines. Completely different world!
the article you shared here is no longer availableâŠ
Today I have signed up for the online workshop about the Pure Lands⊠in MayâŠ
Will you also be there @_Barry ?
If yes, perhaps we could create a new thread here about it⊠with contents that we are allowed to shareâŠ
Iâve taken two of the previous ones with Andrew, so I am not sure if I will, but a thread on this topic is always welcome, with always much to learn and relearn to go deeper.
As a teacher I always find it extremely helpful (to me) to helping others⊠When I first learn, sharing it with others, is highly inspiring for me. It also shows me my true drive⊠I only teach what truly touches me!
If you get to do this one, please let me know. If not, I will create a thread on my own then!
with contents that we are allowed to shareâŠ
