Early and later forms of institutional Zen or Ch'an can be united and characterized by their lineage claims. Supposedly, the Buddha was to have wordlessly transmitted the eye of the Dharma to his disciple Mahakasyapa who then wordlessly transmitted it to Ananda and so on down to the present generation.
The only problem with this lineage story is there is no satisfactory evidence for it. Examined historically, it is little more than a convenient Chinese invention, if not a fiction, by which Zen established supremacy over other Buddhist traditions they were competing with at the time.
To be sure, there is no mention of this transmission in the Pali and Agama discourses and it is contradicted by the Avatamsaka Sutra which says the great disciples of the Buddha like Mahakasyapa “were not capable of perpetuating the lineage of Buddhas.”
In the Mahayana Mahaparinivana Sutra, before the Buddha passed away into parinirvana, he entrusted his teachings of Mahayana to Bodhisattvas that his teaching might long live.
In the same Sutra just mentioned, with regard to the monks and nuns, the Buddha put Mahakasyapa in charge. He told them that Mahakasyapa would be their refuge. But being a monk or a nun is a far cry from being a Bodhisattva who has experienced Bodhicitta; who is advancing towards Buddhahood. (Keep in mind, also, that the monastic sangha is not the Triple Gem Sangha made up of holy persons.)
@Angulimala
My quote referred to Java Junkie. He's the typical Asperger Syndrome, all symptoms fit perfectly.
Posted by: Jure | March 27, 2012 at 07:53 PM
too goddamn true, all publicity is good. I LOVE the bad publicity better than the good anyway.
fuckem. I love it when they quote buddhaghosa as a 'reference' for buddhism.
mental midgets abound.
Posted by: Java Junkie Junebug Julius | March 27, 2012 at 05:49 PM
@ Jure - Your whole post is a cut/paste from Wikipedia, LOL!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome
If that be the case, I would plead "The Martha Mitchell Effect"
"Description
According to Bell et al., "Sometimes, improbable reports are erroneously assumed to be symptoms of mental illness," due to a "failure or inability to verify whether the events have actually taken place, no matter how improbable intuitively they might appear to the busy clinician."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Mitchell_effect
So, we let the Wiki Psychiatrists settle the matter? No? Why not!
Posted by: Angulimala | March 27, 2012 at 12:29 AM
Asperger syndrome, also known as Asperger's syndrome or Asperger disorder, is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests.
Asperger syndrome is distinguished by a pattern of symptoms rather than a single symptom. It is characterized by qualitative impairment in social interaction, by stereotyped and restricted patterns of behavior, activities and interests, and by no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or general delay in language.
Intense preoccupation with a narrow subject, one-sided verbosity, restricted prosody, and physical clumsiness are typical of the condition.
The lack of demonstrated empathy is possibly the most dysfunctional aspect of Asperger syndrome. Individuals with AS experience difficulties in basic elements of social interaction, which may include a failure to develop friendships or to seek shared enjoyments or achievements with others (for example, showing others objects of interest), a lack of social or emotional reciprocity, and impaired nonverbal behaviors in areas such as eye contact, facial expression, posture, and gesture.
Posted by: Jure | March 26, 2012 at 08:06 AM
I am sure The Zennist is excited although this guy to whom your URL refers seems to be small potatoes. Any negative or positive publicity serves The Zennist well.
Posted by: Kojizen | March 26, 2012 at 12:30 AM