[Buddha-l] bodhi

[Joy Vriens]

Hi Dan,

Nice to read you again and that the Punch and Judy shows with Richard 
are still going strong.

I found my quote from Lamotte's introduction to his translaton of the 
Vimalikirtinirdesa and then picked up the first english translation I 
ran into.

Yes there is light all over the place and all along. Before "Buddha's 
buddhism", during and after it and inside and outside Persia.  The 
absence of light in "Buddha's Buddhism" would be surprising. In that 
case one would expect a volontary decision on the part of Buddha's 
Buddhists to not let the light into their Buddhism. I don't see any good 
reasons they could have had to not let the light in that was shining 
anywhere else.
 
Light is coming from outside and shining inwards. We all receive light 
and many, even all, other things. Some call it grace :-) One could even 
call it Other Power :-). My power (thinking of it already makes me 
giggle) is almost non-existing compared to "Other Power". "For who makes 
you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not 
receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did 
not?" 1 Corinthians 4:7 A very nice and simple way of describing 
upaadaana (appropriation). I have dropped the ideal of a self-made man 
and an island or an autonomously running and fuelless awakening machine 
long ago. So light, grace, the faculty to awaken, you name it, any thing 
received is not mine. Does awakening happen? Is it produced through our 
effort? Is it received?

I don't know whether this would be a negative or a positive approach? 
Anyway, both the neagtive and the positive approaches are approaches 
towards something else. I have to admit I do feel sympathetic towards 
them pudgalavaadins that you refer to in your answer to Chris. I 
recently discovered that the person who is at the basis of the Mahamudra 
system of Tibetan Buddhism was ordained in the Sammatiiya order. So it 
seems pudgalavaada is not dead.  

I was very happy to read your and Richard's articles in Buddhist 
Philosophy (Edelglass and Garfield). I also discovered Pojo Chinul 
thanks to the book and Buswell's short book on Chinul. Great stuff.

Joy