Your Second Choice Of Buddhist Schools Is...

[hermespan]

OK, so you are a practioner or devotee of brand X of Buddhist teachings.

What was/is the close contender? You could have almost as easily adopted alternative Y. And what is the reason you didn't? If you think it is more polite to not name names, leave that out.

[Jawnie]

Since you are not Buddhist, why are you asking?

[mrdome]

Nyingma and Sakya... but very closely related to Kagyu anyway.

[GrahamR]

Why worry about labels, just practice!

[Xangsamhua]

There's something to be learnt from all the schools. It's not like following a football team.

[hermespan]

Have you ever heard of Narada-muni in the puranic tradition of Hinduism? I am somewhat like him (albeit no saint), I enter a social arean, start arguments by minute and asinine comments, then leave.

But seriously, I just like to see lively debate on controversial or sensitive subjects. And I am curious how much of westerners in Thailand being 'Theravadins' is convenience - not to be scoffed at of course. I apppreciate different aspects of different schools. For example when I am feeling like religion as theatre I like Tibetan, when humanist, Theravada, when compassionate and universalist Mahayana, when miimalist, Chan/Zen

[Xangsamhua]

Have you ever heard of Narada-muni in the puranic tradition of Hinduism? I am somewhat like him (albeit no saint), I enter a social arean, start arguments by minute and asinine comments, then leave.

But seriously, I just like to see lively debate on controversial or sensitive subjects. And I am curious how much of westerners in Thailand being 'Theravadins' is convenience - not to be scoffed at of course. I apppreciate different aspects of different schools. For example when I am feeling like religion as theatre I like Tibetan, when humanist, Theravada, when compassionate and universalist Mahayana, when miimalist, Chan/Zen

Thanks for the reference to Narada Muni. I had to look him up in Wikipedia.

I'm not sure how well the moderators and participants in this forum will appreciate "start[ing] arguments by minute and asinine comments and then leaving". I suspect they'll see it as mere dilletantism, and without apparent purpose.

I think the regular posters on this thread have a reasonable idea of where each other is coming from, and they're certainly not all dyed-in-the-wool Theravadins.

[Morakot]

brand X of Buddhist teachings

Shopping in the supermarket of spirituality, are we?

Edited March 18, 2013 by Morakot

[sabaijai]

"start[ing] arguments by minute and asinine comments and then leaving".

Otherwise known as trolling.