Whenever Buddhism has taken root in a new land there has always been a certain variation in the style in which it is observed. The Buddha himself taught differently according to the place, the occasion, the situation of those who were listening to him. So, all of us have the responsibility to take the essence of Buddhism and put it into practice in our own lives.
~ His Holiness the Dalai Lama
3 thoughts on “make it your own”
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Interesting. Several of the things I’ve been reading about Christianity have been emphasizing the same thing, though instead of lands they’ve been exploring the understanding and practice of Christ’s teachings in a post-modern world.
Perhaps there is hope yet.
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If I wished to take the results of my philosophy as the standard of truth, I should have to concede to Buddhism pre-eminence over the others. In any case, it must be a pleasure to me to see my doctrine in such close agreement with a religion that the majority of men on earth hold as their own, for this numbers far more followers than any other. And this agreement must be yet the more pleasing to me, inasmuch as in my philosophizing I have certainly not been under its influence (emphasis added). For up till 1818, when my work appeared, there was to be found in Europe only a very few accounts of Buddhism, … .
– ’’The World as Will and Representation’’, Vol. 2, Ch. 17
Arthur Schopenhauer
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