Christine, It's not easy to explain Buddhist teachings. Sometimes they are meant to be confusing. In order to understand Buddhism, it is important to be able to understand the paradoxes and contradictions that come from being alive. In fact, not just to understand them, but rather to embrace them 100%!
In my post you responded to, the Buddha talked about attaining enlightenment, but a later teacher taught that all sentient beings are already enlightened. So now we have a paradox. In order to understand this teaching, we must get beyond the words being used, and understand the meaning behind the words. How can we do that? According to one Zen teacher, we must put down all of our own ideas, develop a clear mind, understand the nature of reality, attain enlightenment, and save all beings.
Craig |
