13 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
The Buddha teaches different methods for different people, there are instructions for Bodhisattvas that are very down to earth when compared to the Perfection of Wisdom sutras, it's all Mahayana because it teaches Bodhicitta and the Six Perfections.
Comment by hau4300 at 03/02/2025 at 22:47 UTC
-4 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Mahayana is also called the large vehicles. Dhrama is the path or nature of reality. To traverse through the path, sentient beings may need vehicles, some kind of guidance or tools (that show us the big picture aka wisdom), as opposed to detailed "instructions". Diamond Sutra and Vimalakirti Sutra both attempt to clarify what is and what is not reality and how we should understand reality and some common misconceptions and misunderstanding about reality. The tone of Amitayurdhyana Sutra doesn't sound like either of the two sutras. Instead, as you have mentioned, it sounds like it is giving "instructions" of how to envision the "pure land" as if these are the only ways for any sentient beings to understand reality. Yet it does not attempt to explain what reality really is and how it deviates from our perceptions, And it attempts to describe what the "pure land" is like based on some human vocabularies and conceptions. Isn't it a violation of the basic priciniple of not involving human perceptions and vikalpa when attempting to understand reality? And why should sentient beings contemplate individual objects instead of viewing everything as a non-separable whole such that emptiness is ultimately the same as oneness and is the true nature of reality?
What do you think about all the different "contemplations"? Are they metaphors? Why are they even remotely related to ending suffering of sentient beings? Amitayurdhyana Sutra sounds like a descriptive novel with a lot of descriptions that are based on human perceptions, like Harry Potter that has nothing to do with wisdom