Re: Joy of this, Joy of that

On Sat, 7 Dec 2024, rbowman wrote:

On Sat, 7 Dec 2024 11:20:51 +0100, D wrote:
>

I tried for a bit, to try and "distill" original buddhism, and although
it was difficult to find anything specific, my feeling was that original
buddhism was more about doing, rather than speculating, so heavily
meditation focused, and not very speculation focused.
>
Another thing I found out was also that original buddhism was heavily
adapted to the individual (naturally) where buddha tried to tailor the
techniques and teachings to the individual he was talking with, and that
is why it started to diverge over the millennia.

>
There are many flavors. The original Theravada wasn't speculative.
>
https://sacred-texts.com/bud/bits/bits013.htm
>
Mahayana picked up a lot of Hindu metaphysics and became more ornate. The
Tibetan branch really gets into it. But then it circles back with Ch'an
and Zen to become more stripped down.
>
Of course in common practice you get the usual mythology and rituals.
>

This aligns with my perception as well. Zen, or chan, circling back trying to "purify" it. Makes me wonder if some people are just naturally good at meditation? Some seem to continue year after year without any results, while other ninjas, seem to go far, pretty quick.