Ok, I know this has probably been talked about ad nauseum, and has been touched upon on some of the other posts I've been in on, but this is something that's been nagging at me.

There are more schools of Buddhism out there than I at first knew. Each one approaches enlightenment, attainment, kensho, realization, Nirvana, etc. a little differently. We "just sit", Sanbo Kyodan hold koans, Korean Son use a form of conversation, Pure Land chants the name of Amida to find salvation, some schools are almost eclesiastic while others are more philosophical while still remaining spiritual. We've all said things like "all paths up the mountain", "all Dharmas are the Dharma", "fundimentally, there is no seperation between you and me, your way and my way, it's all the Way." etc. In the thread on taking lives, there was a bit of a .....shall we call it passionate discussion between Chet and Anista about attaining Nirvana where Anista referred to his view on Buddhism and being more Theravadan in some ways. Even Jundo, our resident priest and Grand Poobah has said he is a "different strokes for different folks" kind of guy, and has spoken to us all to find a practice that resonates with us.

So, my question is this (I bet you know where I'm going with this one) if as we say, realization is realization of the Truth, of understanding fully the original state, the buddha state of all things, and that our goal is to become enlightened which is supposed to remove all the false images, concepts, and attachments we have to the things that stop us from realizing the natural and original nature of all things, why so many differences?

If it is all comming from Shakyamuni in the first place, if it is the "same water poured from vessel to vessel" why all the different ways of doing it? Shouldn't there be one way? One proven path that mirrors that taken by Shakyamuni? I understand that the sutras and sermons of the Buddha weren't written down until well after his death, but if the true teachings were transmitted to someone who was ready to understand and accept them, shouldn't they have continued to pass from person to person, undimmed by the inacuracies of human memory?

I hope I didn't start another Dharma war........ :shock: