Dear Ramji, First I wanted to thank you for teaching. I started a few years ago listening to your Bhagavad Gita classes recorded at Yoga Vidya on iTunes. I had never realized how perfect and complete a scripture could be. I had ignored the Gita for many years mainly because I spent 8 years as a Buddhist monk and was so heavily entrenched in that identification I cut myself off from a lot of other knowledge. In the past 8 years I have been devoting more and more time to Vedanta and also seeing a lot of Buddhist teachings in a new light.
I lead a small meditation group, have an amazing girlfriend, a house, dog and cat and this Dharma so I can’t complain about anything. I have had some issues with the labels and have been called out by a couple people for not being “Buddhist” enough so to speak because I haven’t been sticking to strict Theravada Buddhism. I largely ignore this and figure until the head monk says otherwise I just keep doing what I’m doing. for the most part though, the people who come and sit aren’t really concerned with who calls themselves what and most of them have no interest in becoming Buddhist or Hindu. People come and sit and talk.
Ramji: Lovely to hear from you, Jack. We gladly welcome all recovering Buddhists.. You’ve probably figured out by now that there is only one Head Monk and you’re it. Which means that there is no forward and backward for you. 🙂 And yes, probably about 5% of the Vedanta sanga is composed of ex-Buddhists and another 10-20% flirted with it for a while in a lifestyle kind of way and settled into Vedanta quite nicely. All good people, no doubt.
Jack: I still find myself occasionally having some internal dissonance about teachings in Buddhism that conflict with Vedanta. Some little things like rituals/customs or big things like Atman and Anatta. I’ve been practicing Buddhism off and on since 2000 and realize I have a lot of views built up, some have been useful and others I have now noticed really don’t serve me at all. I still have this silly idea about being “authentic” or inauthentic to specific traditions. I don’t see any issue with practicing both traditions or identifying with neither. Can you address that? Or is just little jiva stuff that will fade away eventually? Finding Buddhism was life-changing and helped me survive my 20’s and 30’s without unwanted kids, massive debt, or a dead end job/spouse I hated.
Ramji: Well, don’t jump ship just yet, but I don’t advise practicing both traditions because there are very important differences. Having said that, Yogacharya Buddhism is about 95% pure Vedanta, which doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a Vedanta substitute. Buddhists are considered heterodox Vedikas (nastikas). Vedantins are orthodox (astikas) because we accept the Vedas as a means of knowledge for moksa, which is popularly known as enlightenment. The Hinayana guys are good guys in general but they are 99% doers and don’t have a clue about Vedanta. Doers means they think they can do their way to freedom, which you can’t in so far as reality is non-dual. I suggest you read Experience and Knowledge on my website as it explains the whole duality/non-duality business in excruciating detail. Here is the link: https://www.shiningworld.com/product/experience-and-knowledge-the-key-to-freedom/
Buddhism is a great sadhana. It can get you right to the door. There are a number of satangs on the website explaining our view of Buddhism.
Jack: Vedanta has really brought everything home. It’s a relief and like falling in love again. When I hear you speak I hear myself older and wiser. Your style, directness and humor has helped me get a broader and more applicable picture of Vedanta in daily life. I love it! I’ve just now begun reading How to Attain Enlightenment after attending the Isvaya Upanishad and Chapters 6 and 7 with you at Suryalila.
Ramji: Yes, Vedanta is a pathless path. We’re all for spiritual practice but action is an auxiliary means of enlightenment, like chopping wood. But as Shankara says in Atma Bodh. It doesn’t “cook the food.” And, the Buddhist teachers I know about don’t seem expose the downside of Buddhism, which is identification with the path, rather than the ever-free ever-present self…limitless Awareness. Only knowledge, which is removal of ignorance cooks the food. And since Buddhism rejected the Vedas a long time ago, they unwittingly threw the enlightened baby out with the bath. Having said that the handful of serious Buddhist that came to Vedanta so far realized the Self in no time because they were mature disciplined people who somehow figured out that identifying with an ‘ïsm” doesn’t, to mix metaphors, “cut the mustard.”
Vedanta is difficult for most because the teaching contradicts an individual’s remembered experience and because people who identify with an object of any sort…a doing, for instance…usually confuse ignorance with knowledge and are loathe to let go of beliefs and opinions that don’t pass the non-duality test. So I commend you on your open mindedness and have no doubt that you will succeed in your inquiry. Since you’re new to this, once you’ve finished How to Attain Enlightenment, I suggest you write me and I will recommend a couple of other books and a video. It’s important that you start at the beginning and get a clear knowledge of the terminology. A lot of people get all inspired by Vedanta and just tuck into ShiningWorld’s offerings as if it was a big sexy smorgasboard, which it is, but that approach has a definite downside because eventually the lack of a few basics definitions always ends up bringing one down from the initial non-dual high. If you click the Start Here menu on the website header, you will it will lead you through the steps. It’s important to know where you are going and how to get there before you set out. Seeking stops when you get on the Vedanta bus.
Love, Ramji