It is impossible for preBuddhistic teaching to be Hinayana teaching, so what was the bridge? The bridge was Buddha; Buddha made the bridge. When we realize this point, we see that the Hinayana understanding was not perfect enough. The Hinayana Buddhists made Buddha a preBuddhistic person. He was pushed backwards to a preBuddhistic character. --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture - 68-10-21 as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. - DC [DC comment - Ouch - using the perjorajive term hinayana and saying their understanding is not Buddhist. How does this synch with his positive statements about early Buddhism and even saying he'd like to go study with great teachers in Theravada countries. Can't rush to judgement.]
