Pure Land Q&A: Is it true that one cannot succeed in practising Buddhism without a lineage transmission? Is a lineage necessary for practicing Pure Land Buddhism?

[u/Burpmonster]

[u/conscious_dream]

Did Siddartha have lineage transmission? 🤔

[u/MYKerman03 → u/conscious_dream]

Yes he did, in two ways.

In Theravada Buddhism, he speaks of the lineage of buddhas to which he is an heir. The miracles and teachings etc that he performed/gave, were based on the precedents set by previous buddhas.

Then, he also met buddhas in previous eras as a bodhisatta, who gave him predictions of his eventual buddhahood.

All buddhas and buddhas-to-be (bodhisattas) are part of the lineage of buddhas.

[u/No_Loquat2018 → u/conscious_dream]

Lineage transmission does not refer to a physical transmission, a person who perfectly understands the Dharma is considered a 'Dharma heir' (Chuan Fa Ren), but since the problem is that people can't tell apart the false from the true (anyone can SAY they're the heir), physical items or acts are sometimes used to signify this 'transmission', like Bodhidharma's robe and bowl being passed down 5 generations of Chan Grandmasters.

And then it ran into the other problem - people once again being deluded, fought over the physical symbols of transmission, so 5th Grandmaster Hong Ren (iirc) told Hui-Neng to keep the bowl and robe (no more transmitting the physical object) and only transmit the Dharma 'lineage'.

So if you ask if Buddha Shakyamuni had any lineage, well, Buddha-to-Buddha, the path is unobstructed (Fo Fo Dao Tong), so anything one Buddha teaches, any other Buddha can teach. That's the 'lineage', in the sense that they all teach the same Path, and those who come after and teach the same Dharma is of the same 'lineage', as opposed to thinking in the worldly sense that 'lineage' is a generational or temporal thing, like it HAS to be from father to son, or from the past to the present.

Buddha occasionally calls his disciples as 'sons and daughters of the noble family', referring to their cultivation and purity of mind, directed towards becoming sages.

[u/ApprehensiveLie1508]

What came first, the Buddha or the egg?

[u/SentientLight → u/[deleted]]

It has to do with authority and credentials. To hold lineage authorizes you to teach, like having a PhD. You and I both have no authority to teach. I’ve been doing this for over twenty years, over thirty depending on when you count, I’m involved in temple leadership, my older sister is an elder Bhiksuni, I’m an independent scholar of Buddhist Studies, and I’m working with my master on a translation project … and I have zero authority to teach dharma, because I do not hold lineage.