Yesterday I received an email from a Pure Land practitioner. I have not heard from him in a while so was glad to hear how he was doing. He told me that he "had been going through a series of distractions, learning about other Buddhist traditions, but kept being drawn back to Pure Land." He then wondered why it "seem[ed] so difficult to be at peace in a Buddhist tradition."

It's an interesting question to try to respond to.

Thinking about Christians and Jews I know, I have to say that these people do seem settled in their choice. In my classes here in Elkhart and South Bend, there are several people who attend either the Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship or Unity Church of Peace. I haven't heard them saying how they try a church in one denomination for awhile and than in another. Yes, they attend my classes, but I focus on teaching about causality and ethics, not religious practices.

But in countries I have been in both the West and the East, a good number of Buddhists do seem to move around within the different traditions. They'll go listen to a visiting Theravada master one week, a Tibetan master another week, and a Pure Land master still another week.

Why?

Is it because westerners were not brought up in a Buddhist tradition while Christians and Jew were usually raised in their religions, so they are practicing the religion their parents did? But if that is the case, what about in Asia? I know many Malaysians (Malaysia being a country I have been fortunate enough to visit on several occasions) who also do not solely focus on just one tradition within Buddhism. I saw a similar occurrence of not settling on just one tradition in Singapore when I was based there for a few years.

Is it because people today misunderstand what the Buddha said to the people of Kalama about belief, that people today feel they can pick and choose from the different traditions and formulate their own style of practice?

Is it because people feel that since all the teachings are equally good, they do not need to choose just one?

Is it because we do not know that we need to settle on one practice as soon as we can so we can advance on the path to enlightenment, rather than widening the path where we stand, transfixed by all we hear?

I could go on asking "Is it because..." but I'd like to change this from a one-nun lecture to a group discussion. Why do you think people often find it "so difficult to be at peace in a Buddhist tradition."? Or do you perhaps feel that this is not an issue for many Buddhists?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!