Agree. As I see it, the purpose of making it compulsory is twofold: (1) so that the practitioner will always strive to generate that motivation (2) as a reminder to the practitioner to check whether he/she truly has that motivation or is it still something contrived.Goofaholix wrote:Yes, and how many times one says an aspirational paryer and whether it is compulsory is not a guarentee that the motivation will be any better than when no prayers are said or they are optional, motivation comes from the heart not from ritual, a wise heart will have the right motivation.Sherab wrote:Agree. That is why the motivation that one has for practising the Dharma AND the quality of that motivation is key.
Compulsory does not equate to brainwashing, ie. bringing horse to water etc.Goofaholix wrote:[Of course, otherwise we'd be a brainwashing cult wouldn't we.Sherab wrote:I was trying to confirm whether Theravada's motivation for the practice of the Dhamma is something that is up to each individual.
Wisdom sees that what benefits the individual benefits others, and vis versa. You can wish others well until the cows come home but if you really want to benefit others the starting point is to purify ones own mind so that your interactions with others are not tainted with greed, aversion, and delusion.
Making a big show about benefiting others only serves to strengethen the distinction between self and others I think, wheras wisdom sees there is no seperation and that what benefits the individual benefits all and vis versa.
Compulsory also does not equate to making a big show - the practice is private.
The motivation that I was referring to is not just merely wishing. There are two aspects to it - aspirational and actually doing it, ie. actually benefiting. The latter of course is only truly possible when one's own mind is no longer tainted with greed, aversion and delusion.