I do know what is the essential and integral Buddhism as understood by the folks who get born and grow up in Buddhist lands and civilizations and societies, and become also doctrinaires in Buddhism. They are the people who know what is Buddhism and determine what makes up Buddhism.
So far, they tell us that Buddhism is all about relief from suffering and the ultimate objective to get to nirvana.
yrreg, with all due respect, you don't know what the hell you're talking about.
To say this, you have to ignore the bulk of the Zen tradition, much of the writings of
Thich Nhat Hanh, much of the writings of
Sogyal Rinpoche, much of the teachings of the current
Dalai Lama, etc.
What you're saying is that those Westerners who have practiced Buddhism somehow know less about it than a Westerner who hasn't. This is an odd claim.
Here are some classic Zen stories, for your "enlightenment":
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A Zen master met Hotei in the street and asked him, "What is the signficance of Zen?"
Hotei dropped his sack.
"Then," asked the other, "what is the actuality of Zen?"
Hotei swung his sack on his shoulder and continued on his way.
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A man crossing a field was chased by a wild tiger. Coming to a cliff, he grabbed a vine and swung over the egde. Trembling, he looked down, to see another tiger waiting at the bottom.
Two mice came from a hole in the cliff wall and began nibbling at the vine. The man saw a ripe strawberry growing hear him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he picked the strawberry with the other.
How sweet it tasted!
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Daiju visited master Baso in China. Baso asked "What do you seek?"
"Enlightenment", replied Daiju.
"You have your own treasure house", Baso answered. "Why do you search elsewhere?"
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Tetsugen decided to publish the sutras for the first time in Japanese.
He began by traveling and collecting donations. After 10 years, he had enough money to begin. But at that time, the Uji River overflowed. Famine followed. Tetsugen took all the money he had raised and spent it to save people from starvation. Then he began collecting anew.
Several years afterward, there was a great epidemic. Tetsugen again gave away everything he had collected.
A third time he started his work, and after 20 years he published the first edition of sutras, which can be seen today in the Obaku monastery in Kyoto.
The Japanese tell their children that Tetsugen made 3 sets of sutras, and the first 2 surpass the last.
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During one of Bankei's camps, a pupil was caught stealing. The matter was reported with the request that the culprit be expelled, but Bankei did not expel him. Later, the man was caught stealing again, and still Bankei did not expel him. So the students drew up a petition, stating that if the thief were not removed, they would all leave.
Bankei called an assembly, and told them, "You are all wise brothers. You know what is right and wrong. You may go somewhere else to study if you wish, but this poor brother does not know right from wrong. Who will teach him if I do not? I am going to keep him here even if all the rest of you leave."
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Nobushige came to Hakuin and asked, "Is there really a heaven and hell?"
"Who are you?" asked Hakuin.
"I am a samurai," said Nobushige.
"You're a soldier," said Hakuin. "No king would have you. You look like a beggar."
Nobushige put his hand on his sword hilt.
Hakuin continued, "So you have a sword. It's probably too dull to cut my head off."
Deeply insulted, Nobushige drew his sword. Hakuin said, "Here open the gates of hell!"
At these words, the samuri sheathed his sword and bowed.
"Here open the gates of heaven," said Hakuin.
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The emperor asked Gudo, "Where does an enlightened man go when he dies?"
Gudo answered, "I don't know."
"Why don't you know?" asked the emperor.
Gudo said, "Because I haven't died yet."
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One day, four traveling monks stopped by Hogen's remote temple and asked to camp in his yard.
While they were building a fire, Hogen heard them arguing about subjectivity. He joined them and said, "That rock over there -- is it inside or outside your mind?"
One monk answered, "From the Buddhist viewpoint everything is an objectification of mind, so I would say that the stone is inside my mind."
"Your head must be very heavy," said Hogen, "carrying around a rock like that."
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A rich man asked Sengai to write a blessing for the prosperity of his family.
Sengai obtained a large sheet of paper and wrote, "Father dies, son dies, grandson dies."
The rich man became very angry. "Do you think this is a joke?" he said.
"Not at all," said Sengai. "If you should die before your son, it would grieve you greatly. If your grandson should die before your son, you would both be broken hearted. If your family, generation after generation, passes away in the order I have named, this will be a great prosperity."
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A priest boasted to Bankei, "The founder of our sect has such miraculous powers that he held a brush in his hand on one bank of a river, and his attendant held up a paper on the other bank, and the teacher wrote the holy name of Amida through the air. Can you do such wonderful things?"
Bankei answered, "My miracle is that when I am hungry I eat, and when I feel thirsty I drink."
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While Tosui was making vinegar, a beggar gave him a picture of the Buddha. Tosui hung it on the wall of his hut and put a sign beside it. The sign read: "Mr. Amida Buddha: This room is very small. I can let you remain as a transient. Just don't think I'm asking you to help me be reborn in your paradise."
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Buddha said, "Nirvana is a waking nightmare."
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Buddha said, "Please don't think that, by achieving enlightenment, I have gained anything."
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Buddha said, "Existence is misery."
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A monk asked Joshu, "Does a dog have a Buddha nature?"
Joshu answered, "No".
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A monk asked Tozan when he was weighing flax, "What is Buddha?"
Tozan said, "This flax weighs 3 pounds."
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A monk asked Ummon, "What is Buddha?"
Ummon said, "Dried dung."
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In other words,
yrreg, enlightenment is not nirvana in all traditions. I know it would be much easier for your crusade if that were so. But it is not.
In fact, enlightenment is not even enlightenment.
The most fundamental Western mistake about Buddhism is to think it's necessarily like Western religion, which focuses on heaven and hell, on God, on reward. Buddhism focuses much more on practice, on living your daily life.
Yes, Buddhism does spill a lot of ink -- some of it worth reading, much of it not -- on the cessation of suffering. But the best teachers will not promise any pie-in-the-sky release from all pain.
And yes, there's a lot of esoteric debate about the nature of Nirvana. That's why reforms are necessary every couple of centuries, to remind people that there's no point in debating such things.
The fact is, Buddhism can be very practical, very down to earth (it can also be total b**ls**t). And sure, there are other ways to go. But Buddhist practice -- or, at least, one flavor of it -- worked very well for me. You may claim to have a better way, but you weren't there to offer it, so it's not relevant to me.
And since you obviously have no idea what my practice was, you're not in any position to disparage it.
And from your sweeping statements regarding Buddhism, which are incorrect, you are also in no position to go debunking it.
