Ciro Santilli's favorite religion. He does not believe fully in it, nor has he studied it besides through brief Wikipedia and Googling.
Ciro likes Buddhism because it feels like the least "metaphysical explanations to things you can't see" of the religions he knows.
Rather, it feels more like "a plausible theory of the mind" and highly compatible with physics.
Ciro also believes that there is a positive correlation between being a software engineer and liking Buddhist-like things, see also: the correlation between software engineers and Buddhism.
While listening to endless hours of vaporwave while coding, Ciro Santilli spotted some amazing Buddhist-like voice samples, and eventually found that they were by Allan Watts.
Self-help? Maybe. Cult leader? Maybe. But at least it is one that Ciro buys into.
Is there a correlation between software engineers and Buddhism and liking the dude? Because this exists: wattsalan.github.io
More important than the monk itself in Chinese culture, it is used as a Budhist Amen. TODO find some usage in some Chinese television series.
The school that believes only in the Pali Canon, i.e. the best school.
Anything that is not in the Pali Canon has basically zero chance of having come from Buddha or his immediate followers.
Boring!
tipitaka.fandom.com/wiki/Puggala-Pannatti-Chap.2:
He who stores up whatever he gets and he who gives away whatever he gets - these two persons are hard to satisfy.
Mahayana adds a bunch of stuff on top of the Pali Canon. Most of it appears to be random mysticism. Maybe there is something good in it... maybe.
Perhaps the appeal of Zen is that it stepped away from Mahayana's "God and entities", and went a bit back towards the Buddhist psychology-like/self improvement grassroots?
The type of feeling of confusion and distrut for your sense that some Koans attempt to instill.
Ciro Santilli's preferred version of it is physics and the illusion of life.
Some notable references:
This is perhaps the most popular version of Great doubt in 21st century China
Fuller quote as seen e.g. at: www.hrfjw.com/fjrw/hcrw/ywfs/324750.html
大疑大悟,小疑小悟,不疑不悟
translation;
Great doubt, great underestanding. Small doubt, small understanding. No doubt, no understanding.
k.sina.cn/article_5668613235_151e02c7300100wutq.html attributes it to modern day Chinese "Master Chongci" (崇慈法师).
法 (fa3) is the Chinese name for Dharma, and sometimes used as a way short way to refer to Buddhism.
Psalm 46:10 from the bible:
Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.
This feels so right. Doesn't have to be taken so literally for non-Monks, but all have clear less-extreme applications to non monks.
The daily ordinary physical world or daily experience, pain, desire and the cycle of endless reincarnation. As opposed to the more elevated goals of spiritual enlightenment and breaking the wheel.
Figure 1. Source.