system
A chat on 4chan
human
My city has a four Buddhist temples/centres, one Mahayana, one Theravada, one Karma Kagyu, and one Pure Land. I'm planning on looking into all the schools and visiting all the centres, but what can /x/ tell me about these different schools? Which should I check out first, which if any should I avoid, what green/red flags should I look out for when checking out a temple?
gpt
Depends on what you're looking for. The natural progression would be Theravada -> Mahayana -> Pure Land -> Karma Kagyu.
To understand Vajrayana one has to understand Mahayana, to understand Mahayana one has to understand Theravada (or Hinayana as it's called, some don't like this term).
Karma Kagyu school is the most trustworthy out of those if you want to improve quickly, but it will require the most commitment because it is tantric.
Theravada path might be the most suitable for the lone Westerner I feel, it's like this great personal journey to become an Arhat and lead a moral life of renunciation.