[Buddha-l] Jhanas in Mahayana & Tibetan

[Jackhat1 at aol.com]

Brad, Lance and Rahula,
 
Thanks for the responses. Very useful. Here is another question I asked  
previously that hopefully someone will address..
 
 
"A friend of mine who is a Deacon in the Catholic Church recently returned  
from Japan where he visited several Buddhist temples. He said from a 
distance  the service looked just like the ones he led back home. For instance, 
the  Buddhist priest had a long feather he used to bless the congregation as 
he  walked up and down the aisles. It has interested me lately how religions  
vary from their roots over time and add various rites and rituals little  
different from other denominations. Can you refer me to some books and 
articles  that describe this?"
 
I am asking not how each religion changes over time but how  and  why, in 
general, all religions change from how it was originally taught  toward a 
common practice. For instance, Buddhism has added among many  people devotional 
practices and praying to Buddha as God to bestow some  gift. In Thailand, 
for example, people pay money to priests to bless their  lottery numbers.
 
jack