Is there actually a contradiction between MN20 and MN36? In MN20, the use of suppressing thoughts by force is for a specific purpose at a specific time:
>When a monk is intent on the heightened mind, there are five themes he should attend to at the appropriate times. Which five?
>[...] If evil, unskillful thoughts—connected with desire, aversion or delusion—still arise in the monk while he is attending to the relaxing of thought-fabrication with regard to those thoughts, then—with his teeth clenched and his tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth [...].
The object in MN36 is distinctly different:
>So it is with any brahman or contemplative who lives withdrawn from sensuality in body only, but whose desire, infatuation, urge, thirst, & fever for sensuality is not relinquished & stilled within him: Whether or not he feels painful, racking, piercing feelings due to his striving, he is incapable of knowledge, vision, & unexcelled self-awakening.
>[...] "I thought: 'Suppose that I, clenching my teeth and pressing my tongue against the roof of my mouth, were to beat down, constrain, & crush my mind with my awareness.' So, clenching my teeth and pressing my tongue against the roof of my mouth, I beat down, constrained, & crushed my mind with my awareness. Just as a strong man, seizing a weaker man by the head or the throat or the shoulders, would beat him down, constrain, & crush him, in the same way I beat down, constrained, & crushed my mind with my awareness. As I did so, sweat poured from my armpits. And although tireless persistence was aroused in me, and unmuddled mindfulness established, my body was aroused & uncalm because of the painful exertion. But the painful feeling that arose in this way did not invade my mind or remain.
The key difference lies in the context and purpose: MN20 provides tools for dealing with unwholesome thoughts as part of the path to mindfulness and concentration, prioritizing individual strategies if the prior fails--first of distraction, then consequences, then ignoring them, then relaxing them, and if all of these fail, then brute force is necessary.
MN36 is the litany of strategies that don't lead to nibbana, showing that extreme asceticism and forceful mental suppression alone do not lead to enlightenment.
In traditional Theravada, Mara, divinities, and reincarnation are very much considered real and not metaphorical. In any case, the original point stands that big-tent Buddhism does contain these aspects.
Yeah, I'm not sure, that's a question for someone more advanced in their practice than me! But what I was understanding Thich Nhat Hanh to be saying was that we can't just rely on what was written down because they too can contain misunderstandings. As a Baul teacher I've been lucky enough to practice with says, don't read books, but study well. [1] A few of my friends ordained with Thanissaro Bhikkhu when we were younger, so maybe I'll give them a call and see what they think!
And yeah, for sure, there are plenty of divinities and whatnot in Buddhism -- a teacher of mine was just teaching on diety yoga with us last night -- but at least the way I practice with it these days is as a way to better relate to something that goes beyond physical form.
>When a monk is intent on the heightened mind, there are five themes he should attend to at the appropriate times. Which five?
>[...] If evil, unskillful thoughts—connected with desire, aversion or delusion—still arise in the monk while he is attending to the relaxing of thought-fabrication with regard to those thoughts, then—with his teeth clenched and his tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth [...].
The object in MN36 is distinctly different:
>So it is with any brahman or contemplative who lives withdrawn from sensuality in body only, but whose desire, infatuation, urge, thirst, & fever for sensuality is not relinquished & stilled within him: Whether or not he feels painful, racking, piercing feelings due to his striving, he is incapable of knowledge, vision, & unexcelled self-awakening.
>[...] "I thought: 'Suppose that I, clenching my teeth and pressing my tongue against the roof of my mouth, were to beat down, constrain, & crush my mind with my awareness.' So, clenching my teeth and pressing my tongue against the roof of my mouth, I beat down, constrained, & crushed my mind with my awareness. Just as a strong man, seizing a weaker man by the head or the throat or the shoulders, would beat him down, constrain, & crush him, in the same way I beat down, constrained, & crushed my mind with my awareness. As I did so, sweat poured from my armpits. And although tireless persistence was aroused in me, and unmuddled mindfulness established, my body was aroused & uncalm because of the painful exertion. But the painful feeling that arose in this way did not invade my mind or remain.
The key difference lies in the context and purpose: MN20 provides tools for dealing with unwholesome thoughts as part of the path to mindfulness and concentration, prioritizing individual strategies if the prior fails--first of distraction, then consequences, then ignoring them, then relaxing them, and if all of these fail, then brute force is necessary.
MN36 is the litany of strategies that don't lead to nibbana, showing that extreme asceticism and forceful mental suppression alone do not lead to enlightenment.
In traditional Theravada, Mara, divinities, and reincarnation are very much considered real and not metaphorical. In any case, the original point stands that big-tent Buddhism does contain these aspects.